Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 384: A Resounding Strike

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The dinner was approaching its climax. A well-known host in the entertainment industry had been invited as an emcee for the dinner, so he smiled and began talking about the Barker Group’s achievements that year. After that, he said, “Next up, let’s give a round of applause to Mr. Barker and his wife to say a couple of words on stage.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on Timothy and Samantha.

Timothy curled his lips into a smile. He gently extended his hand toward Samantha and made a gesture to invite her up.

Samantha responded with a happy smile and placed her hand into the man’s broad palm.

Timothy held her hand and walked with her onto the stage. When they were heading up, he very considerately helped her to lift her long skirt slightly.

One could see that the female staff members were all getting excited.

Lilian could not help throwing herself into her husband’s arms as she watched.

The only jealous person was Harmony, whose expression looked particularly unbearable.

She was still filled with jealousy even though she knew that Timothy was pretending in front of everyone. She was jealous to see Timothy holding Samantha’s hand, and his act of lifting Samantha’s skirt made her even more jealous. It had been so long and yet Samantha was still able to stand rightfully beside Timothy.

Despite all the time that passed, Harmony still could not face the public and secure her position as Mrs. Barker!

Even so, she had the perfect time to take action!

Harmony lowered her eyes and took out her cell phone. She quickly typed out a text and sent it. [You can start!]

The spotlight was cast on Timothy and Samantha as they stood on the stage, and the way they held hands looked like a scene from a soap opera.

After Timothy’s black pupils glanced across the crowd, his thin lips parted open, “My dear guests, first of all, I would like to thank you for coming to the Barker Group’s annual dinner. This year, we’ve…”

After giving an account of their major achievements that year, the audience immediately burst into applause.

Timothy smiled and said again, “For the coming year, the Barker Group will start a new S-tier project, the core contents of which I will show on screen in a bit…”

The big screen behind him lit up.

Everyone’s eyes were on the big screen as they waited eagerly to see what grand plan the Barker Group had in store.

However, no one expected that the photo on the big screen…was not a project plan, but…a photograph of Samantha.

To be precise, it was a photograph of…Samantha with another man!

Judging from the photos, Samantha and the man were very close and seemed to have a good relationship…

There was an uproar.

What was happening there?

Everyone has just seen Timothy and Samantha’s loving affection, and barely seconds later came that photograph of what seemed to be an extramarital affair.

It was quite a resounding slap to Timothy’s reputation.

Moreover, with so many important partners present today, Samantha’s actions not only brought down his reputation but even humiliated him in front of so many people.

After all, no man would enjoy being cuckolded!

Timothy and Samantha had also noticed that something was not quite right with everyone’s reactions and turned to the side to look at the big screen.

The man’s handsome face sank instantly and his eyes were filled with murderous intent. He looked at Samantha coldly and seemed as though he was going to set her straight on the spot.

Samantha seemed surprised that she and Alan would be photographed and was so stunned that her face turned pale.

She could feel Timothy’s hand tightening its grip around her hand and it was as if her bones were about to be snapped off.

The pain brought Samantha back to her senses. She looked back at Timothy and opened her mouth to explain, “Timothy, it’s not like this… I have no relationship with Dr. Sherwood. We’re just friends…”

Harmony’s eyes were fixed on Timothy and Samantha and she could not help sneering when she saw Samantha trying to justify it.

Harmony had come prepared for the occasion. She wanted to destroy Samantha completely so Samantha would never be able to clear her name again!

She gave a certain someone in the crowd a glance and that person immediately understood what to do. He asked loudly, “Hey, isn’t the man in the photo the famous Little St. John?”

Once he mentioned that, everyone could finally see clearly that the man in the photo was Alan.

Although Alan usually kept a very low profile, he occasionally appeared in medical journals and there were still some people who could recognize him.

Everyone started discussing even louder.

“Goodness, Mrs. Barker’s appetite is rather big, it seems. Mr. Barker isn’t enough for her and she still hooked up with Dr. Sherwood. How morally corrupt.”

“Mr. Barker’s the one who should be pitied here. When he announced his divorce three years ago, the news of Samantha’s death came soon after. How many of us suspected that the murder was Mr. Barker and Harmony’s doing? People were saying bad things about them for a long time.”

“Harmony is pretty miserable too. She was chastised for being a homewrecker all this while, but who knows if Samantha was the first to have an affair. Harmony has helped the public so much over the years and you can see that she isn’t a bad person.”

“This whole thing made me look at things differently. I can only say that Samantha is truly a horrible person. Just look at how she came back to cause trouble just as Mr. Barker was going to marry Harmony. She just wants to make everyone’s life hard.”

Of course, there were also plenty who were neutral.

Several board members had worked under Old Madam Barker before, and because she had privately instructed them to help her take good care of Samantha, they thus began coming to Samantha’s aid.

One of them said, “Does one or two photos prove anything? Everyone knows that today is a big day for the Barker Group. The fact that these photos appeared at such a time might indicate that it was done deliberately.”

The second echoed, “Couldn’t have said it better myself. We all saw the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Barker earlier. It’s best not to comment without knowing the full story.”

A third remarked, “Let’s first listen to Mrs. Barker’s explanation. Don’t just accuse her blindly…”

Everyone else started to regain their reason once they heard what the board members said. After all, those present there were smart individuals who would not be swayed by the masses that easily.

Harmony gritted her teeth angrily when she heard their words.

She did not expect the old hag to treat Samantha so well. As if giving the shares was not enough, the old lady even got a few powerful board members to support Samantha. They were able to turn the situation around in just a few words.

Luckily for her, she could still deliver one final strike!

She curled her lips into a sneer and hinted at the crowd.

The person who spoke earlier stood up from the crowd. He held up what seemed to be a certificate in his hand and introduced himself loudly, “Hello everyone, my name is Ian Snell and I’m a reporter!”

Ian and his team were somewhat well-known within the circle.

Everyone turned to him simultaneously and waited for him to continue.

Ian smiled politely and then went straight to the point. “I’ve been doing a little research because of my longtime interest in Mrs. Barker’s death.”

“I just found out that Mrs. Barker has been living in Emsteldt during the three years she was away from the country. During the entire time, she had been with Dr. Sherwood and even gave birth to his child!”

When he said that, he took out another registration certificate.

On it was written clearly—’Matthew Larsson, three years old.’

‘Mother: Samantha Larsson, Father: Alan Sherwood..’