Chapter 59 Joseph Strategy
The headlights of a car flashed across the living room wall, and Sarah stood by the window with her heart racing because she was expecting Alex to come back with bad news about the bank, but when the door opened, it was not Alex who walked in. It was Joseph, looking relaxed in a beige sweater and expensive jeans, and behind him stood Mark, who looked at the floor and refused to meet his mother’s eyes.
"What are you doing here, Joseph, I told you that I did not want you in this house without an invitation," Sarah said, her voice sounding thin and sharp, but Joseph just smiled and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, sitting down like he had never left ten years ago.
"I am here for our son, Sarah, because Mark called me today and told me he was worried about the state of this family, and I think it is time we had some real therapy sessions to figure out how to move forward without all the drama," Joseph said, and he looked over at Mark, who finally looked up and gave his mother a small, helpless shrug.
"Mom, he just wanted to help, he said we need to talk as a family because everything is falling apart and I just want things to be normal again," Mark said, his voice sounding young and tired, and Sarah felt a sharp pain in her chest because she knew Joseph was using her son’s love as a shield to keep her from kicking him out.
"Mark, you know what he is doing, you know he is working for Richard," Sarah said, walking over to her son and touching his arm, but Mark just pulled away and sat down at the table next to his father.
"I don't care who he works for right now, I just want the fighting to stop, and Dad is the only one who isn't screaming or hiding in a dark office at three in the morning," Mark said, and the words hit Sarah like a physical blow because she knew he was talking about Alex.
"We just want to talk, Sarah, so why don't you sit down and let’s be adults for ten minutes," Joseph said, and he pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it on the table, the screen dark but the camera lens pointed straight at her.
The sound of a truck tires crunching on the gravel outside made the room go silent, and Sarah felt a wave of pure terror because she knew exactly what was about to happen. A moment later, the front door slammed open so hard it hit the wall, and Alex walked in with his tie gone and his hair a mess, his eyes looking bloodshot and wild. He stopped in the kitchen doorway and his whole body went stiff when he saw Joseph sitting in his spot at the table, and the air in the room felt like it was about to catch fire.
"Get out," Alex said, and his voice was so low and so dangerous that even Mark looked scared, but Joseph did not move, he just leaned back in the chair and picked up his phone, holding it up so he could record everything.
"We are having a family meeting, Alex, and I don't think you were invited to this one, so why don't you go back to your father's office and play with your spreadsheets," Joseph said, his voice sounding calm and mocking, and he kept the camera focused on Alex’s face.
"I am not going to tell you again, Joseph, get your hands off that table and get out of this house before I make you," Alex growled, and he stepped into the room, his shoulders broad and his jaw set in a hard line of possessive rage. He looked at Sarah, his eyes searching hers for an explanation, but all he saw was her fear.
"Alex, please, don't do this, Mark brought him here," Sarah said, stepping between the two men, but Alex was not listening anymore, he was focused on the man who was sitting in his house and filming him like he was a stray dog.
"Is this what you want, Sarah? You want this coward sitting here talking about your life while he records me?" Alex yelled, and he reached out to grab the phone from Joseph’s hand, but Joseph pulled it back and kept smiling.
"Careful, Alex, the board would love to see how you behave when you don't get your way, they already think you are unstable, so why don't you show them the real Harrington temper," Joseph said, and he looked at the camera and started narrating.
"Here is Alex Harrington, threatening a father who just wants to see his family."
"You are not family, you are a parasite!" Alex roared, and he lunged across the table, his hand balling into a fist, and for a second it looked like he was going to tear the kitchen apart.
"Stop it! Both of you, stop it right now!" Mark yelled, standing up and pushing his chair back, but the two ignored him, they were locked in a silent war of glares and heavy breathing.
Alex reached for Joseph’s collar, his face turning red with a dominant, blind fury that Sarah had never seen before, and she realized that Joseph was winning, he was making Alex look like the monster Helena said he was. She had to stop it, she had to save him from himself, so she threw her whole weight against Alex’s chest, pushing him back with everything she had.
"Alex, get back! You are ruining everything!" Sarah screamed, and in the chaos and the heat of the moment, her hands hit his chest so hard that he stumbled backward, his heels catching on the rug.
The room went completely quiet.
Alex stared at her, his eyes wide and shocked, and he looked down at her hands which were still pressed against his shirt. He looked at Mark, who was watching him with a look of pure disappointment, and then he looked at Joseph, who was still holding the phone and smiling at the footage he had just captured.
Alex looked down at his own hands, and he saw how they were shaking, and he realized that in his rage to protect her, he had almost become the person she was afraid of. He saw the way Sarah was breathing fast, her eyes full of a hurt that he had caused.
He didn't say another word. He didn't look at Joseph or Mark again. He just turned around and walked out of the kitchen, his boots heavy on the floor, and he walked straight out the front door without closing it behind him.
Sarah ran to the porch, her voice calling his name into the dark, but all she saw were the red taillights of his truck as he sped down the driveway and disappeared into the night.