Chapter 171 Forever Living in One’s Own World

Chapter 171 Forever Living in One’s Own World

Stella found it funny.

She leaned against Dennis and looked at Frank.

"Mr. Hudson, don't you watch the news?" Stella's voice was soft. "The police already put out a statement. The chemical plant exploded. Miles is dead. They've even issued the death certificate."

"Bullshit!" Frank shouted, his voice echoing through the large living room.

He didn't believe a word of it.

"My son can't be dead! He's too tough to die!" Frank stared at Stella, his tone absolute. "When those terrorists attacked overseas, he walked away from that explosion alive. This was just some run-down chemical plant. There's no way he's dead!"

Watching him like this, Stella felt nothing but sadness.

This was the Hudson family.

They always lived in their own world, only believing what they wanted to believe.

"The police dug through the rubble for three days," Dennis said coldly. "All they found were charred remains. If you don't believe it, go to the station and read the report yourself."

"That just means the police are useless!" Frank turned to Dennis, still unyielding. "Dennis, I know you have people. Send them to dig. Turn that whole site upside down and find my son. Don't forget — he's your brother too."

Dennis looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Frank, have you lost your mind?" Dennis said with a cold smirk.

"I can barely stop myself from killing you. And now you're telling me he's my brother and I should save him? Honestly, I was perfectly happy watching him die. The only shame is he didn't take you with him."

Frank was so furious he could barely breathe.

But he forced himself to calm down and quickly found a new angle.

He turned to Stella, his eyes sharpening, and launched into his guilt trip.

"Stella, do you have any conscience at all?" Frank jabbed a finger at her. "Why did Miles even go to that chemical plant? Because of you! If you hadn't pushed Irene to the edge, would she have kidnapped Jared?"

The more Frank talked, the more righteous he sounded, his voice growing louder.

"Miles walked into that death trap trying to save you! This all started because of you! You owe him your life!"

Stella could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Rage flared up inside her, but instead of losing her temper, she laughed.

She stepped away from Dennis. "So Miles got it from you. That talent for twisting the truth — it really runs in the family. Quite an eye-opener."

"Yes, Miles went to the chemical plant because Irene kidnapped my son."

"But why did Irene kidnap Jared?"

Stella paused, her voice turning ice cold.

"Because Miles promised to marry her for five million, then dumped her in the middle of nowhere like a dog and caused her to miscarry. Everything that happened was a mess he made himself."

Stella looked at Frank's shameless face, letting every bit of her resentment show.

"He brought this on himself. And now you're standing here telling me he did it for me? That's the biggest joke I've ever heard."

Frank's expression shifted.

He knew he didn't have a leg to stand on, but he didn't care.

All he wanted was his son back alive.

"Whatever the reason, he showed up! At the last second, he grabbed Irene and gave you the chance to get out!" Frank shot back. "He saved your life and Jared's! You owe him!"

Stella looked at him and thought this man was beyond saving.

"I don't owe him a thing," Stella said without backing down. "He had me locked in a psychiatric hospital. He caused my father's death. He drove my mother away. He kept Jared locked in an attic and treated him like an animal. Everything he did at the end doesn't even cover half of what he owes me."

Frank clenched his jaw, realizing Stella had completely changed.

The woman who used to keep her head down in the Hudson household, too afraid to even raise her voice — she was now standing right in front of him, talking back without flinching.

Frank took a deep breath.

He knew pushing harder wouldn't work.

He had no money, no people. He was no match for Dennis.

He suddenly changed tactics. He stepped forward, bent his knees, and dropped to the floor right in front of Stella.

"Stella, I'm begging you." Frank's voice shifted, taking on a deliberately pitiful tone.

He looked up, tears streaming down his wrinkled face, then turned to Dennis, who had been standing silently nearby, and went for the guilt trip.

"Dennis, no matter what, you're still my son. Miles is your half-brother. Can you really watch him die without feeling anything? Jared is your own nephew, your own blood. Are you really just going to stand there and do nothing?"

Frank grew more and more worked up, his hands even reaching toward the hem of Stella's dress.

Stella stepped back, pulling away from his grasp.

She looked down at Frank, kneeling on the floor, and felt nothing — no sympathy, just a deep wave of disgust.

The Hudson family was always like this.

When they needed something from you, they'd get on their knees and cry.

When they didn't, they'd step on your face without a second thought.

"Frank, the only reason I let you through that door was out of respect for the fact that you're Jared's grandfather. I even bothered to explain things to you. But the moment you drag Jared into this, don't expect me to keep playing nice."

Stella looked at him coldly. "From now on, Jared has one father, and that's Dennis. Miles and you are nothing to Jared — just strangers who gave him nightmares."

When Frank brought up blood ties again, Dennis let out a sharp, contemptuous laugh.

He stepped forward, placing himself in front of Stella, and stared down at Frank kneeling on the ground. In his eyes was a hatred that had been buried for over twenty years, now finally laid bare.

"Brother? Blood? Frank, you have the nerve to talk to me about family?"

"Have you forgotten what you did twenty years ago? To protect the Hudson family's reputation, to erase the stain of having an illegitimate son, you sent people to kill my mother. I watched her die right in front of me. You did that."

"Having Hudson blood in my veins is the greatest shame of my life. I never cared whether Miles lived or died. The only reason I've kept going all these years was to tear the Hudson family apart and make you pay for what you did."

Dennis's eyes were filled with cold, open killing intent. "The Hudson family is finished now. You have nothing. My mother's debt is settled today. Red, throw him out. Ban him from Cloud City permanently. Leave him alive — just barely — so he can spend whatever's left of his life rotting in the pain of losing his son, losing everything, and living with the regret. A fate worse than death."

Red stepped forward immediately, grabbed Frank by the collar, and hauled him up off the floor.

"Let go of me! You can't do this!" Frank thrashed wildly. "Stella! You vicious woman! You'll get what's coming to you!"

Stella didn't even want to look at him anymore.

Red gripped Frank by the collar like he was hauling out a bag of trash and walked him toward the front door.

Frank fought the whole way, his expensive shoes dragging two ugly, muddy streaks across the lawn.

He flailed his arms and kept shouting, "Stella! You're heartless! You're a cold-blooded monster! What did we ever do to you that you have to destroy us completely!"

Stella didn't stay in the living room.

She walked in her heels to the top of the villa's wide front steps and looked down at Frank making a scene on the lawn below.

"What did you ever do to me? You must really be losing it in your old age. I actually used to think you were a decent person. Turns out you're all the same — rotten to the core."

Stella let out a cold laugh.

She walked down the steps and stopped right in front of Frank.