Chapter 5

The doorbell sounded like a death sentence.

Vincent and Margaret's faces went pale as ghosts.

"Don't... Don't open the door," Margaret yelled at me.

I ignored her and went straight to open the door.

Two people were standing at the door, a man and a woman.

The man was tall and skinny, with gold-rimmed glasses and a shrewd look on his face.

He was Vincent's cousin, Henry.

The woman next to him was his wife, Linda, who looked nervous and uneasy.

"Hey, Kylee," Henry greeted, plastering on a fake smile when he saw me. "So, what was so urgent that you had to call us over?"

He glanced around the living room, and his smile instantly froze.

The tense vibe in the room made him realize something was definitely off. "What... What happened here?"

I stepped aside. "Come on in. Didn't you always want to meet the other party in the agreement? Everyone's here today, so let's have a real talk."

Henry and Linda exchanged a glance, then braced themselves and walked in.

When they spotted the agreement laid out on the couch, their faces fell instantly.

"Kylee, what's this about?" Henry tried to play dumb.

I didn't give him a chance. "Stop pretending. Henry, I see right through you and Linda's little scheme."

I pointed at Callie. "Your grand scheme was to use this girl to push me into a divorce."

Then I pointed at the agreement. "And with this agreement, you'd officially claim to be the real father of this child. In the end, you'd take the house and the shares for yourselves.

"And I'd be left with nothing, my reputation in ruins. Henry, tell me, isn't this script of yours a masterpiece?"

Henry's face flushed, then turned pale.

He hadn't expected me to put it all out in the open like this.

Linda was so nervous that she was wringing the hem of her shirt, not daring to look up.

When Margaret saw Henry and Linda arrive, it was like she'd finally found her saviors.

She threw herself in front of Henry. "Henry, please say something for me. This woman is spouting nonsense. She's trying to destroy the Booth family."

Henry frowned.

He glanced at Vincent, who looked completely defeated, then at Callie and her parents, who were full of swagger.

He immediately sized up the situation.

Everything had fallen apart, and it was a complete mess.

But Henry was sharp, or maybe selfish and greedy to the core.

His mind raced, and he instantly figured out how to get himself out of this mess.

He pushed Margaret out of the way and then turned to Vincent, looking utterly devastated. "Vincent, how could you do something so messed up?

"I told you that Kylee is a good person, and you can't betray her. But you never listened. You even dragged Aunt Margaret in to force me."

With those words, he washed his hands of everything, acting like he was the real victim here, forced into this mess.

Vincent stared at Henry, completely stunned.

Margaret was as shocked. "Henry, you..."

Henry ignored them and turned to me, looking genuinely apologetic. "Kylee, I'm really sorry. Linda and I lost our heads and got manipulated by them.

"Don't worry, we don't recognize that agreement, and we don't want a thing from you. All I want is for you to forgive Vincent and let you two live in peace."

He was really laying it on thick, acting like he was full of regret and sincerity.

If I hadn't already figured him out, I might've actually bought his act.

Callie's parents were off to the side, completely clueless about what was happening.

Getting another couple involved made the whole situation messier.

I watched Henry's little performance and let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Oh, is that so? You want nothing from me, huh?

"Then how about that message you sent Vincent two nights ago, saying ten percent of the shares was way too little, and you wanted at least twenty percent? Care to explain that, Henry?"

I shook my phone at him, showing him a photo of the text messages that I'd snapped from Vincent's phone.

Everything was right there, clear as crystal.

Henry's face flushed a deep, ugly red. "I... I was joking."

"Joking?" I sneered. "Then what about you sneaking behind Vincent's back and telling Margaret that if she helped you grab control of the company, you'd be running the Booth family? Was that a joke, too?"

As soon as I said that, not only Henry, but Vincent jerked his head up.

He looked at Margaret in disbelief. "Mom, is that true?"

Margaret's face turned pale.

She stared at Henry, and her eyes filled with panic. "Henry, what are you talking about? I have never said something like that to you."

I had Henry backed into a corner.

He knew there was no salvaging the situation today, so he threw caution to the wind.

He shot Margaret a cold look and let out a laugh. "Aunt Margaret, let's drop the act. You were the one who made that promise to me, remember?

"You said Vincent was already a lost cause, and letting him sit on all that money was throwing it away; it'd be better if I took over the Booth family's legacy; the whole Booth family would end up in my hands anyway. Did you forget?"

Henry's words were like a knife, cutting deep into Vincent's heart.

Vincent stared at his mother, the woman who always said everything she did was for him.

But now he realized, in her eyes, he was a piece of trash she could toss aside whenever she wanted.