Chapter 396

Chapter 396

"Hello? Alice, what... what's wrong? Is there news about James? Can we reach him now?"

"Or do you need me to do something? Alice, don't worry—I'll keep my emotions in check. I won't cause you any trouble. Whatever you need me to do, just say it. I'll make it happen..."

"I trust you. With you handling this, James will be safe. He has to be..."

Emily murmured, trying to reassure herself.

"Yes, Mom. With me here, you don't need to worry. I'm calling to tell you that James won't be in immediate danger. Before I locate him, I won't make a move against Robert. And I'm coming home right now."

"Right now?" Emily asked uncertainly.

"Yes. Also, is Alex home?"

"He is."

Emily didn't understand why I was suddenly asking about Alex, but she answered anyway.

"Okay. That's all for now. I'll see you soon."

...

Back at the Baker family home.

Emily told me Alex was holed up in his room.

Ever since Alex and Olivia's brawl, Alex had become a ghost in the house. Olivia, who used to dote on him, wanted nothing to do with him after he beat her up.

Robert was furious that Alex had hit his own mother and gave him a beating. After Alex got out of the hospital, he stopped going to school altogether. Now he just stayed home playing video games all day. No one wanted to deal with him, and he seemed perfectly content gaming in isolation.

I headed straight for Alex's room with Emily trailing behind me, confused. "Alice, what are you planning to do?"

"I'm going to groom Alex."

My tone was loaded with meaning.

Emily paused, not quite grasping the implication. But she was too preoccupied to dwell on what I meant.

Alex's door was locked from the inside. Too impatient to find a key, I simply twisted the doorknob until it broke and pushed my way in. Inside, Alex was completely absorbed in his game, the volume cranked to maximum. The sound of his character getting killed echoed through the room.

"Damn!" Alex cursed.

Hearing the door open, he looked up toward the entrance. His face was twisted with rage, ready to lash out—but when he saw it was me, he swallowed the anger burning to get out. He even shrank back into his blankets. "What... what are you doing? Barging into my room like this? No knock, nothing—you just break down the door? I'm almost an adult here. Can't you respect my privacy?"

"Get out of bed. You're coming with me."

It was an order.

"Where?" Alex looked baffled.

"You'll find out when we get there." My voice was light and dismissive.

Alex looked back and forth between Emily and me, clearly lost.

He set down his phone and sat up straight. "You're not seriously trying to make me go back to school, are you?"

He laughed at his own suggestion. "No way. That's impossible. Nobody cares about my education—least of all you two. But what I don't get is, how does me staying home gaming instead of going to school bother you?"

"I haven't caused any trouble lately, have I? I just want to stay in my room and play games. Does that really offend you that much? Isn't this what you want—me being a total waste? Me not going to school is perfect, isn't it? This way there's no risk of me competing with you for the family fortune, right?"

Suddenly he got on his knees on the bed, pressing his palms together in supplication. "I'm begging you, please just leave me alone. Get out and close the door behind you. Just let me stay in my room and game. That's all I want to do now. It's the only thing I have left!"

"It's not that I won't let you stay here being pathetic and quiet. Robert won't let you."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Alex's voice rose sharply, but realizing his tone might earn him a beating, he immediately softened. "Alice! You're joking, right? How could he not let me? He doesn't even care about me anymore. I've been home this whole time not going to school, and he hasn't said a word. How could he possibly have a problem with it?"

"Unless... you two are having some kind of conflict... and you're going to take it out on me." Alex ventured a guess.

I smiled faintly.

Emily looked somewhat surprised that I'd chosen to use Alex as leverage against Robert, but she didn't think it would work. Her brow remained furrowed, though she trusted I had my reasons. She didn't interrupt.

Realizing he'd guessed right, Alex instinctively tried to bolt. But where could he go? I was standing right in the doorway. There was no escape.

All he could do was shrink further into his blankets, wishing he could wrap himself up completely and disappear.

"What are you going to do? Alice, whatever's going on between you and Robert, please don't drag me into it. I've been keeping my head down lately, haven't I? What does any of this have to do with me? Don't hit me, please. Or if you want me to do something, I'll do it—anything! From now on, I'll be like a servant in this house. When you're not home, I'll help take care of Emily, okay?"

Alex's gaze landed on Emily. He knew she was softhearted and pinned all his hopes of mercy on her. He climbed out of bed and dropped to his knees before her, knocking his head against the floor. "Emily, I know I did a lot of terrible things in the past that upset you, but my mom put me up to it! She's the one who drilled it into my head from childhood that you were our enemy—mine and hers. That's why I was so hostile toward you, and toward Alice and James. Olivia taught me the same thing. I wasn't born wanting to be your enemy!"

"Actually, I hate my mom. Because of her, I've been mocked my whole life—called a bastard, the mistress's son. Nobody wanted to be friends with me. It twisted me into what I became. But I really do want to change now, Ms. Johnson. Please, I'm begging you—talk to Alice. Ask her to give me one chance to turn things around, okay?"

Alex sobbed, tears streaming down his face.

Emily said nothing.

I let out a cold laugh. "You and Robert really are father and son—identical. Always passing the blame. It's everyone else's fault. They're the ones who corrupted you. But deep down, your heart's pure, right? You're old enough to know right from wrong. How could you not tell the difference? If I hadn't beaten you into submission, would you be here 'repenting' today?"

"Even now, you're only putting on this act of remorse because you think I'm coming after you."

Seeing that begging was useless—and that he'd already humiliated himself by kneeling—Alex felt a surge of indignation. He stood up. "So what do you want? To kill me?"