Chapter 5
That actually made me laugh. "You just said he's your dad, so why aren't you handling his affairs? You're forty-three, not three. Your own father died and you can't even deal with it?"
The more I talked, the more absurd it felt. Had I really raised my son this poorly all these years? A man in his forties with zero sense of responsibility.
Andrew stood there, speechless and completely stumped.
Even Richard stared at Andrew in shock, as if it had just dawned on him that his own son should be the one handling all of this.
Susan stepped forward and positioned herself in front of Andrew. "Victoria, why are you being so harsh with the boy? Andrew is still your son, after all. He doesn't understand these things yet, but that's what we adults are here for—to teach him."
"Then you teach him. Why are you blocking my way?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes again.
"Victoria, you know I don't have a job. If Richard hadn't been helping me out all these years, I would've had a really hard time. Could you maybe cover the funeral expenses for me?"
I stopped walking. She'd just reminded me of something I'd almost forgotten.
Clearly, Richard had been pouring money into this woman for years, keeping her in luxury and comfort.
Well, she was going to give every penny back to me now.
"What's this, Ms. Chase? You took everything Richard left you, but you won't even pay for his funeral?" I snorted.
"Victoria, don't you dare badmouth my Sue. There's no way she wouldn't want to spend money on me. She's just—" Richard fumbled for an excuse to defend his first love, but even after a long pause, he couldn't come up with anything that made sense.
If he weren't just a soul right now, he'd look even more pathetic.
"Victoria, the family assets are still with you, and I genuinely don't have any money. I need you to hand over the assets so I can afford to give Richard a proper funeral." Susan's face remained completely composed as she lied through her teeth.
"Exactly, Victoria. Hurry up and give the assets to Sue, or how else is she supposed to pay for my funeral?" Richard immediately latched onto this excuse and glared at me with fury.
Too bad no one could see how ugly his expression looked right now.
"The man just died and you're already after the family fortune? Susan, you've got some nerve. You want the assets? Fine—bring the will to court and sue me for them." I was done wasting my breath on her, and this time I was really leaving.
"Mom, what's that supposed to mean? That's Dad's inheritance. How dare you try to keep it for yourself?" Andrew shouted at my back.
"Your dad's inheritance? That's our marital property, and he thinks one little will is gonna let him give away my money after he dies? Not a chance in hell."
With that, I walked straight out of the hospital.
The moment I stepped through the front doors, I suddenly realized Richard had followed me out.
He didn't seem to be doing it willingly. Right when I exited the hospital, he just appeared near me out of nowhere.
"What's going on? I need to stay and take care of Sue. Why am I following Victoria out here?"
He tried desperately to run back into the hospital, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get back inside. And as I kept walking, the distance between him and the hospital only grew.
That was when it finally hit him—his range of movement was tied to me.