Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 312

The silence was like a dull blade, slowly chipping away at Naomi's already fragile psychological defenses.

After about half a minute, Naomi finally broke, her voice thick with impending tears. "Willa, please don't push me. If I talk, they won't let me off the hook."

"If you don't talk, I won't let you off the hook either. I'll have my lawyer sue you for defamation. That video is enough to cost you a massive settlement."

Hearing this, the guilt on Naomi's face instantly vanished. As if flying into a defensive rage, her lips curled into a sneer. The tears in her eyes hadn't even dried, but her tone drastically hardened.

"Sue me? You're going to sue me? I'm your mother! You carry my blood! You'd really sue me? Aren't you afraid of public backlash?"

Her voice spiked in volume, drawing sideways glances from the other patrons in the cafe.

Willa let out a cynical laugh. "Do you honestly think I haven't faced enough backlash already? What do I have to lose?"

Naomi grew even more emboldened, slamming her napkin onto the table, her voice climbing higher. "Fine, then! Sue me! Let the whole world know that Willa Vance is suing her own mother!"

Willa just looked at her, utterly devoid of emotion.

Seeing that Willa was entirely unfazed, Naomi suddenly lowered her voice, switching back to a pitiful, pleading tone. "Willa, I know I've wronged you, but I didn't have a choice. I don't have a job. I have to survive somehow."

"So you help outsiders destroy me?" Willa's voice finally revealed a fracture of emotion.

"Destroy you? How did I destroy you? What part of what I said was a lie?"

Naomi seemed to have found an outlet for her resentment, her volume escalating again. "If you hadn't been so reckless, if you hadn't had a kid that wasn't a Yates, would I have lost out on that payout from them? You made me look like an absolute fool in front of Eleanor Yates."

"If anything, this entire mess is your own doing."

Willa suddenly felt there was nothing left to say.

This woman would never believe she was at fault. In her eyes, the world was always the one being unfair to her.

Lana was even more brazen, intentionally strolling past her desk to make snide remarks.

"These days, some people are so shameless. How do you even show your face at work after causing such a scandal?"

Willa stayed focused on the work in front of her, too exhausted to engage.

Florence Miller walked over from the opposite aisle and dropped a folder onto Willa's desk. She shot Lana a freezing glare. "Lana, do you have too much free time? Should I speak to the editor-in-chief about increasing your workload?"

The smile stiffened on Lana's face. She scoffed and walked off with her coffee.

Willa looked up, giving Florence a grateful look.

Florence gave a subtle nod and turned back to her own desk.

That afternoon, the editor-in-chief called Willa into his office.