Chapter 6

Emily rushed into the house, breathless. Her father and his new family were lounging in the living room like nothing happened. She strode in, face pale. “Dad, where's Grandpa? What happened to him?” Her grandfather had been bedridden and unresponsive for years, but his condition had always been stable. Something felt wrong. No one said a word. Emily grew more anxious. “Why did you make me come back? Grandpa's supposed to be in the nursing home, right? Say something!” The only answer she got was a teacup flying at her. Emily barely dodged it. William pointed at her, yelling, “Why are you yelling? That old man's fine!” Emily froze. “Then why did you say—” “If I didn't say that, would you have come running back so fast?” That hit her like a slap in the face. Her chest burned with rage. “You faked something that serious just to make me come back? He's your father-in-law!” Her grandfather had always been like a rock to her, second only to her mom. And now her own father was tossing lies about him like that? “Shut up!” William shot up and slapped her hard. “You think you don't need to follow the rules anymore?” Emily clenched her teeth, covering her cheek. “What did I even do to deserve this?!” “You're asking me that?” William's finger jabbed right in front of her face, fury boiling over. “What the hell did you do to piss off James? He's crushing our company now!” So that was it — James had made a move on their company. Emily laughed bitterly. “You're blaming me? Why don't you go ask him yourself instead of taking it out on me?” “You little brat, I'll beat you to death!” William swung again, but Emily dodged this time. He nearly lost his balance and had to grab onto the woman beside him for support — Laura Davis, the flashy, overdone new wife. Laura pointed at Emily and shrieked, “You ungrateful, useless girl! You pissed off James so bad he's destroying the whole family, and now you wanna give your dad a stroke too?!” Emily sneered. “He can slap me, but I'm not allowed to dodge?” Before her words even settled, pain shot through her legs — someone kicked the back of her knees, forcing her down. She turned and met the sneering face of Benjamin Anderson, her father's son with that woman. “Who do you think you are, acting tough here at the Anderson house?” Emily snapped, “This is my home, Benjamin! You're the outsider here!” “You unfilial brat! You've got no respect at all!” William slammed a kick into her side."I'm telling you one last time—go butter up James. If he keeps squeezing us, I'm cutting off your grandpa's medical bills!" Emily shot her head up, face full of disbelief. "What? Grandpa handed everything to you after he got sick. How could you even think of doing this? The shareholders won't let you get away with it!" Before William could respond, Laura jumped in, her voice sharp. "Get real, girl. Your dad's the one who saved your sorry family business. The company belongs to the Andersons now! Those so-called shareholders? Already under his thumb!" Benjamin folded his arms, sneering coldly. "If you don't listen, better get ready to bury that old geezer." Emily's nails dug deep into her palms as she stared at these cold-blooded people. She wanted nothing more than to rip them apart. But then she thought of her grandpa… still waiting for his meds. All these years married to James, and she didn't even have a damn cent of her own. For the first time, Emily hated herself. She looked up into William's eyes, voice rough and trembling. "…Oliver's gone. James pushed him to his death…" "And you still want me to beg him?" Oliver wasn't just her little brother… he was William's son too. William's palm cracked across her cheek, making her face swell instantly. "Gone? So what? I thought sacrificing him might calm James down. But here we are—still getting crushed. You and your deadweight brother are both useless!" Emily shook her head slowly, the truth finally sinking in. He knew. He knew it all along. "Oliver was your own flesh and blood…" Even a wild beast wouldn't harm its own cubs. William had never been close to Oliver, but still… blood is blood. "I've got Ben. That's enough for me." William's face suddenly turned grim. "What? You think I'm gonna go to Oliver's funeral? Dream on. I'd never pick a dead kid over peace with James." Emily lunged at him, rage exploding. "You're a monster! Not even human!" Benjamin yanked her back by the hair, then threw her out the door. "Bitch, if we didn't still need you to calm Carter down, I'd kill you myself!" William stepped forward, spitting as he snarled, "Get out of my sight. And you better know what you need to do. If Carter's still crushing us after today, go get ready to plan your grandpa's funeral!" The door slammed in her face. Emily dropped to her knees, eyes brimming with tears. She wanted to storm back in and drag them all down with her. But she couldn't. Her grandpa still needed treatment. He couldn't wait. Beg James? Crawl back to him? Torn and furious, her heart twisted painfully. In the end… Emily lowered her head. She couldn't take the risk. Grandpa's life hung in the balance.