Chapter 242
How Could He Not Acknowledge Her
His expression was somewhat bitter as he sighed and said, "No matter what Megan Shaw Bennett did, Claire is still my daughter. How could I possibly not acknowledge her?"
What happened back then was far too complicated. Claire Bennett didn't know the full story, and although she resented him, Victor Bennett had no way to explain it to her.
He had gone too far in what he did to Claire Bennett, driving her out of the Bennett family, and now he already regretted it.
Hannah Bennett's eyes darkened. "Let's talk about this another time. Right now your health is what matters most. It's just a little new product launch. Ava has held so many launch events, and I never saw you take any of them this seriously..."
She complained, "What, Claire is your precious daughter, but Ava isn't?"
When Victor Bennett heard that, he quickly said, "What are you saying? When has there ever been an Ava launch event that I didn't attend?"
Hannah Bennett simply wanted to use Ava Bennett to stir up the father-daughter bond in Victor Bennett's heart, so he would stop thinking about that little bitch Claire Bennett all day long.
She had already gotten Claire Bennett out of the way, yet Victor Bennett was still thinking about her.
It was practically like a ghost that wouldn't go away. If Claire Bennett were allowed to come back, wouldn't she be competing with her Ava for things?
Everything in the Bennett family belonged to her Ava. She absolutely would not allow Claire Bennett to come back again!
Hannah Bennett suppressed the thoughts in her heart, put on a concerned expression, and said, "All right, the most important thing now is for you to get some good rest. Stop overthinking. You can go to the next launch event."
After saying that, Hannah Bennett gave a few more instructions before finally leaving the hospital room.
In the Bennett family living room, Fran was kneeling trembling in front of Hannah Bennett.
After Hannah Bennett came back from the hospital, where she had visited Victor Bennett, she called Fran over in front of her and, without a word, told her to kneel.
Fran was worried that what she had done had been exposed.
Naomi Pierce had told her to find a way to keep Victor Bennett from going to the new product launch. She had racked her brains and couldn't think of any good method, so in the end she simply went all in and put laxatives in Victor Bennett's dinner.
Sure enough, Victor Bennett was sent to the hospital. At this point, he probably wouldn't be able to make it to the launch event, and even if he went, he would be too late.
Fran was sweating all over as she secretly raised her eyes to sneak a look at Hannah Bennett in front of her.
Although Hannah Bennett wore a faint smile on her face, it didn't seem to reach her eyes, and for no reason at all it made people afraid. Fran had been in the Bennett family for many years and knew that Hannah Bennett was a woman with a kind face and a cruel heart.
Although Fran was scared, she tried hard to suppress the panic in her heart.
She asked steadily, "Ma'am, I don't know what I've done wrong. If there's somewhere I've fallen short, could you please just tell me directly?"
Before Hannah Bennett fully exposed the matter, she was not going to admit her mistake.
Thinking that, Fran became a little more composed. Maybe she was just overthinking it, and nothing had happened at all.
Hannah Bennett lifted her eyelids slightly and said slowly, "Victor's diarrhea and hospital visit were entirely your doing. You drugged his food. There are security cameras in the detached house. Do you need me to pull up the footage for you to see?"
A faint smile lingered at the corners of her mouth, and her tone was not harsh, as though she were merely stating a fact.
When Fran heard that, her scalp nearly exploded.
She knew it was impossible to keep hiding it, so she quickly knelt and said in terror, "Ma'am, we were wrong. I just didn't want sir to go to the new product launch. Please spare me!"
Only now did Fran know fear. She kept kowtowing on the floor, trying to beg Hannah Bennett for forgiveness.
She had originally thought she had done it flawlessly, but she had never expected to still be found out.
Just when Fran thought she was about to be sent to the police station, Hannah Bennett suddenly said, "I know. You may go."
Fran lifted her head in shock, as though she couldn't believe what she had heard.
Hannah Bennett was letting her off?
Yet she didn't seem to have heard wrong. Hannah Bennett really wasn't going to pursue what she had done.
Fran didn't dare ask any more questions. She immediately said, "Thank you, Ma'am, for your mercy."
After saying that, Fran didn't dare linger any longer. She got up and left at once, afraid Hannah Bennett might change her mind.
After Fran left, Hannah Bennett's eyes darkened, and a mocking curve lifted the corners of her mouth.
When she learned that Victor Bennett was going to Chicago to see Claire Bennett, she had actually been displeased, but she had no way to change Victor Bennett's mind, so she could only turn a blind eye to it.
Now that Fran had done this, she had undoubtedly helped her out.
Victor Bennett being unable to go see Claire Bennett was exactly the outcome she wanted!
...
At this moment, in the hospital.
Victor Bennett had gotten an IV and taken antidiarrheal medicine, and his whole condition had already eased up.
He glanced at the time. The new product launch in Chicago was about to begin, and even if he rushed over now, it would be too late.
He wondered whether Claire Bennett would resent him because of this.
Not long ago, when Luke Ward told him that Claire Bennett had sought his help, he had no idea how happy he was.
It proved that Claire Bennett was willing to set aside the prejudice in her heart and bow her head to him.
Victor Bennett took out his phone and pulled up a photo. It showed him in his younger years with Claire Bennett as a teenage girl. She was leaning on his shoulder, smiling at the camera like a blooming flower, father and daughter intimate and inseparable.
The beauty of the past stirred Victor Bennett's thoughts, and his gaze gradually turned resolute.
A moment later, he called his assistant Kevin Hayes and instructed in a deep voice, "Prepare the private jet for me. I want to leave for Chicago immediately."