Chapter 179

Vivian didn’t bother asking what punishment Alexander’s grandpa had in mind for Joseph. He couldn’t possibly go so far as to kill his own brother, right? Probably just a wake-up call, something short of cruel. It’s not like she needed Joseph dead anyway—he had the bad luck of sharing the last name Brooks. She couldn’t do it herself, and she couldn’t expect the old man to take out his own brother. Since Joseph messed with her for the first time, she could let the old man handle it. But if it happened again, she wouldn't hesitate to make sure that guy spent his retirement behind bars. Still, Vivian never expected that grandpa Brooks would get so furious he’d pull the whole family together for a formal meeting. And worse, he didn’t even give Joseph half a chance to defend himself—just flat-out kicked him out of the family. So when Vivian got a call from Alexander, she was stunned. “Come out.” His voice was flat and icy. Vivian glanced at her front door instinctively—wait, was he outside r