8
627words
The man who abandoned my mother.
The man I’d confined to a sanatorium.
I hadn’t visited him in three years.
Wesley Clarke told me his mind was deteriorating further.
The air grew colder, breath visible in pale puffs.
I looked up at the overcast sky and remarked casually.
"I aim to get everything back on track before the year ends."
Luna and Lydia Lawson had been subpoenaed.
I had evidence proving they deliberately deceived me, exploiting my mental incapacity, into signing over the Manor House deed.
As we exited the police station, Lydia Lawson lunged at me.
She slapped me hard across the face.
Wesley looked stunned.
As Lydia drew back her hand for a second strike, I caught her wrist in a vice-like grip.
"Lydia Lawson," I said, my voice dangerously low. "Have I been too lenient with you all these years?"
A flicker of fear crossed Lydia's eyes, quickly drowned out by furious indignation.
"Vincent Foster!" she spat. "Have you forgotten what your life in the Foster family was like before us?"
"Without my sister and me, do you honestly think you'd have become head of the Foster dynasty?"
"Not to mention we took care of you for three years after you lost your mind!"
"All we took was one house and a few shares!"
"And you actually called the police?!"
They'd never truly known hardship.
Even when the Lawson empire collapsed four years ago, I had shielded them.
Deep down, they still saw themselves as society princesses, their tone dripping with condescension.
I snorted coldly.
"Have you forgotten that I became a fool trying to save you?"
"That I saved you after the Lawson bankruptcy?"
"I repaid my debt to you. What about you?!"
Lydia had never seen me this enraged before.
My shout made her whole body tremble.
I wasn't finished. I wanted the ledger settled.
"You helped me, yes. I acknowledge that debt."
"So when your parents jumped, leaving a colossal mess, I cleaned it up."
"I took you in. Gave you shelter, clothes, kept you safe."
"I jumped off a cliff for you!"
"And what happened? I became a fool!"
"And what did you do? Teamed up with Miles Sullivan to humiliate me and steal my assets!"
"For three whole years! Can you deny it?!"
"Enough!" Luna Lawson, who had been silent until now, finally stepped in.
She looked at me, anguish etched on her face.
"Vincent... when did you recover?"
"Thanks to you," I replied flatly. "If you hadn't thrown me out in the pouring rain and pushed me so my head cracked on the steps, I might still be lost."
"But our bond over so many years wasn't fake! Do you have to be this ruthless?"
So she wanted to play the sentiment card.
Too bad. I was immune.
"From the moment you let Miles humiliate me, again and again, there was no bond left between us."
Luna fell silent.
Her expression hardened, jaw clenched tight.
Miles Sullivan screeched up in the Maybach, rushing frantically towards Luna and Lydia.
"Sisters! Are you alright?"
Lydia seemed to have found fresh ammunition, her face alight with vindictive glee.
"Vincent Foster! When our family fell, Miles helped too!"
"Why isn't he petty and vindictive like you?"
"Miles is ten thousand times the man you'll ever be!"
"You're just jealous!"
"You'll never earn our regard!"
Regard?I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt.
"So you're the kind of women who can be bought with one meal?" I shot back. "Then I guess that's all you're worth."
"As for Miles," I continued, my gaze sweeping over him dismissively, "that piece of trash wrapped in luxury brands, playing at being a gentleman?"
"He's not fit to lick my boots."
