The receptionist hesitated visibly, her eyes darting away from Ferris’s gaze. Biting her lip with feigned shyness, she mumbled, “No… nothing.”
Ferris saw right through her act. Anxiety gnawing at him, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tell me, what did she really say? What am I supposed to do?”
The receptionist kept her lips sealed. Desperate, Ferris fished out a few hundred-dollar notes from his pocket and held them out. “Come on, what did she tell you?”
Money talks, and the receptionist’s eyes lit up at the sight of cash. Pocketing the bills, she stammered, “She said… she said for you to fuck off.”
Ferris froze, his brow furrowing into deep lines.
—
At the hospital, Kayden and Georgia soon found the room Scarlett had mentioned. After Old Mrs. Adams’s call to Georgia, Scarlett had rung again, giving only the room number without explanation apparently at Old Mrs. Adams’s insistence.
They entered the private room to find a gathering of somber faces: Scarlett, Harvey, Layla and her parents, even Jamie’s parents who’d traveled from out of town. The atmosphere was heavy with unspoken tension.
The silence was broken by a choked sob from Emmalynn, Jamie’s mother. Georgia glanced at her, taking in her red, swollen eyes and grief-stricken expression.
The formidable old lady sat on a sofa, her face a mask of fury, as if everyone in the room owed her a fortune.
All eyes turned to the door as it opened. Emmalynn, overcome with emotion, stormed towards Georgia. Without a word, she raised her hand to deliver a vicious slap, putting all her strength behind it.
But before the blow could land, a large hand caught her wrist in an iron grip.
Everyone held their breath, stunned by the lightning-fast exchange. All eyes shifted to the hand’s owner Kayden, standing behind Georgia.
Emmalynn stared at Kayden, her tear-filled eyes a mix of defiance, resentment, and a cocktail of other emotions.
“How dare you?” Kayden’s words cut through the air, each syllable crystal clear.
Emmalynn burst into tears, years of pent-up grievances pouring out. To an outsider, it might have looked like Kayden had scared her into crying.
“Georgia, you heartless wretch!” she wailed. “How could you do this to your own cousin? You cruel, vicious woman you’ll get what’s coming to you, mark my words!”
Georgia stood there, dumbfounded. One moment she was nearly slapped, the next she was being cursed at she had no idea what was happening.
“My poor boy, Jamie!” Emmalynn sobbed. “Don’t worry, I will make this right, I promise.” Her anguish was so raw that even Layla’s family wiped away silent tears.
“Let go!” she suddenly snarled at Kayden, trying to wrench her hand free.
But his grip was unbreakable, not budging an inch.
How could this skinny guy be so strong? Emmalynn was shocked.
Panicking, she turned to Old Mrs. Adams. “Mom, do you see this? This is Georgia’s husband, defying me his elder! How dare he manhandle me like this?”
“Aunt Emmalynn, why were you trying to hit me?” Georgia, finally finding her voice, asked in bewilderment. If not for Kayden, she’d have been slapped silly by now.
“Why? How dare you ask why? Don’t you know what you’ve done? Georgia, I underestimated you. I never thought you could be so two-faced, such a… such a monster!”
“I honestly have no idea what’s going on. What happened?” Georgia pleaded, still lost.
This whole situation had escalated so quickly, who could make sense of it?
“Oh, keep playing dumb! Go on, keep up the act!”
“Enough!” Old Mrs. Adams’s voice boomed like a referee’s whistle, silencing everyone instantly.
This was the power, the gravitas of a family matriarch! Though a woman, years of leading this grand family had forged her into steel, into something far beyond a mere woman.
She struck her cane against the floor, using it to rise from the sofa. Fixing Kayden with a stern glare, she barked, “Release her!”
Her simple words were filled with authority.
Kayden blinked, surprised. Did this old lady really think she could order him around? The Adams family might fear her, but he sure didn’t. She had no right to command him.
Their eyes locked in a battle of wills. Kayden didn’t back down an inch. On the contrary, his aura seemed to overpower Old Mrs. Adams’s imposing gaze.
In that silent standoff, Kayden’s eyes spoke volumes. No one could withstand that look. Did the matriarch of a second-rate family really dare to challenge him? He’d weathered true storms if the petty schemes of the business world were storms, what he’d been through was a rain of sharp blades!
A mere second-rate family… with one word, he could wipe them off the map.
The Adams family had outlived its usefulness long ago.
As the two faced off, the room crackled with tension. It felt like World War III was about to break out at any moment.