Mina Sherwood listened to her parents, a cold smirk curling her lips.

William Sherwood stepped forward abruptly. "You're being naive! Do you think the Valentines will let this slide after Mina deceived them like this?"

He took another step. "I say we should beat this daughter of yours and the bastard in her womb to death right now! Then we go apologize to the Valentines! That might be the only way they spare our family!"

Mr. Sherwood was stunned. "Isn't terminating the pregnancy enough? Mina is still our daughter…"

Mrs. Sherwood's voice trembled in agreement. "Yes, she's our own flesh and blood…"

William scoffed. "The Sherwoods have plenty of daughters! But Young Master Marcus is the Valentine heir! Do you think we can negotiate with them?"

Mrs. Sherwood cried out. "Murder is illegal! Brother, at least give the child a chance to live!"

William roared. "Give her a chance? Did she think about giving us a chance when she lied? How do you think my elder brother will hold me accountable once he finds out?!"

He glared viciously at Mina. "The main branch made so many private deals with the Valentines to get you married into their family! And what did you do? Got pregnant with some bastard child! We thought Marcus Valentine didn't want to take responsibility, but it turns out we were the ones scamming them! Mina, have you no shame?!"

He raised his hand to strike her.

Mina grabbed his wrist forcefully and shoved him away.

William was enraged. "How dare you defy me! How dare you raise your hand against your elder!"

Mina stared at him intensely. "The Valentines haven't even said anything yet. Why are you in such a hurry? Who says the child isn't Marcus Valentine's?"

William sneered. "The medical report is real! The doctor testified! Still lying through your teeth? Mina, you've brought shame upon the Sherwood family! You must give both families an explanation!"

Evelyn Ross and Alexander Vance arrived quickly.

Evelyn moved to shield Mina. "Mina, don't be afraid."

Mina stood beside Evelyn, her expression cold and resolute. She was no longer the girl who would compromise with her parents.

She stared fixedly at William. "Don't worry. I won't drag you down, and I certainly won't drag the Sherwood family down! From today onward, I am no longer a Sherwood!"

William immediately said, "You said it yourself! You get nothing from the Sherwood family! Not even your dowry!"

Mina clenched her fists.

She looked at William and her parents, thinking of the only person in the Sherwood family who had ever been kind to her: her uncle from another branch, Kevin Sherwood.

Back then, Kevin had staged that incident at the hotel to force Marcus to marry her… Even though he used her, he never used her looks to get what he wanted.

She smiled bitterly. "Fine. Everything from the Sherwood family has nothing to do with me!"

William breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood frowned but ultimately remained silent.

Several cars suddenly pulled up.

Mr. and Mrs. Valentine and Marcus stepped out of the lead car.

Kevin got out of the car behind them.

Kevin was apologizing to the Valentines. "This is my fault for not investigating thoroughly enough… But we still need to get the full story from the children. Mina is a Sherwood. The Sherwoods will not shirk responsibility. Let's work together to minimize the impact of this matter."

The Valentines' faces were cold.

Both were reasonable people, but they had never been deceived like this before.

Mrs. Valentine thought back to the previous rumor about Marcus bringing abortion pills to Mina. So that's what it was!

She shot a glare at Marcus. This foolish son of hers, wearing a cuckold's horns and not saying a word, even trying to cover it up stupidly.

If there was a medical condition, they could treat it. If not, it was fine. Before, their third son wasn't married and had no children. With many brothers in the family, having a nephew provide for him in old age was acceptable.

But for things to have reached this point… What was this!

Mrs. Valentine felt wronged on her son's behalf. Her expression was dark as she walked up to Mina.

She looked directly at Mina. "Mina, we've treated you well since you married into our family, haven't we? How could you deceive my son like this? Whose child is it in your womb? You must give us an explanation today!"