Chapter 55: Appointing Lucas as Grace's Successor
Before today, I had never met Donald.
Even at my wedding with Lucas, Donald didn’t show up.
He doesn’t like Lucas, and naturally, he has no good feelings toward me either.
What puzzles me is why Donald would travel all the way from Dawnharbor to Starstream City?
“Don’t you know how to say hello when you see me?” Donald’s voice was icy, his cold, piercing gaze fixed on Lucas. “Is this how your mother taught you?”
“My mother taught me to respect and be polite to elders, but to be harsher than the coldest winter to those I despise—and that’s something you taught me, Father.” Lucas sneered, putting heavy emphasis on the word “Father.”
He didn’t openly show hostility or hatred, but his shoulders were tense, as if ready to strike at any moment.
“So that’s why you humiliated me in front of everyone at last night’s banquet?” Donald’s anger flared up, a rage that had been burning all night!
Hearing this, my confusion cleared up. So, Donald was at the banquet last night and ran into Lucas.
Their encounter must not have been pleasant. I don’t know what exactly happened, but it was enough to keep Donald fuming even after a whole night.
“You gave away my things without asking, and I simply refused you,” Lucas mocked. “You kicked me out of the house for over a decade, and you still think I’ll listen to you? That’s ridiculous!”
“I’m your father! Your life, everything you have, I gave to you. Your wealth and territory naturally belong to me!”
I was stunned by Donald’s shamelessness. But what roles do Amelia and Grace play in all this?
I glanced at Amelia and saw her looking lost, quietly stepping back as if trying to slip away unnoticed.
I gave Adrian a look, and he immediately moved behind Amelia, blocking her way.
Then I turned to Grace. It had been a while since I last saw her, and she had gotten thinner. Her sunken cheeks made her look even harsher.
Grace has hated me ever since I captured her last time. She kept glaring at me with venomous eyes.
A thought crossed my mind—could she be connected to Mason’s situation?
Lucas didn’t want to waste more words with Donald and told Alfred to pick him up and throw him out.
Donald was so angry that he nearly passed out. Grace supported him, shrieking, “Lucas! How could you do this? He’s your father!”
Lucas clicked his tongue. “I never said he wasn’t.”
Donald is deeply chauvinistic, but Lucas isn’t.
Having struggled on the streets, bowed to others, and lived as a nobody, Lucas is incredibly adaptable and tough. When he’s domineering and arrogant, he can seem like a noble or a bandit. When he’s being shameless, he’s no different from a thug in the slums.
This morning, Lucas stubbornly insisted on being my personal bodyguard. I couldn’t do anything about him, and Donald and Grace could only get frustrated facing him.
“If I keep being your father, you’ll be the death of me!” Donald’s voice squeezed out of his throat as he looked at Lucas with arrogance. “Grace hasn’t had children all these years, so we’ve decided to make you her heir.”
I couldn’t believe it. Is Donald out of his mind?
Even with countless lovers and illegitimate children, he never remarried after Lucas’s mother passed away. Lucas is his only legitimate child!
And now he’s naming Lucas as Grace’s heir?
Lucas stared at Donald with burning intensity, but Donald seemed oblivious to his growing fury, continuing to add fuel to the fire. “From now on, Grace isn’t your aunt—she’s your mother. You must respect and honor her.”
“Who gave her the right to be my mother!” Lucas exploded. “She’s not worthy!”
“Shut up!” Donald snapped. “Grace and I have already agreed!”
A flicker of fear passed through Grace’s eyes, but then she seemed to remember something and straightened up. “Your grandfather didn’t oppose it either!”
I looked at Lucas with concern.
If there’s anyone in the Valeri family besides Linda that Lucas respects, it’s undoubtedly his grandfather, Holden Valeri, the current Don of the Valeri family.
But with so many descendants, Holden’s care for Lucas is limited.
Still, Lucas genuinely sees Holden as a role model and aspires to be his successor.
If Holden really agreed to make Lucas Grace’s heir, it would feel like a betrayal to Lucas!
Because Grace has no claim to the Valeri family’s inheritance.
I couldn’t help but take Lucas’s hand.
His hand was cold, his fingertips trembling slightly.
Lucas glanced at me and gripped my hand tightly.
Grace stared at us darkly. “Lucas, have you forgotten what Isabella did to me before? Let go of her! I order you to divorce her by the end of today!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Amelia’s face light up with delight.
“Keep dreaming!” Lucas stepped in front of me, shielding me from Grace’s hateful glare. He said firmly, word by word, “You have no right to order me!”
Grace was furious and opened her mouth to say more, but Lucas didn’t want to hear another word. He urged Alfred to get rid of the two of them.
Both Grace and Donald had plenty of soldiers with them. As the two sides clashed, the scene turned chaotic.
I immediately told Cole to help Alfred.
Grace, who had been watching my every move, shouted at me, “Isabella! Are you declaring war on the Valeri family?”
Just over two weeks ago, I had captured Grace and said something similar. Now, she finally got her chance to throw it back at me!
Back then, Lucas took the lead, and things didn’t escalate too much. But now Donald is here, and his position in the Valeri family is far beyond Grace’s.
With just the four of us siblings against the massive Valeri family, the cost of offending them would be huge.
Lucas probably realized this, too.
He didn’t turn to look at me, but the grip on my hand grew weaker.
I let go of his hand.
From behind, Lucas stood motionless. In an instant, he seemed to turn from a raging volcano into a lone iceberg on a boundless, hopeless frozen sea.
I looked at Grace expressionlessly. “If you want to fight, do it outside. Don’t ruin my exhibition.”
I told Cole to kick all the Valeri family people out.
Cole, the great bodyguard Gale gave me, understood my intent with just a glance.
He fiercely drove out Donald and Grace’s soldiers, while only pretending to deal with Alfred and the others.
I gave Lucas, who was still standing there blankly, a push.
Lucas snapped out of it, looked around at the onlookers, took a deep breath, and said to me, “I’ll handle them.” Then he strode off.
Ten minutes later, Lucas returned, his face dark and unreadable.
“Dealt with?” I asked calmly.
“They’re gone,” Lucas replied, his voice tight, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
I glanced at Amelia in the corner. “There’s still one over there. How do you plan to handle her?”
Lucas looked at Amelia and couldn’t help but frown.
“Why are you with them?”
“It was Grace who came to me, asking if I knew where you were. She said you hadn’t been home in a long time and that your father really wanted to see you,” Amelia stammered.
A murderous glint flashed in Lucas’s eyes. “You don’t care about me at all. You don’t even know that my father and I don’t get along!”
“That’s not true!” Amelia grabbed his arms, hurriedly explaining, “Lucas, he’s still your father.”
“Enough!” Lucas shook off her hands, eyeing her suspiciously. “How did you know I was here? This isn’t the first time. You seem to know my whereabouts pretty well.”