Chapter 18
I came home early to surprise my younger brother. But when I arrived, I couldn’t find him anywhere.
By chance, I saw part of his clothes sticking out from the closed dog cage near the yard gate. I rushed over, opened it and found his small body curled up in a wooden dog cage, barely one square meter in size.
I was shocked.\
“Why are you sleeping here? Come out, I brought your favorite New York cheesecake.“}
He shook his head.
“No. Cheesecake is only for humans. Puppies don’t deserve it. Puppies can only eat dog food.“}
Then, my stepmother’s voice came from behind, “Thomas said studying was too hard. He said being a dog was easier and insisted on staying in the dog cage.“}
I turned and saw her. She was heavily pregnant, at least eight months along. Around h half of which should belong to my brother and me.§
She noticed me staring and smiled proudly, touching her stomach.
“The doctor says it’s a boy. So both Thomas’s seal and yours should be mine now.“>
neck hung the Woodward Family’s signet ring,
I secretly smiled. She probably didn’t know my father had married into our family and lost his fertility the same year my brother was born.”
–&
However, my heart sank when I saw the iron chain around my brother’s neck. The young son of the Woodward Family was now treated like a pet. No wonder he hadn’t contacted me in the three years I’d been abroad.} Whenever I asked my father, he would say that my brother was busy with schoolwork.
His old room was gone. The whole mansion looked different with new furniture, unfamiliar layout. Nothing was like it was when my mother was alive.}
I pulled my brother out of the cage and dusted him off. The jacket he wore was one I gave him years ago. It was torn and barely covered him. I took off my coat and wrapped it around him.
“How dare you speak like that to the young son of the Woodward Family?” I asked, finally snapping.
“How dare you speak to your mother like that?” someone else added.
My father appeared behind her with strangers. They looked at me with hostility.
“My mother passed away long ago,” I said.
“What does she mean?“&
“Elizabeth! Agatha is my wife, your mother now and the lady of this house. Apologize, or I won’t recognize you as my daughter!“}
“A nanny from the countryside who climbed into your bed is not my mother. And Richard, maybe you’ve forgotten what our family name is.”
My mother was the 75th generation of the Woodward Family, respected in both the underworld and non–underworld. She led the Woodward Corporation and could command 8,000 branches across America.
Such a strong woman, somehow, fell in love with a man like my father. To be with him, she gave up everything. She even convinced my grandfather to allow their marriage, letting my father join the family by name.}
My brother and I called our grandfather “Grandpa,” and my mother gave each of us a half of the family’s signet ring. She told us only to use them in great need. Then, she became ill and passed away suddenly.
My father said my brother needed care and brought his childhood friend, Agatha Redmonton, from his hometown.
“I agreed to let Agatha come as a nanny,” I said coldly.
“Not to become the lady of the Woodward Family.” Richard Woodward, my father, slapped me hard. “>
I make the decisions now! If you don’t like it, leave!“?
I held my burning cheek.
“Don’t forget, you’re living in the estate my mother bought before marriage. It belongs to the Woodward Family. If anyone’s leaving, it should be you… and her.“%
10:48 AM
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