The Heart Left Behind (Cole and Yvonne) novel Chapter 187

Murphy pulled the car up to the front gate of the Sommerton residence, where Chad was already waiting. He stood at the entrance, looking as if he had been there for hours.

"Mr. Joplin," he greeted me with an ingratiating smile that made me feel disgusted.

"Where's your father?" I got straight to the point, not bothering with pleasantries.

"He just went to bed. If there's anything you need, you can speak to me."

"What good would that do?"

I fixed him with an icy and unimpressed glare.

"Perhaps you'd like to come in and sit for a while?" He stepped aside as his eyes flickered with barely concealed provocation.

I went in and took a seat.

Chad looked uncomfortable as he asked, "Mr. Joplin, could we discuss this another day? My father—"

"Are you negotiating with me?" I interrupted, taking the glass of water he offered and slamming it down on the table. The sharp crack echoed through the house, making everyone inside jump.

Chad's face drained of color, and his lips were trembling despite his best effort to hide it. The more I saw him squirm, the less inclined I was to let this go.

"If I'm not mistaken, Lorraine is your biological sister. Yet your father abandoned his own daughter to favor an unrelated son. That's quite the family dynamic you've got there."

I could understand why Gerald favored Chad, but his decision to choose Sam over Lorraine was something I would never be able to wrap my head around.

"Or are you telling me Lorraine isn't actually your sister either?"

The question landed like a thunderclap. Chad's face twisted, his expression dark and almost grotesque. "That's ridiculous. Lorraine is indeed my sister!"

As he stepped back, he looked a bit diffident.

The more he acted like this, the more suspicious I became. "Chad, if I want to dig into this, there's no way you'll be able to hide it from me."

I hadn't originally considered this angle, but his reaction and Gerald's treatment of Lorraine was making me rethink everything. Maybe Lorraine really wasn't Gerald's biological daughter, after all.

With just a little push from me, the entire Sommerton Corporation would come crashing down.

Chad's eyes widened in panic, and he snatched one of the sheets, tearing at it in desperation.

"Go ahead and rip it. I've got plenty more where that came from."

I lifted Murphy's bag and shook it in front of him.

"I'll give you three minutes to decide. You can choose whether to protect your father or stand with me. The choice is yours."

Chad began pacing in place, asking, "Can't you give me a little more time?"

He was caught in a dilemma, forced to choose between his father and his own survival.

His face turned pale as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. The performance was almost convincing… He really could start a career as an actor.

However, I wasn't fooled. From the moment he tried to block me the first time, I knew he had already made his decision.