Chapter 158
Irene sat in her living room, afternoon light streaming through the windows. Her mind kept circling back to everything that had gone down–Rose hitting Alex, John’s meltdown, and Adam surprisingly having her back through it all.
‘Mom?” Alex peeked around the corner, Lucas and Lily hovering behind him.
Her face softened instantly, “Hey, babies. What’s up?”
Her phone buzzed–security calling.
“Your brother’s at the gate.”
Irene’s mouth tightened. “Let him in.”
She turned to the kids, instantly on alert. “Can you guys hang out upstairs for a bit? Nathan’s coming over and I need to talk to him alone.”
“Is this about what happened at the hospital?” Alex asked, eyes too wise for his years.
Irene’s heart pinched. “Don’t worry about grown–up stuff. Just play upstairs, and I’ll call you when we’re done.”
The kids scampered off while Irene settled back into the couch. No way she’d get up to welcome anyone from that family–not after what Rose pulled.
Nathan walked in minutes later, the usual swagger knocked down a few notches.
“So what’s up?” she asked, skipping the fake smiles.
He shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable in his own skin. “Look, came to say sorry about what Mom did. She shouldn’t have hit Alex. That was messed up.”
Irene’s laugh could’ve chilled wine. “You? For real? You think you can just show up and fix this? No chance. I want Rose in this house, apologizing to my son’s face.”
Nathan’s cool mask cracked. “Come on, Irene, why are you being so stubborn about this? You’re only hurting yourself too. She’s still your mom. You really gonna make her come crawling?”
“Seriously? The respect–your–elders card?” Irene’s eyebrows shot up. “Here’s a newsflash–age doesn’t give anyone a free pass to be awful. My five–year–olds know to say sorry when they mess up. If that’s too hard for you all to grasp, that’s your problem.
She leaned in, voice dropping. “And you honestly think I care about the company? When have I ever needed any of you? My life rocks now. If Grandfather wasn’t in the picture, you wouldn’t even know where to find me.”
Nathan’s face went red. As much as he wanted to snap back, deep down he knew she had a point. They’d always pushed her aside while Anna got everything handed to her. Now the tables had turned, and Irene wasn’t playing nice.
“Whatever, he muttered. “I’ll tell her what you said.”
The door clicked shut behind him.
Nathan got in his car, loosened his tie with an angry jerk, and called his mother. This wasn’t going to be a fun conversation.
Across town, Rose nearly crushed her phone hearing Nathan’s update
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Chapter 158.
“That ungrateful little
She rabbed the end call button hard enough to crack her screen. The thought of apologizing to trene and those kids made her blood bo, But with the company on the line, she was trapped between a rock and a hard place,
Back home, Irene sat alone, suddenly wondering if she’d pushed too hard. Was making Rose squirm worth possibly hurting her grandfather’s life’s work?
“Irene.” Joseph’s gentle voice pulled her back to earth.
She looked up to see him coming downstairs with the triplets trailing behind. His eyes held nothing but warmth.
“Grandfather,” she said softly as he sat beside her. “Are you mad at me? I mean, the company’s basically your baby,”
Joseph chuckled, messing up her hair like she was still his little girl Don’t be silly. How could I be mad? Never in a million years did I think Rose would hit a child.”
He took Alex’s hand gently. “Hey buddy, did it hurt bad when she hit you?”
Alex puffed up his chest. “Just a bit. I’m totally fine now.”
The trath was, it had hurt plenty–not just the slap, but the words too. Being called names and hit by someone who was supposed to be family left him confused and scared. But seeing how upset it made his mom and great–grandfather, he didn’t want to pile on.
The doorbell rang, cutting through the moment. Lucas ran to answer, bringing Thomas back with him.
“So, our chef just got back,” Thomas announced with a smile that screamed ‘nothing suspicious here!” “Boss thought maybe you guys might want to come over for dinner tonight?”
What he conveniently skipped was Adam frantically calling the chef back from his day off after hearing about the Rose drama.
Irene glanced at her family. After the day’s emotional rollercoaster, cooking sounded about as appealing as a root canal. Her shoulders ached from tension, her head was starting to throb, and the thought of dealing with pots and pans and hungry kids made her want to crawl into bed instead. Plus, getting out of the house might help clear everyone’s minds after Nathan’s visit.
“God, yes,” she nodded, relief obvious. “We’ll be there.”
By evening, everyone had gathered at Adam’s. The triplets bounced back to their usual energy, immediately flocking to Adam when they arrived.
“We missed you like crazy, Uncle Adam,” Lucas declared, claiming his spot on Adam’s left as if they’d assigned seating.
Lily bounced up and down, pigtails flying. “Did ya miss us too? Even a little bit?”
Alex hung back on Adam’s right, watching quietly. After everything that went down, he needed to know if the man he secretly called “Dad” in his head actually cared about them. Rose’s words still stung–bastard children. But how could that be true when their real father was right here?
A hint of a smile softened Adam’s face. “Yeah, I did miss you guys.”
His sharp eyes caught the shadow in Alex’s expression. Figuring it was fallout from Rose’s attack, he rested his hand on the boy’s head, then pulled him closer, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
The gesture caught Alex by surprise. Then it hit him–Dad is comforting me–and warmth spread through his chest, pushing the hurt away. Suddenly Rose’s words didn’t sting quite so much.
really miss Dad! Alex thought, leaning into Adam’s side, soaking up the comfort that felt so right, so natural.
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Genius Kids‘ Scheme: Claiming Daddy’s Billionaire Empre
