The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 531

"That is assaulting a police officer."

Nora's face was as cold as ice.

She had no time to study the woman standing before her, the homewrecker who had torn her parents apart, to see if the years had changed her.

Nor did she betray even a sliver of the hatred she harbored for this vicious woman.

She simply stated the facts, enunciating each word with crystal-clear precision.

"What did you just say?" Cynthia Hayes, having lived as the matriarch of the Hayes Group for years, lacked nothing in wealth or comfort.

Her favorite pastimes were indulging in high-end spa treatments and shopping sprees with her wealthy socialite friends.

Nourished by endless money, she hadn't visibly aged much from her younger days.

However, the bitter, caustic aura clinging to her had only grown more potent with time.

It was the kind of toxicity that made people wary of standing too close, lest it rub off on them.

"Nora, do you think your wings are fully grown now just because you're a forensic examiner? Have you forgotten how you used to beg at my feet?"

Cynthia's words dragged up some incredibly dark memories for Nora.

They were memories she would never be able to erase.

For years, those exact moments had been the fuel driving her forward.

That past trauma pushed her to keep walking straight ahead, refusing to ever look back.

"Mrs. Hayes, is it?"

Seeing Nora's expression darken, Nathan grasped her hand and used his tall frame to block Cynthia's view of her.

Cynthia finally registered the man who had just interfered with her outburst.

Though Nathan was strikingly handsome, Cynthia already knew his identity from Mia. She gave him a dismissive once-over and scoffed, "Oh, eager to play the hero for your fiancée, are we? Boy, do you have any idea who I am?"

The other officers in the room exchanged uneasy glances.

Their reaction was entirely justified.

Nathan was her fiancé. It was bad enough that Cynthia had bullied Nora and her mother in the past, but she absolutely crossed the line by going after Nathan.

The last thing Nora ever wanted was for someone else to be dragged down by her baggage.

And she certainly couldn't stand the thought of Nathan getting hurt because of her.

Moreover, Nora knew perfectly well that peaceful coexistence between her family and Cynthia's was a pipe dream.

A day of ultimate reckoning was inevitable.

If possible, she wanted to be the one to deliver that final blow herself.

Thankfully, Nathan understood and respected her boundaries.

The last shred of anxiety vanished from Nora's chest, replaced by an unshakable confidence and fearless courage.

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you cursing me? Nora, do you think just because you work for the police department, I can't touch you? Don't forget that Leonard is still your father!"

Nora stared at the furious woman with deep irony. "Leonard is my biological father, yes. I cannot deny the DNA."