Chapter 120
Abigail stared at him for a long moment, then let out a cold laugh. “Your kindnest is supposed to be some kind of prizat you come crawling back supposed to just accept it? I told you. Get out of my way!”
She shoved past him Stephen’s face crumpled with disappointment as she pushed him aside.
Upstairs, Daniella stood by her window watching Stephen try to win Abigail over the moment he got home. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides
By the time she came downstairs, Stephen was already sitting in the living room.
Bianca had positioned herself right next to him, fawning over him as she pushed a bowl of soup toward him. “Stevie, you’ve been through so much. Go to the hospital today and get those injuries checked out, okay?”
Stephen didn’t answer. He just sat there with a cold expression, staring at Gabriel.
After a long silence, Stephen smiled bitterly, “You all knew I was innocent, but the whole time I was locked up, not one of you lifted a finger to clear my
name.
“Ralph was the one running around trying to help me. And in the end, it was Abigail who got me out.”
“But the family’s the one paying for everything! Abigail teamed up with outsiders and scammed the Gibson family out of two million dollars.” Daniella quickly jumped in to defend Gabriel.
“When Abigail got framed and sent to prison, I didn’t feel anything. I actually thought she deserved it. But after you guys threw me in there, I finally understood how awful it feels to be wrongly accused.” Stephen let out a cold laugh.
He had spent his time inside getting beaten up and cursed at, eating food that was worse than slop, and doing the hardest labor.
Sometimes, he didn’t even get fed after finishing his work. He’d only been in there for a short while and couldn’t handle it, but Abigail had been stuck there for three whole years.
“You’re out now, aren’t you? Who do you think paid to get you out? It was the Gibson family!” Gabriel snapped, clearly irritated.
That comment set Stephen off completely. He shot up from his chair and slammed his utensils down on the table, pointing right at Gabriel’s face. “Did I hit that person? You’ve got some nerve saying that!
“No wonder you had no problem forcing Abby to take the blame før Daniella back then. You have to be completely shameless to pull something like that, and I’m just as bad for helping you do it.”
“What’s with that attitude? Is that any way to talk to your father?” Gabriel stood up too and grabbed a bowl, hurling it at Stephen.
Stephen was already furious, and getting hit with the bowl pushed him over the edge.
He flipped the entire table and then kicked over his chair behind him. “My attitude? You framed me for killing someone! You drove my car, hit someone with it, and told the police I did it. What kind of parents do that?”
“Stevie ” Bianca bit her lip.
“You shut up too!” Stephen exploded. “They wanted one million dollars at first, and you wouldn’t pay it. You tried to negotiate with them, and when they threatened to sue, I almost ended up doing three years in prison just like Abigail did!
“And now what? Now that you’ve paid the money and I’m out, I’m supposed to just forget about it, right?”
Wyatt stood in the upstairs hallway, listening with interest.
Bianca’s eyes immediately filled with tears when Stephen snapped at her like that.
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chapter 10
reppen looked completely unlinged, his eyes blapeshot. “We’re supposed to ba yolks childrent taion (under res
was framed back then but I get it now.
I want to go back in time and slap myself. She could swallow her pride and stay quiet, but I can’tr
Then get the hell out of this housel” Gabriel roared.
Stephen’s face was red and his neck was bulging as he shouted, “Fine, I’ll leave! But first, I’m going to the police station. F’ll tell them how we forced Abigail to confess three years ago and made her our scapegoat.
“And I’ll tell them everything about how I was set up this time too.
“If I’m going down, we’re all going down together! You think you can ruin my life and still live happily ever
after?”
“Stevie, what are you saying? Just tell us what you want us to do!” Blanca rushed forward and grabbed his hands, panic written all over her face.
Stephen pointed at Gabriel and screamed, “He slandered me! Shouldn’t he be keeping his head down after what he did? I don’t care if he’s my father. The moment he accused me, we stopped being family!
“And now he’s saying what, the money’s been paid, I’m out, so what am I making such a fuss about? If he hadn’t hit someone with his car, would we have needed to pay anything? Would I have been arrested?”
Stephen had been feeling frustrated, but he hadn’t planned on making a big deal out of it. What really got to him was Gabriel’s attitude–acting like it was all Stephen’s fault somehow.
Now, Stephen could see exactly what this family was really like. They’d never understand pain until someone held a knife to their own throats.
AD
