Chapter 6
But this time, I didn't give him a chance.
I walked straight up to Father and passed him the ledger.
"Father, I'm not causing trouble," I said. "I just want you to look at something."
Jerome took the ledger, looking confused, and opened it to the first page.
His gaze was fixed as he saw the staggering figures written there.
"This... what is this..." Jerome muttered.
"Father, this ledger records every dollar the Gordon family has spent on Mr. Castaneda in the past six months," I said.
My voice was clear and steady, making sure everyone in the room heard me.
"We bought the vital essence for his recovery," I continued. "We paid for all his social engagements."
I went on, "Even the villa he's been using to keep his mistress on the outskirts of town was bought with the Gordon family's money.
"And these gifts he brought for the betrothal today? They're a joke. Nine out of ten were things the Gordon family had already prepared for him.
"He just turned around and gave them back, trying to pull a fast one, hoping to marry your daughter and walk away with our family's fortune worth millions, without spending a dime!
"Father, you've spent your whole life wheeling and dealing. No one knows how to crunch the numbers better than you. So tell me, is this really a good deal?"
My words hit Father like a hammer blow, right where it hurt most.
His expression grew worse with every word I said.
His grip on the ledger was so tight that the veins popped out, and his hand was visibly shaking.
He suddenly looked up, those sharp eyes, eyes that had sized up countless people in the business world, zeroed in on Alfonso.
Alfonso couldn't help but shiver under Jerome's piercing stare, his face turning ghostly pale.
"Jerome... Jerome, wait, please, hear me out! It's not like Katherine said, I..." Alfonso stammered.
"Enough!" Jerome slammed the ledger down on the table with a thunderous bang.
Everyone in the hall went dead silent.
"Have I ever been anything but generous to you?" His voice was icy.
Father's voice was cold as ice, not a trace of warmth in it.
Jerome said, "When you were thrown from that horse and nearly died, I spared no effort or expense to drag you back from death's door.
"When you complained about how tough things were in the official circles and needed money to smooth things over, I handed it to you without a second thought.
"When you said you wanted to marry Katherine, I believed you were genuine, so I entrusted you with my one and only treasure. But you? Is this your idea of gratitude?
"You use my money to keep another woman on the side, and then, right before the engagement, you sneak off to my villa to mess around?! Do you take me for a fool? Or am I just your personal ATM?!"
Jerome's rage exploded like a volcano, and suddenly the whole room felt like it had turned to ice.
Alfonso freaked out. He never thought Jerome, who always cared so much about this engagement, would blow up like this.
"Jerome, I swear, I didn't... It's all just a misunderstanding..." Alfonso stammered.
"A misunderstanding?" Jerome let out a cold, mocking laugh, his eyes full of contempt. "I know exactly what's going on!"
He pointed at Alfonso, enunciating every word. "We're calling off this engagement!
"From now on, the Gordon family is cutting all ties with the Castaneda family. We're done. No more connections, nothing!
"And that 17 thousand dollars, not a single cent less! If you don't deliver the money within three days, don't blame me when I personally show up at the Castaneda family's door to demand payment!"
With that, Jerome didn't even bother to look at Alfonso's pale face. He turned to the attendants at the door and barked, "Guards! Show Mr. Castaneda out, right now!"
Jerome's thunderous shout was like a death sentence for Alfonso. His fate was sealed.
Several tall, muscular attendants stormed in, 'inviting' Alfonso to leave with a gesture, their eyes brimming with open disdain.
Alfonso's face went from ghostly pale to a dark purple.
As the heir to the Castaneda family and its future young general, he'd never been humiliated like this in his life.
He was being kicked out of his future father-in-law's house like trash.
"You... how dare you!" Alfonso yelled.
He thrashed around, desperate to break free, but a spoiled heir like him was no match for these burly attendants.
But a spoiled heir like him was no match for these burly attendants.
"Time to leave, Mr. Castaneda," the lead attendant said coldly, grabbing his arms.
"Jerome! Katherine! Just you wait! You'll regret this!" Alfonso shouted, his voice full of rage and unwillingness to back down.
I watched coldly as Alfonso was dragged out, his sorry figure stumbling away. Not a flicker of emotion crossed my heart.
Regret? Please, he was the one who should be regretting this, Alfonso.
Trust me, today's disgrace was only the start.
After Alfonso was 'escorted' out, the hall was left in stunned silence.