Free Web NovelChapter 703: Die Already
The subject of the prodigal son, Anthony, asking to come back to the family had obviously dampened the mood.
The jovial atmosphere of the dining table instantly became somewhat subdued.
Grandmother sighed, "Just ignore him and dig in."
However, within a few minutes, Anthony had pushed his way into the house.
Looking somewhat uncomfortable, the helper apologized, "Apologies Madam, we could not hold him back."
Anthony was after all a member of the Lucas family. As their hired staff, the helpers did not want to use force, as that might result in hurting him in the process.
That was why, when Anthony threw caution to the wind and forcibly pushed his way in, the helpers did not dare to stop him.
Understanding their predicament, Grandmother did not blame them for not being able to stop Anthony.
"Anthony Lucas, you are shameless!" She rebuked him.
"I have already made it clear that you are not welcome here and yet, you are still clamoring to come back?
"So what if you’ve managed to come inside? Have you seen enough? If yes, then get out of here!"
"Mom, I’m truly sorry for what I have done. Please let me come back," Anthony pleaded.
"You are not getting any younger. Let me come back. I want to be here for you, to take good care of you."
"Oh my. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness but, no thank you," Grandmother responded.
"Now scram. You’re keeping us from our lunch."
Back then, at the hospital, Michael had deliberately used Anthony to threaten Lily and successfully sent her scrambling away.
When Anthony got home that day, he got into a big fight with Lily.
So big in fact, that Anthony had hit Lily.
While Anthony was fast asleep that night, Lily took all the cash that she could find in their home and ran away.
But then again, there was not a lot of cash to be taken in the first place.
The MC Group was under the absolute control of Michael, who had frozen all of Anthony’s assets in the group including any payouts owed to him.
As for his other investments, none of them had generated any returns in the past two years and had in fact, been bleeding him dry.
Truth be told, in the past two years, he had not been focused on making his investments work, choosing instead to spend all his time indulging himself.
Then there was that time when Michael had made him acknowledge Christian as his son at a press conference.
When that piece of news was published, his social status took a huge hit.
And that was why Anthony had to return to the Lucas family.
He was no longer able to hold out on his own outside.
"Michael, my son...," Anthony turned his attention to Michael.
He then reminded Michael, "Remember what you said to me last time? That if I acknowledged Christian as my son, you would let me come back into the fold."
"I remember you saying that Grandmother was the one who had refused to let you come back.
"That once you had confirmed Christian’s identity, I should try to put in a good word for you with Grandmother.
"Has my memory served me right?" Michael clearly remembered what had transpired at that time.
At that, Anthony nodded, despite having a sense of foreboding.
Michael then turned towards his grandmother and asked, "Grandmother, I’m pleading on his behalf. Will you let him come back into the fold?"
Naturally, Grandmother had caught on to what Michael was trying to do.
She replied without hesitation, "Of course not."
Indicating helplessness with his palms facing upwards, Michael said to Anthony, "See? I did try but Grandmother is adamant about not letting you come back." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"You...," Anthony knew that he was being played and was furious, chest heaving erratically.
"Wendy, my dear daughter-in-law, could you please help plead my case?" Anthony turned to Wendy next.
"I’m quite sure that they will all agree with whatever you say."
However, Wendy did not have a good impression of her father-in-law either.
He had been instrumental in ruining two families, and was also responsible for the ensuing tragedies.
To this day, Winnie is still suffering from mental disorders.
He had to be dreaming if he assumed that they would simply wipe the slate clean and welcome him back.
Wendy was not inclined to speak up on his behalf.
"I’m sorry. I can’t help you," she said.
"Leah, Jake...," Anthony now pinned his hopes on his grandchildren.
Michael immediately stepped forward and stood protectively in front of his kids.
Sounding angry, he said, "Please leave now. There is no longer a place for you in the Lucas family.
"Count your blessings that we have not run you into the ground and destroyed you."
...
"Michael, I’m sorry for what I have done. Please let me come home," Anthony pleaded, tears running down his face.
He looked really miserable as he wiped away his tears with his hand. It was quite a heart-wrenching sight.
Alas, everyone present knew what the real Anthony Lucas was like and so nobody was fooled by his apologetic act.
"It makes no difference whether you mean it when you say you are truly sorry," Michael said coldly.
"Back then, I was only ten years old when I found out that you had another family and another child out there.
"Can you even begin to understand how devastated I was?
"I spent my entire childhood in the shadows, haunted by this fact.
"My only motivation was to take back control of the MC Group from you and leave you with nothing.
"Now, if you had founded the business with your own capital, I would not have hatedyou as much.
"But no, you used money from my mother’s family to develop the MC Group.
"Once the MC Group was established and was doing well in Lake City, you changed into a selfish, arrogant and immoral man.
