Chapter 196
“Fidelia is young, easily swayed by others. She was clearly in the wrong this time, and I’ll make sure to have a serious word with her.”
Before Fidelia could even react, Fowler was already reaching for her arm, ready to whisk her away.
“Stop right there.”
Suddenly, Bancroft appeared, leaning heavily on his cane as he approached them.
The moment Bancroft showed up, the entire Fowler family felt as if the sky had fallen.
He might have been old, but in the Etheridge family, Bancroft’s word was absolute.
And everyone knew-whether they admitted it or not-that for years now, Bancroft had favored Lyman. It was understandable, really. In all these generations, Lyman was the first true genius to emerge from the Etheridge line, and Bancroft naturally paid him special attention.
“I know exactly what happened. And you think you can just brush it off by saying you were misled?”
Bancroft let out a cold huff and tapped his cane sharply against the floor.
Whenever Bancroft tapped his cane, the whole Etheridge family seemed to tremble.
It was clear-Bancroft was furious.
Fowler opened his mouth, wanting to defend his daughter, but the moment he met Bancroft’s piercing gaze, all the words died on his lips and he lowered his head in silence.
Fidelia, meanwhile, shrank back, barely daring to breathe, looking as fragile as a blade of grass in a storm.
“Fidelia, apologize to your sister-in-law,” Bancroft said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Fidelia’s face twisted in humiliation. She bit her lip and stubbornly stayed silent.
Marcia watched her, thinking, Silly girl-why are you still being stubborn now of all times?
She tugged discreetly at Fidelia’s sleeve and whispered, “Fidelia, apologize.”
It didn’t matter who was right or wrong—when the old man gave an order, you didn’t question it.
With a scowl, Fidelia shot Effie a resentful look, her jaw clenched so tightly it seemed her teeth might crack. Forcing the words out, she muttered, “Sorry.”
Effie wasn’t the difficult type, and she could see perfectly well who truly held power in this household. Since Bancroft had already made his position clear, what reason was there to push further?
“It’s all right,” Effie replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “You just believed the wrong person, that’s all. Still, you’re not a child anymore. You need to be more careful about who you trust.”
Effie left it at that everyone here was clever enough to understand her meaning.
Fidelia seethed inwardly, but there was nothing she could do except swallow her frustration.
“Effie,” Bancroft turned to her now, his stern features softening noticeably. If not for his recent outburst, you’d almost think he was just a kindly old grandfather.
“If you’re ever treated unfairly, don’t keep it to yourself. Come straight to me. I promise you, I’ll handle it fairly.”
Effie wasn’t naive enough to truly believe Bancroft would always take her side. As the head of the family, his real job was to keep the peace and hold everyone together.
Still, since he was offering her a way out of this awkward situation, she was more than happy to take it.
“Thank you, Grandfather.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be visiting your in-laws at the hospital? When you get there, be sure to give them my regards.”
“I will, Grandfather.”
Once Bancroft had left, Effie finally allowed herself to breathe again.
She couldn’t take much more of this-she just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.
After changing into a clean set of clothes, she got ready to head to the hospital.
Friedman and Lindy, sensing the mood, decided not to play the third wheel between Effie and Lyman-and besides, neither of them wanted to get stuck babysitting the younger ones. They took their own car.
Effie and Lyman would ride together.
As Lyman drove, Effie sat quietly beside him, glancing his way now and then, clearly wanting to say something but holding back.