Jarrod reassured him, “You and your mom are going to be fine. I promise."

Austin let out a relieved sigh and nestled closer into Nicole's arms.

But as he looked back, his eyes briefly met Vicki's.

Vicki found herself at a loss for words. The look in Austin's eyes was a mirror of Jarrod's when he was about to punish someone, terrifying enough to make anyone tremble.

Vicki felt even more convinced that Austin's earlier interactions with her were nothing but a charade. She had perceived him as a timid, fragile child who hardly dared to speak up. Now, she realized it was all just a show put on by this cunning little boy.

Actually, Austin was far from the child Vicki had thought he was. He had cleverly made her lower her defenses by feigning obedience. Had Austin been openly hostile from the start, nobody would have taken his words seriously. They might have dismissed his behavior as just a typical child's aversion to a stepmother and dismissed it.

But by first crafting an image of himself as meek and compliant, his accusations now held much more weight. Now, everyone was inclined to believe that Austin was being coerced into submitting to Vicki.

However, in reality, he had complied with Vicki's demands without any pushback.

Vicki had believed she was the one in charge and was manipulating Austin at will. But, the truth was, she had been the puppet all along. Austin had laid a clever trap, and she had unwittingly Leaped right into it.

In a rush of panic, Vicki tried to defend herself, stammering, "No Jarrod, he's not telling the truth... He's lying..."

Vicki nervously tried to pull Jarrod toward her, but Jarrod shoved her away without hesitation. She lost her balance and awkwardly fell to the ground with a loud "thud".

“Jarrod... Vicki winced in pain, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't expect that Jarrod would be so cruel as to push her away."

“You'd better think carefully about what you're going to say next,"

Jarrod said in a dangerously low voice. "Who's lying, my son, or you?"

Jarrod's eyes were cold as ice, and the gravity of his words made Vicki shake like a leaf.

Without waiting for a response from Vicki, he shifted his attention over to the nanny, who was already scared out of her wits. “Did somebody put you up to this?" he asked coldly.

The nanny fell silent, all the color draining from her face. When she met Jarrod's bone-chilling gaze, her legs went limp, and her tongue trembled as she opened her mouth to say something.

Vicki's heart leaped to her throat when she saw that the nanny was about to speak.

The nanny didn't dare to tell the truth now. Even if she did, it was too late. She was doomed either way. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she stammered, "Sir... I didn't... I mean, I wasn't..."

"You'd better speak clearly." Jarrod interrupted her, his patience running extremely thin.