Chapter 183 The Schmidt Family's Crap Is Finally Over

Chapter 183 The Schmidt Family's Crap Is Finally Over

Kieran knew there was no way to sweep this under the rug. He had to take a stand, or he would lose Gwyneth for good.

"Mrs. Martinez, my position is clear," he said, his voice edged with steel. "I will not marry that woman. And as long as she stays in the Schmidt House, I will not set foot there."

Violette shook her head slowly. "That is not enough. She is the girl your parents have chosen for you. They are blind, stubborn, and determined to keep her. For you, that means she will always be a shadow over your future with Gwyneth. You cannot guarantee she will not reappear in your lives — next year, ten years from now, maybe even longer. And when she does, she will cause trouble again."

Cold sweat beaded in Kieran's palms. "But my father is as stubborn as they come. He refuses to send her away from the Schmidt House."

Violette's lips curved in a knowing smile. "Kieran, I am a lawyer. I have seen this kind of thing more times than I can count. If you truly want to marry Gwyneth and build a life with her, you must put your house in order. I can give you a few people who will handle it for you. But their methods may be... less than gentle. Can you accept that?"

Without hesitation, Kieran nodded. "I can."

With his answer, Violette took out her phone and dialed a number. "You can proceed."

The words made Kieran's stomach drop. She had been ready for this all along. A chill ran through him — if he had hesitated even for a moment, would she have had him thrown out instead?

The fallout began the next morning. Kieran was woken by a call from his mother.

"Kieran, this was your doing, wasn't it? You let people smear your father like this. Are you trying to kill him?"

Lying in his hospital bed, Kieran's voice was cold. "Whatever happened to him has nothing to do with me. I just got back from an assignment and I am still recovering. Do you think I have time for his mess? If this is about that woman, then tell me — why is my father so intent on marrying me off to his first love's daughter? What exactly is he trying to do?"

He hung up and switched off his phone. He had no intention of getting involved in the family drama. That was the agreement between him and Violette.

Gwyneth had overheard everything and kept him updated on the chaos.

"Kieran, is your dad even your real dad? The gossip says that girl — your so-called fiancée — has been supported by him since birth. Her mother dies, and he brings her into the house. To outsiders, it looks like she is the real child and you are the outsider."

Kieran gave a bitter smile. "I wondered the same thing. I even had a paternity test done. Turns out, I am his biological son. She is not related to him by blood."

Gwyneth shook her head. She had met selfish fathers before, but one who would sabotage his own son like this? And this man was supposed to be her future father-in-law. Headache did not even begin to cover it.

"Kieran, what is he after? Rekindling an old flame? His first love is dead. What, now he is interested in her daughter?"

She had meant it as a joke, but by afternoon, the internet exploded with photos of Kieran's father and the girl — intimate, damning photos. And the girl was pregnant.

Gwyneth stared at the screen, stunned. "Oh my God. My mom is terrifying. I'm doing whatever she says from now on. Yep, that's me — the obedient daughter."

Kieran's gaze softened. He reached for her, pulling her close, and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You have lost weight. Your face is thinner. When we get back, I am going to fix that."

Gwyneth huffed and pushed him away, retreating to the couch to keep scrolling through the news. Kieran glanced at his phone but made no move to turn it on. Some things could only be resolved by cutting deep.

The Schmidt family was in chaos. Under mounting public pressure, Kieran's father, Wayne Schmidt, was hospitalized. Everyone tried to reach Kieran, but he was nowhere to be found. When Kieran's mother, Lyanna Patel, learned the girl was pregnant, she snapped.

She dragged the girl to a hospital for a paternity test. The result was negative — the child was not Wayne's. But instead of calming her, it made her fury boil over.

"For you, we drove our own son away! For years, every benefit in the Schmidt family went to you, and this is how you repay us? Fine. Get out. From this moment, you are no longer part of this family. We have no place for an ungrateful leech."

Her voice echoed through the hospital corridors. Wayne's condition worsened; he lay speechless in bed. With him incapacitated, Lyanna took control and threw the girl out.

Back in Wayne's room, Lyanna broke down in sobs. "Wayne, I have served you for decades, and all this time you were raising another woman's daughter. My son Kieran was never given the place of the favored one. I am done. I am going to see him. He was injured on assignment and is still in the hospital. Wayne, you are a bastard."

Leaving Wayne in his bed, Lyanna left the hospital without looking back and headed straight for the military hospital where Kieran was recovering.

When she appeared in the doorway, Kieran was caught off guard.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

She looked at him lying there and rushed forward, wrapping him in a fierce embrace. Gwyneth returned from buying water and froze in the doorway, startled.

"I thought Dad was sick. Why are you here?" Kieran asked.

Lyanna wiped her eyes. "Kieran, I have wronged you all these years. You are my son, yet I stood by your father and helped him hurt you. The more I think about it, the more it tears me apart. You do not have to worry about him anymore. He is paralyzed, cannot speak. It is his punishment. You just focus on your life."

Her words left Kieran with a tangle of emotions — bitterness, yes, but also a strange sense of release. He patted her back gently. "Mom, let the past stay in the past. When I am discharged, I will come home."

She nodded, then noticed Gwyneth hovering by the door and beckoned her over.

"Come here, Gwyneth."

Awkward, Gwyneth stepped forward. Lyanna took her hand and slid a heavy gold bracelet onto her wrist.

"This should have been yours long ago. I saved it for my future daughter-in-law."

Then she pressed a check into Gwyneth's palm. "It is not much, but I did not know what gift to buy. Take it and get yourself something you like. I know my son — once he chooses someone, he is hers for life. You will not suffer with him."

Lyanna wiped her eyes again, patted Gwyneth's hand, and left.

Later, back at home, Gwyneth knocked on Violette's door. Violette opened it without surprise.

"Something you want to say?"

"Mom, was all of this with the Schmidt family your doing?"

Violette nodded. "I only gave things a little push. The truth is, they brought it on themselves. I just pulled away the curtain they were hiding behind. I understand that as a son, Kieran could not strike at his own parents. But as a mother, I will not allow them to hurt my daughter. That is my line in the sand."