Free Web NovelChapter 487: Chapter 487
Seeing Nina Summers coming at his head with a heavy metal object, Caleb Summers’s heart skipped a beat in terror.
He hastily scrambled back to dodge, but the sharp edges of the decoration still gashed his forehead, leaving a deep cut.
"AH!"
Caleb Summers cried out in pain. Crimson blood gushed from the wound, streaming past his eyes and onto his white shirt, making for a terrifying sight.
Seeing this, Zoe Kane let out a wail. She lunged forward to press a hand against Caleb Summers’s wound, her face etched with concern. "Oh my god, honey, you’re bleeding so much! The hospital! We need to get to the hospital right now..."
Caleb Summers shoved Zoe Kane away. He wasn’t sure if it was because the wound was so deep or because he was so enraged, but waves of dizziness washed over him.
He pointed a trembling finger at Nina Summers, his face contorted with fury as he demanded, "You! Are you trying to start a rebellion? How dare you strike your own father!"
’And she was aiming to kill! Such a large chunk of metal, coming straight for his head. If he hadn’t dodged in time, he’d probably be dead on the spot!’
Melody Summers watched from the side, dumbfounded. ’I can’t believe Nina is even more ruthless than I am! I just wanted to crack Caleb’s head open, but Nina is genuinely trying to commit patricide...’
At that moment, Caleb Summers’s face was covered in blood. Combined with his exceptionally furious expression, he looked terrifying, like a vengeful ghost clawing its way out of hell.
But Nina Summers wasn’t the least bit afraid. The anger and hatred in her eyes were no less intense than Caleb’s. She clutched the metal decoration tightly and said through gritted teeth, "You’re not my father! You’re trying to marry me off to that old man. I don’t have a father like you!"
Caleb Summers raised a hand to wipe away the blood obscuring his vision. Fighting back the dizziness, he roared, "You brat! You are my daughter! Of course your marriage is for me to decide! Come on, you’re coming home with me right now!"
Seeing Caleb Summers move to grab Nina Summers, Melody Summers tightened her grip on the vase in her hand, ready to go in for a follow-up strike. Suddenly, a voice came from behind her—
"Don’t you touch her!"
Everyone in the living room turned toward the voice and saw Grace Sutton helping their grandmother down the stairs.
Grace Sutton hurried over in a few quick steps, positioning her body to shield Melody Summers and Nina Summers. She shouted at Caleb Summers, "What do you think you’re doing!"
Grace Sutton had overheard their conversation from upstairs, and she too was livid at the outrageous things Caleb and his wife had said. ’If I had known it would be like this, I never would have been soft-hearted enough to let this family in!’
She pointed angrily at Caleb Summers’s nose and berated him, "You were the one who said you wanted our mom to see her grandson! I only let you in because I felt sorry for your wife and child! I can’t believe you came here just to bully the girls. Get the hell out!"
Hearing Grace Sutton’s merciless scolding, Caleb Summers felt utterly humiliated. He clutched the wound on his forehead and glared at her, saying furiously, "I’m disciplining my own daughter. What right do you, an outsider, have to butt in!"
Grace Sutton’s expression changed at his words, but before she could speak, their grandmother, who had been standing to the side, said in a grave voice, "You, shut up! Take your wife and child and leave. You are not welcome here, and you don’t need to come back ever again!"
Caleb Summers stiffened. He stared at his own mother in disbelief, pointing to the wound on his forehead as he asked, "Mom! How can you say that? Can’t you see I’m injured? You don’t even offer a single word of concern, you just immediately tell me to leave?"
The grandmother snorted coldly, her eyes holding not a trace of pity. Her face remained grim as she said, "If you’re injured, then hurry to a hospital. Don’t waste time here! If you happen to die here, we won’t be held responsible!"
Seeing the atmosphere between mother and son grow incredibly tense, Zoe Kane quickly stepped forward and tugged on Caleb Summers, giving him a look that urged him to calm down and not forget the purpose of their visit.
Caleb Summers took a deep breath. He took the handkerchief from Zoe Kane’s hand and pressed it against the still-bleeding wound on his forehead. Looking up, he forced a smile and said, "Mom, Nina just made me so angry I lost my head. Please, don’t take it to heart."
