By Zephyria “Gordon! Welcome back. You’ve really been through a lot.”
Mrs. Campbell couldn’t suppress her emotions at the sight of her eldest son’s haggard face and personally walked forward to embrace him. Gordon, who hugged his mother’s thin body in return, opened his mouth with a still dark expression.
“I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Oh, no. It’s not your fault. It’s our fault for bringing in a child who doesn’t fit in and causes problems like this. They don’t even appreciate the grace we’ve shown them.”
Gordon clicked his tongue at the subtle criticism of Charlotte, then pulled away from his mother and plopped down on a visible chair. Mrs. Campbell felt sorry for him, her heart aching at his staggering gait as if he was particularly exhausted. She moved to sit on another sofa and elegantly gestured to ring the bell.
“Bring tea.”
A moment later, an employee placed the tea on the table and disappeared again. Mrs. Campbell took a sip of tea to moisten her lips before speaking.
“So, how are you feeling?”
Gordon, who had been glancing at the maid’s buttocks as she closed the door and left, forcibly tore his gaze away at his mother’s voice and replied.
“Like crap.”
“Gordon.”
Mrs. Campbell sternly stopped him.
“No matter how upset you are, you shouldn’t use such vulgar language. You must maintain your dignity.”
She scolded her son sharply, then soon let out a short sigh.
“Well, I suppose you must be feeling terrible.”
Mrs. Campbell spoke as if she understood her son for a moment, but soon changed her tone with a serious expression.
“Still, it’s not a good habit to reveal your feelings as they are. Act more rationally.”
She chided her son in a seemingly cold manner, then subtly observed Gordon’s expression before changing the subject.
“Anyway, you’ve been through a lot. Now, let’s put the past behind us and think about the future.”
“Put it behind me when I’m about to go to jail? Mother, I only got out on bail, it’s not like I’ve been acquitted.”
Gordon snapped back irritably. His attitude was extremely rude, but Mrs. Campbell held back for now. She thought she should be understanding and generous with her son, given his situation.
“I’m not saying to forget the current situation. I’m saying to put the memories of your hardship aside for a moment.”
Did she have to explain even this? Mrs. Campbell clicked her tongue inwardly. How different he was from Winston, who would answer before she even voiced what she was thinking.
The thought suddenly occurred to her, and she felt another wave of annoyance. If it weren’t for that lowly thing, Winston wouldn’t be defying her like this now.
If that were the case, this situation wouldn’t have happened at all. A single flap of Yu-jin’s wings was now becoming an enormous hurricane, sweeping through the Campbell family. She had to quell this wind somehow. Mrs. Campbell believed she could do it. And she was also certain that Yu-jin would never set foot in this family again.
“Let’s have a party for now.”
“A party?”
Gordon made a dumbfounded sound. He had no idea what his mother was up to. Mrs. Campbell opened her mouth with patience.
“We should celebrate your safe return. Shouldn’t we let everyone know that we’re still going strong?”
Gordon frowned. Of course, he wouldn’t know. He had just come out into the world.
“There’s an article.”
Mrs. Campbell handed Gordon the newspaper that had been placed on the table. Gordon, who had been frowning, took the newspaper and unfolded it, his face immediately hardening.
“This, crazy…….”
His trembling voice was filled with anger. Mrs. Campbell silently brought the teacup to her lips, but the flames of anger suppressed within her were several times greater than her son’s.
* * *
America’s leading prestigious family, the Campbell family, is making headlines every day. The eldest son, Gordon Campbell, who is currently indicted on charges of rape and murder, was already a notorious playboy since his college days. (……omitted……)
However, this infamous narrative of the Campbell family goes back to their ancestors. The late Harold Campbell was subjected to a strong tax investigation during his lifetime, and it was revealed that he had invested tens of millions of dollars in shell companies to evade taxes at the time, which drew enormous criticism (……omitted……)
In addition, the current eldest daughter and only daughter, Catherine Campbell, married a con artist who claimed to be a British aristocrat when she was only 17 years old, still a minor, and returned to the United States after two years, but still calls herself Lady Catherine. She enjoys luxury shopping and spends hundreds of thousands of dollars from time to time without paying properly, often getting into trouble. Just recently, she bought a million dollars worth of jewelry at a luxury shop and hasn’t paid the amount yet.
