Chapter 2 - The Cruel Ultimatum
Instead of intervening, Mom let out a heavy, irritated sigh and took a step back toward the grand fireplace, tapping her high heels impatiently against the cold marble floor.
"Rupert, stop overreacting on my birthday!" Mom barked in a sharp, dismissive tone. "Brooke’s twins are sensitive, and I will not have my living room turned into a circus tonight. Either Owen and Lucy wait in your pickup truck, or you can take them home right now."
Lucy looked up at her father with wide, teardrop-filled eyes, squeezing the handmade drawing card she had spent three days painting for her grandmother. "Daddy... it's really cold outside..."
Rupert felt a sharp blade of pain pierce his chest. Ever since his wife passed away four years ago, his family had treated him like a second-class citizen. Brooke had married a wealthy corporate lawyer, while Rupert had stayed quiet, working long, grueling hours running a small independent contracting business. They assumed he was just a low-income repair technician who barely made ends meet.
Rupert reached down, taking his children's freezing hands into his own. He looked Brooke and his mother dead in the eye, his jaw clenched tight.
"We're leaving," Rupert said in a quiet, decisive voice that echoed off the high ceilings. "I'd hate for anyone here to suffer discomfort."
Brooke smirked, stepping forward and slamming the massive front door shut with a heavy bang, sealing Rupert and his children out in the blinding snowstorm while keeping the warm, multimillion-dollar estate strictly to herself.
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Rupert guided his children to his work truck, turning the heater on high as he buckled them into the warm leather seats. He looked back at the glowing mansion in his rearview mirror, a subtle, dangerous smile lingering at the corner of his lips.
👉 Click to continue reading and discover the secret Rupert kept hidden as he drove away.
