Charles Brooks’s face darkened, and after a long pause, he said in a low voice,
“Robert, tell me your terms. I’ll agree to whatever you want.”
Robert Reed’s gaze swept over Nathan Brooks, who was still holding tightly to Chloe Summers, and a cold smile tugged at his lips.
“I think your elder son is quite capable. If we work together in the future, I’ll only deal with him. As for those who fabricate lies and lack basic integrity–forget it.”
Charles Brooks understood instantly.
“Robert, rest assured–Nathan will never be involved in any of the company’s projects again. I’ll drive him out of the Brooks family.”
Nathan’s voice rose in protest.
“Dad, how can you listen to outsiders and throw me out of the family? I’m your own son!” Charles’s eyes fixed on Nathan, and after a long silence, he finally said, slowly and wearily, “Nathan, you’re nothing more than the result of your birth mother stealing a sperm sample. To protect your dignity, I claimed you were conceived when I got drunk and made a mistake. That lie cost me your stepmother’s trust and drove a wedge between me and your older brother.”
“I had intended to arrange a marriage between you and Miss Carter to help you in life. I never imagined you’d inherit every flaw from your mother–a bar hostess with no moral compass. You can’t tell right from wrong, and you’ve let some scheming woman cloud your judgment.”
“Look at what you’ve done–getting involved with the Carters‘ adopted daughter while the engagement was still in place. Now that they’ve decided to let you have her, you crash their engagement party in a scene of chaos. Do you have even the faintest understanding of how a man from a respectable family should behave?”
Nathan’s expression twisted in discomfort before he mumbled,
‘I never said I wouldn’t marry her. I just wanted to put her in her place, make sure she didn’t bully Chloe.”
‘Dad, Chloe grew up as an unwanted orphan in someone else’s home. She’s suffered enough. Can’t you have a little compassion? Are you really going to watch her be beaten, scolded, and humiliated?”
Charles stared hard at Nathan for a long time before sighing deeply.
‘Some things… are just fate.”
Then he turned, took the microphone, and addressed the guests.
‘Today, I, Charles Brooks, formally announce that I am severing all father–son ties with Nathan Brooks. From now on, his actions have nothing to do with the Brooks family. Tomorrow, I will make a public announcement.”
He turned to me and gave a formal bow.
‘Miss Carter, I apologize for disrupting your engagement celebration. I’m sorry.”
With that, Charles put down the microphone and strode away.
3:24 pm RD.
Nathan was stunned into silence. When he finally reacted, he no longer cared to argue with me. He bolted after his father, shouting,
“Dad! You can’t be this cruel! Do you know how much I’ve suffered since I was a kid? You can’t just abandon me!”
The next day, Charles Brooks really did publish the announcement severing ties.
Desperate and with nowhere else to go, Nathan came to me.
When I saw him standing in my office, all I felt was deep disgust.
At the sight of me, his expression flickered from anger to guilt.
“Sophia! I was wrong!”
“I’ve been thinking all night and searching for you all day–you have no idea how much I regret everything.”
He reached for my hand, but I stepped aside, a cold smile on my lips.
“Why aren’t you with your little damsel in distress? What are you doing here?”
Nathan gave a sheepish smile.
“Sophia, we were married for thirty years–who else would I come to?”
“Alright, I’m here to apologize. I know I made mistakes. Looking back now, only you truly treated
me well. Without you, there would be no Nathan Brooks. I was foolish to betray you.”
“You know I’m soft–hearted. I’ve been an outcast since I was a kid–never enough food or clothing, always mocked as illegitimate–so I can’t bear to see anyone else suffer.”
As he spoke, his eyes turned red, and he snuck a glance at me from under his lashes.
3:24 pm SSD.
“Exactly! An adopted daughter is still a daughter. Even if we went to court, Chloe would be entitled to half of the Carter family’s assets.”
The two of them exchanged a quick look, joy flashing in their eyes.
“Come on, Nathan,” Chloe urged. “Let’s go talk to Dad. Once I get my share of the assets, I car help you start your own business. When you’ve made it big, we’ll see who dares look down on
you.”
Nathan pulled her into a hug, his voice full of excitement.
“Thank you, Chloe. I knew I didn’t love the wrong woman–you’re the one worth protecting.”
The two of them glanced at me with undisguised disdain, and I almost laughed out loud in disbelief. Which law said an adopted daughter could split the family fortune? Even a biological daughter couldn’t take a cent if her parents didn’t want to give it.
But I wasn’t about to waste breath arguing with them–better to let them make fools of themselves.
Nathan left with Chloe in tow, and the vow about burning in hell for a thousand years still lingered in the air. In the blink of an eye, he was already holding another woman while plotting to snatch my inheritance.
Truly, he feared neither gods nor ghosts–he even dared to mock the heavens.
I calmly sat back down at my desk to review contracts. Sure enough, half an hour later, my
father’s call came in.
Chapter 9
