Chapter 56 Chapter 56
Maxwell
“Can I come with you?” Camilla asked, stepping out of the car behind me.
“I told you already, you are not coming with me,” I said, my voice sharp with anger. “Stay in the car. No matter how long it takes, wait there until I come out.”
“But your mom didn’t have a problem with me at the hospital the other day,” she said, trying to push back. “She won’t mind me being here now.”
I felt my patience snap. Taking her to the hospital had been a mistake. It was supposed to be Amelia but I still didn’t have a solid explanation for how Declan’s fiancée ended up being my wife, when my parents asked. Now Camilla was acting like she was somehow special, and I could feel my patience slipping.
“I told you to stay back, and you refused,” I said firmly, my voice low. “Do yourself a favor and listen this time.” I slammed the car door behind me and started walking toward my parents’ mansion.
Dad had just been discharged from the hospital. He was out golfing with his friends when he suddenly collapsed. The doctor said it was stress, but I knew there was more to it. He had called me today, and I had a feeling something serious was waiting for me inside.
As I stepped into the living room, I immediately noticed the change in the atmosphere. My mom, who usually jumped up and rushed to hug me whenever I came home, sat stiff-backed in her chair. Her face was drawn and gloomy, and she didn’t move when I walked in. Dad sat nearby, silent, his hands folded neatly in front of him, but there was a tension in his shoulders I had never seen before.
The air in the room felt heavy, almost suffocating. I could feel it in my chest. Something was wrong, and it was serious. The house, usually filled with laughter or quiet warmth, now felt cold and distant.
I took a slow step forward, trying to read their expressions.
“Mom, Dad, is everything okay?” I asked, my voice firm. “Why is everything so tense?” I didn’t bother with pleasantries.
Before either of them could answer, the front doors swung open. Declan stumbled in, reeking of alcohol. His jacket hung off one shoulder, and he could barely stand upright.
“Declan!” I barked, stepping toward him. “Of all days, you decide to show up drunk, you imbecile!”
He smirked, swaying slightly, the smell of cheap whiskey trailing behind him. “Relax, Max. It’s not like I came to a board meeting,” he said, his voice thick and slurred enough to make my blood boil.
“Board meeting or not,” I snapped, stepping closer until I was toe-to-toe with him, “you do not waltz into your family’s house like this, not today.”
Our parents exchanged worried glances. My mother’s hands rose slightly. “Boys,” she cautioned, “please calm down.”
Declan’s grin widened, cruel and mocking. “Ooh, look at Max, all serious as usual. By the way, where’s your wife, Maxwell? Thought you’d bring her to the big family reveal.”
My blood ran cold, the audacity. I glared at him, letting the warning hang in the air, say a word, and you will regret it.
Declan tilted his head, catching my glare but ignoring it. “What wife is he talking about, Maxwell?” My mother asked, her eyes wide with confusion.
I shook my head, keeping my voice clipped. “No one. Now can we focus?”
She gasped, her hand flying to her chest. “Did you… marry Camilla without telling us?”
“No, Mom,” I snapped, frustration bubbling.
“Can we please focus on what’s important right now?”
She nodded slowly, but the look in her eyes told me this conversation was far from over.
Her voice cut through the tense silence, trembling slightly. “Boys… there’s something we need to tell you.”
My father, seated next to her, looked older than his years, weariness etched into his face. The way his shoulders slumped told me immediately that this wasn’t a small matter.
“Maxwell, Declan…” she began, her voice breaking, tears welling in her eyes. “Your father has cancer.”
For a moment, the room froze. Declan’s usual smirk vanished, replaced by the first real sign of fear I had ever seen in him.
“Wait, since when?” I asked, my voice tight, disbelief and anger fighting to take over.
“Found out last year,” Dad said, his voice low, weak, but steady. “I didn’t want to scare you, but it’s getting worse.” He looked frail, smaller somehow, and I could feel my chest tighten.
“It… it doesn’t mean you will die, right? If you started treatment immediately?” I asked, hoping for some reassurance. Dad didn’t speak, only shook his head slowly, the weight of his silence heavier than any words.
Without thinking, I moved to my mother, pulling her into my arms. She sobbed into my chest, her tears soaking through my shirt, and the sound tore at something deep inside me. I held her tightly, murmuring reassurances I barely felt. Nothing I could say seemed enough.
My father cleared his throat, his voice firm despite the fragility behind it. “I’m telling you this not to frighten you but to make something very clear. My legacy, everything I have built will not pass to you unless certain conditions are met.”
The room went utterly silent. I could feel Declan stiffen beside me, the alcohol no longer a shield for his bravado.
I stared at him in shock, my mind racing. Declan muttered something under his breath, but I didn’t hear him clearly.
“You must marry,” my father continued, his voice cold and unyielding, “and produce a grandchild by the end of next year. If you fail…”
His eyes hardened into steel. “Every single asset, every penny, goes to charity.”
I froze, my heart pounding violently in my chest. That was impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Declan’s face paled, I didn’t even glance at him as I tried to process the weight of my father’s words. The tension in the room twisted around me, thick and suffocating, like it could crush me if I breathed wrong.
“This is total bullshit!” I yelled, jumping to my feet, my hands clenching into fists.
“Language, Maxwell,” my mom said sharply, though her eyes softened slightly. “What’s the big deal in settling down and having a child?”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “I work day and night to build that company! Every ounce of my effort, every sleepless night, and now you want to tie it to some stupid condition?” I spat the words, anger and disbelief rising together.
“I inherited this company from my father,” my dad said, his voice steady, unshakable. “And he made sure I have a way to leave it to someone responsible. There are no two ways about it.
Either you have a family, or I leave it to charity.”
I ran my hands through my hair, the frustration and helplessness almost unbearable. This was a disaster. I couldn’t let Declan or anyone else take what I had worked for all my life. I had built that company from the ground up, while he spent his days partying and wasting time.
Unable to hold it in, Declan vomited onto the floor, I barely even looked at him. Turning on my heel, I stormed out of the house, anger boiling through me. My mind was already racing, thinking, planning. I needed solutions, and I needed them fast. There was no way I would let anyone take what I had sweated blood to build.
Author's note: let's talk in whispers so that Maxwell will not hear, he has a child though.......