Then he put his arm around Zoe Kane and introduced her. "Mom, this is Rhea, your daughter-in-law."
Zoe Kane tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said with a smile, "Mom."
Then she turned, picked up Chester Summers from the sofa, and walked over to the grandmother. "Mom," she said with a smile, "this is Chester. Why don’t you hold your grandson?"
Chester Summers shrank back in Zoe Kane’s arms, resistance written all over his face. He was clearly wary of this grandmother who was a complete stranger to him.
Zoe Kane, however, had a hint of barely concealed pride on her face. ’Caleb Summers’s ex-wife, Mindy Walsh, couldn’t give him a son,’ she thought. ’But I gave him a son on my first try. That makes me a great benefactor to my husband’s family.’
—’She hadn’t asked for a wedding or a reception when they got married. Now that her in-laws were seeing their grandson, they would surely have to make it up to her with a hefty cash gift!’
But the grandmother made no move to take the child. There was little joy in her eyes; she merely glanced coolly at Caleb Summers and said, "I appreciate the thought, but I’m an old woman and my arms are too weak to hold him. You should all head back early."
At these words, Zoe Kane’s smile froze on her face. Her pride was instantly replaced by embarrassment and a sense of grievance. She turned to look helplessly at Caleb Summers.
Caleb Summers frowned at the sight. "Mom," he said in a displeased tone, "are you still angry with me?"
Seeing his mother’s cold, silent face, Caleb Summers sighed with feigned helplessness and explained, "I admit, I was in the wrong before. I shouldn’t have stopped acknowledging you, and I shouldn’t have cut off contact. But I had no choice..."
"You don’t know how overbearing Mindy Walsh and her family were. The Walsh Family always looked down on me, their son-in-law from the countryside..."
At this point, a choke entered Caleb Summers’s voice. He rubbed his face and said with great sincerity, "But things are different now. Mindy is gone, and I’ve married Rhea. From now on, we can see each other more often! No matter what, we’re still family—blood is thicker than water!"
Hearing Caleb Summers’s speech, the people in the living room all wore different expressions, with Nina Summers’s being the most complicated of all.
She bit her lower lip, her eyes filled with resentment. ’It was clearly Father who was ashamed of his rural family. It was clearly him who was afraid of others looking down on him. What right did he have to push all the blame onto her mother, who was already gone?’
’What right did he have to say that!’
Caleb Summers didn’t even glance at Nina Summers. He reached out and pulled Howard Fletcher to his side, introducing him to everyone. "Oh, right, let me introduce you. This is Leo, my newly adopted son!"
Caleb Summers’s face was flushed, and he looked quite triumphant. Everyone used to laugh at him for not having a son, and he had dreamed of having one. Unfortunately, his wish had never come true. Now, having gained two sons at once, his satisfaction was simply beyond words.
The grandmother’s expression, however, remained impassive, with a faint hint of impatience. She said coldly, "Even if you have sons now, that’s no reason to be cruel to your daughter. The Walsh Family did you a great service by helping you get ahead. You shouldn’t mistreat the only child Mindy Walsh left behind."
Hearing this, Zoe Kane’s smile faltered. ’I gave the Summers Family a grandson!’ she thought. ’How can the old woman only have eyes for her granddaughter? Is a grandson less important than a granddaughter?’
Caleb Summers’s expression soured as well. "Mom..." he began, his tone full of displeasure.
"Enough!" The grandmother cut off Caleb Summers’s nonsense impatiently. She frowned and asked, "Your family of four came all the way here in the rain. Just say what you came to say! Stop beating around the bush!"
The grandmother had seen with her own eyes how desperately Caleb Summers had wanted nothing to do with his family over the years. She didn’t believe they had come all this way just to make small talk.
At her words, Caleb Summers first exchanged a look with Zoe Kane. Then he cleared his throat and replied, "Mom, since you put it that way, I’ll get straight to the point."
He patted Howard Fletcher’s head and said with a pained expression, "You probably already know what happened. This child, Howard Fletcher, his mother passed away during the snowstorm..."
"Rhea and I discussed it, and we were thinking, why don’t you transfer the title of that house in the residential area out front to Leo’s name? Consider it compensation for the boy."