The store sent her two demand letters, but received no response, and eventually filed a lawsuit…….
“That impudent!”
Lady Catherine, who had crumpled the newspaper with a crunching sound, gasped for breath. George, her husband, who was watching his wife’s angry appearance, hurriedly got up from his chair to soothe her.
“Calm down, it’s bad for your health. What if you faint again?”
“That bad son of a bitch wrote a bogus article!”
Lady Catherine’s face turned red as she raged.
“I just brought the wrong card that time, so I couldn’t pay right away. It just so happened that I brought one with a low limit!”
“Did you really get a demand letter? Why didn’t you go and take care of it right away?”
Lady Catherine was startled by George’s question, then raised her voice even louder.
“I was too busy. You know that, don’t you? I have to go to charity parties, I have Pilates classes, and I have so many lunch appointments…….”
She stopped there, looked at her husband’s expression, and soon gave up, becoming annoyed.
“I wanted to pay too. But what can I do if there’s no balance? It’s all your fault! If you had earned more money, I wouldn’t have been in this situation!”
At those words, George looked dazed, as if his soul had left his body. Lady Catherine realized her mistake in an instant and covered her mouth, but it was already too late. Her husband drooped his shoulders, lowered his head, and trudged out of the living room. She tried to call out to her husband, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so, and hesitated before lowering her outstretched hand. Her anger turned back to the newspaper. She glared at the title with gritted teeth, then nervously grabbed it, but soon changed her mind.
There is only one way to resolve this situation now. Without time to think deeply, she ordered the Butler to prepare the car.
“Where are you going?”
At the obvious question, Lady Catherine replied as she hurriedly prepared to leave.
“To Winston’s company.”
* * *
Lady Catherine, who had rushed to the company in one breath, waited in the secretary’s office for nearly two hours before finally being able to meet Winston. Hiding her anxious heart, she entered the office, and Winston greeted her nonchalantly.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
Looking at him, who was no different from usual, Lady Catherine cleared her throat. At other times, she would have scolded him for not greeting her or asking how she had been, but she didn’t have time for that. Before entering the office, the secretary had limited her to “exactly 15 minutes.” He said he had a meeting scheduled after that. Lady Catherine took a breath and finally opened her mouth.
“Did you see the newspaper?”
Winston frowned at the difficult opening. Looking at his sister, who was inwardly nervous, he asked.
“What’s this about being sued? What’s that about?”
“You have no idea how wronged I feel.”
Lady Catherine started talking as if she had been waiting for it.
“I was going to give it to them as soon as I received my father’s inheritance. But what is this? I have to wait several more months. You don’t know how hard it is for me right now, how can you be so heartless…….”
A sobbing sound came out, but there were no tears in her eyes at all. Winston said to his sister.
“Don’t worry, I’ll pay that money.”
“Really?”
Lady Catherine, who had covered her face with both hands and made a crying sound, immediately raised her head. Winston nodded with a gentle smile.
“Of course, I have to give it to you, since my sister is having such a hard time.”
“Oh, Winston. You’re such a generous kid.”
Lady Catherine quickly changed her attitude and praised Winston. Of course, that wasn’t all she wanted.”If it’s alright, could you give me some extra money? It would be even better if you could invest in George’s business. You know George’s business has been struggling lately. If he can just get through this rough patch, he’ll be fine soon.”
Not missing the opportunity to ask for more money, Catherine watched as Winston asked without changing his expression.
“Instead of giving a check, how about George takes over a company?”