Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There was a shimmer in Max’s eyes. He was just about to speak when his phone rang. He whipped out his phone to see who was calling and narrowed his eyes. He tapped on the button to accept the call and greeted without emotion, “Mother.”
Sofia’s voice rang out from the other side of the line, rather deep, “Max, did you do anything to the Whites?”
“Mother, why are you suddenly talking about business?” Max countered. He had affirmed Sofia’s question by skirting around the topic.
On the other end of the line, Sofia’s voice became shrill as she asked, “Max, how can you do something that immoral. I don’t care who is instigating you to do this, but stop right now and go apologize to Samson.”
“Mother, you shouldn’t interfere with the business,” Max refused coldly.
Sofia was furious. She exhorted, “Are you not even going to listen to your mother now? Fine, if you are not going to listen to me, you can tell the press that we are severing our relationship as mother and son. You are as heartless as your father anyway. I’m not needed in this household.”
Sofia’s fury turned into a whimper as her plea went on.
Max knitted his brows, his gaze immensely cold. His voice was equally icy and heartless when he said, “Mother, I cannot promise you anything when it comes to the business.”
“Your father abandoned the family for some b*tch. All these years, I’ve toiled to raise you and Marcus. Do you know how much I suffered? Can’t you treat it as repaying me for raising you and let the Whites off?” Sofia asked.
“Mother, those are two separate matters,” Max replied, extremely determined.
Unexpectedly, Sofia laughed. It was a laugh filled with mockery and sadness. She said, “Fine, it was wrong of me to give birth to you back then. Anyway, you’ve grown up and don’t need me anymore. You can just wait to bury me.”
Sofia hung up immediately after that.
Max’s expression turned solemn. His thin lips were pressed together to form a stiff line. He then called Matthew Smith and instructed, “Return to the Gaston residence immediately—”
“Yes, Sir, I’ll head back right now,” Matthew responded.
Max heard the sound of a chair falling over on Matthew’s side. Matthew had clearly gotten up too fast from being shocked. Matthew knew that the relationship between Max and Sofia had become a little distant over the years. That had been all because of Sandra White.
—
There was a knock on the door. Mary had not taken off her earphones when Max’s voice rang out, “Mary, open the door. It’s time for dinner.”
“Alright, I’ll head down soon,” Mary responded. She was in the middle of listening to Sofia Garcia cursing at her. She listened for a little longer before taking off her earphones and closing her laptop.
Max Gaston was still standing outside when she opened the door. His exquisite facial features were obscured by the shadows. He exuded an indescribable presence.
Mary blinked and asked, “Why haven’t you gone down yet?”
“I was waiting for you,” Max replied, looking into her eyes as he continued, “What were you doing inside with your door locked?”
Mary shifted her gaze away and answered, “Changing.”
She had changed into a more relaxed outfit. However, she was still wearing long sleeves to cover up the kiss marks.
Max Gaston stared at her for a moment, then said indifferently, “Head down and have dinner.”
There was silence. Mary pursed her lips and followed Max downstairs without saying anything.
—
Matthew Smith called before they were done with their dinner. He reported, “Sir, Madam is putting a dagger against her neck. I can’t stop her.”
Max’s expression immediately turned several shades darker. He hung up after he replied, “I’ll head back immediately.”
Max stood up and said to Mary and Jason, “I’ll head back to the Gastons first.”
Mary was just helping herself to some food. She looked up into Max’s eyes when she heard that. She thought back to the conversation between Sofia and Sandra that she heard just now, then remembered what Max said about how he had never touched Sandra White all these years. Her expression turned severe. She remained silent and looked down again, pushing the food into her mouth.
Max stared at Mary for a few seconds, then stroked Jason’s head and asked him to be good before stepping out of the dining hall. He disappeared into the porch a moment later.
Mary put down her fork ten minutes later, then picked up her phone and sent Max a message.
—
Max drove over to the Gaston residence alone. He received a message on the way back but did not read it. He only tapped onto the message after he parked his car in the garage.
He pursed his lips slightly when he saw that it was Mary who sent him the message. It read, “I heard your mother discussing with Sandra just now about how to get her into your bed. They might drug you.”
Max’s expression was obscured in the dark car. He moved the fingers he had around the steering wheel as he read the message through again. The darkness in his eyes were replaced by another emotion. He thought, ‘She said that she was changing when she locked the door. It looks like that’s not true.’
He removed his fingers from the steering wheel and slowly typed out a reply, “Alright, I understand.”
He only got down from the car after he sent the message.
In the Gastons’ living room, the dagger in Sofia’s hand had already cut open her skin. There was a drop of blood on the dagger.
Sandra cried as she shouted, “Sofia, will you put down the dagger? Just let Max destroy the Whites if he wants to. You must not hurt yourself!”
Sofia was determined. She said, “Sandra, you are the daughter-in-law that I’ve taken a fancy to. I will not let Max treat you like this.”
“Sofia, I don’t care how Max treats me. I love him. I’ll accept whatever he does,” Sandra replied.
“If you didn’t have a miscarriage back then, your child should have been the same age as Jason today. He now only has eyes for Jason and cannot see how you’ve suffered for him. I really regret giving birth to him,” Sofia lamented. She saw Max walking into the living room from the porch and whimpered, blaming herself, “He’s my son. I’ll help him atone for his sins. Sandra, I’ve let you down.”
She was going to slit her throat after she finished speaking. Sandra saw Max when she turned her head and shouted shrilly, “Max, you must stop Sofia— Sofia, you mustn’t hurt yourself. I’m begging you.”
Max walked forward indifferently. His expression turned colder as he glanced at the dagger Sofia had on her neck. He snarled, “Mother, is there a point in threatening me like this?”
“I’m not threatening you. I just feel like I’ve let Sandra down. You had relations with her back then and caused her to suffer a miscarriage, yet now you only have eyes for Mary Hanks. All of that, I have been able to tolerate. But now, you are also trying to destroy the Whites. I am too ashamed to face Sandra and her family.”
There was silence. Max Gaston did not speak as his cold gaze remained locked on the dagger in Sofia’s hands.
Sofia’s hands were trembling from having held the dagger for too long. She clenched her teeth and uttered, “I’ll die in right front of your eyes since you are unwilling to spare the Whites.”
“Mother, think through it clearly. My father will bring another woman back in less than a month if you die. He’ll have two more children—” Max warned.
“Shut up,” Sofia said.
Max heard a clang. Sofia had tossed away the dagger in a fit of rage. She was livid as she screeched, “I will never let his wish come true. Never!”
Sofia was seated on the sofa a few minutes later, with Sandra applying medication on her neck with a cotton swab.
Max stood by the side, not wanting to sit. He said dismissively, “Don’t recklessly threaten me with your life next time. Marcus is overseas. He won’t be able to make it back in time if anything happens to you.”
“You— Impressive, very impressive,” Sofia uttered furiously, “Max, have you grown to hate me over the years? Is that why you are getting involved with Mary Hanks even though I asked you to marry Sandra? Is Mary more important to you than me, your mother?”
Max’s expression did not change. His eyes remained ice-cold as he replied, “Mary is the mother of my child..”