"In the beginning, you had indeed paid some attention to decorum and kept your affair with Lily Yates under the radar.
"However, as time went by, you became more brazen and went public with your mistress.
"As you well know, my mother is a perfectionist and would not tolerate even a tiny flaw in her life.
"Nonetheless, when she found out about your affair, she had opted to ignore it, hoping that you would one day come back to her, to our family.
"And what did you do? Not only did you abandon your legally wed wife but you actually encouraged your mistress to continuously flaunt your affair in my mother’s face.
"It is entirely your fault that my mother is in the mental state that she is today!
"So tell me, how shameless can you be to now ask for our forgiveness?
"On top of that, you even want to come back into the fold?
"Let me tell you this. For as long as I’m alive, you will not be allowed to come back here!"
"How could you be so cruel to me, Michael?" Anthony wailed.
"I am your father. Regardless of what I have done, I am still your father, the one who gave you life and raised you."
"Do you think you even deserve to be called my Dad?" Michael asked angrily.
"Please leave before the security guards haul you away. That would not be a pretty sight."
Sensing that Michael was very adamant about not taking him back in, Anthony raked his brain desperately for a way to salvage the situation.
He was really in a bad spot, with no money and nobody by his side. Even his close associates would simply sneer at him and steer clear of him.
He did not want to lead a solitary life out on his own.
He wanted to come home.
He made a last-ditch attempt to save himself.
Looking at his mother, he fell heavily on his knees in front of her and pleaded, "Mom, I beg you. Please let me come home."
Grandmother just glared speechlessly at him. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"How could you be so heartless?" Anthony wailed.
"I am your son. The son whom you once said was the pride of your life."
"The son I was once proud of was a principled and upright Anthony Lucas, not an ungrateful bast*rd like you who abandoned his wife and son!" Grandmother responded angrily.
Stomping her cane heavily on the floor, she ordered, "Get out of here."
Still grasping at straws, Anthony suggested, "Why don’t you hit me? Hit me until you’re satisfied!"
But Grandmother’s patience was at its limit. She did not want to engage in any further conversation with him.
Everyone’s mood had been negatively impacted by his presence.
"Security! Call security to throw this guy out!" Grandmother ordered at the top of her voice.
"Going forward, you have my explicit orders to use any means, even force if necessary, to stop him from coming into the house.
"I will not hold you responsible if you hurt him in any way!"
Since Grandmother had issued an order, the security guards appeared in no time at all.
When he saw the security guards, Anthony knew that it was game over for him.
He got to his feet and spat on the floor, saying viciously, "You heartless, unforgiving people! I have apologized and acknowledged my mistakes with regret!
"And yet, here you are, treating me like trash! You will regret doing this to me!"
"Throw him out!" Grandmother’s words were enunciated by each stomp of her cane on the floor.
The security guards grabbed Anthony by the arms and hauled him out.
Once Anthony had left, Grandmother let out a long, deep sigh, "Call that being remorseful? He is truly beyond redemption."
With a heavy heart, Michael stood with his arm around Wendy’s shoulders.
That was his father.
If he were given free will to choose, he would never opt to be Anthony’s son.
Wendy was about to speak up when a spine-chilling yell sounded from outside, "Ahhhh!"
It sounded like Anthony’s voice.
Instinctively, Wendy and the others went outside to find out what happened.
...
When Wendy and the rest of them arrived outside to see what the commotion was about, they saw Winnie wielding a blood-stained knife.
She was standing over a man who had collapsed onto the ground. That man was Anthony.
He laid there, clutching his stomach, which was now covered in blood.
There were two security guards hovering around them, not daring to get too close.
Instinctively, Wendy and Michael shielded the kids from witnessing the grisly scene.
While Jake appeared unfazed, Leah was already scared out of her wits and started crying.
Michael immediately picked her up and patted on her back gently, soothing her, "It’s OK, Leah. Don’t be scared."
Obviously, this was no place for Leah to be hanging around. Checking her countenance, Michael walked into the living room with Leah in his arms.
Gently caressing her head, he said, "Stay right here and don’t wander about.
Everything would be fine. Don’t be scared."
When he saw Zess walking toward them, he instructed quickly, "Zess, please keep an eye on Leah. Just stay with her."
The scene that Leah had just witnessed would definitely traumatize her.
Zess nodded instantly.
Soon, Jake also joined them in the living room. Looking up at Michael, he said, "I will look after her. Don’t worry."
Feeling reassured that Jake would be with Leah, Michael went back outside.
At a time like this, Michael knew that he should stay and protect his kids as their Dad.
However, the victim was Anthony while the woman wielding the knife that had injured him was Winnie.
Michael had to get involved.
By the time he got outside, the scene had become even more chaotic and dire.
Winnie was trying to stab Anthony again.
The security guards who tried to stop her had also gotten unintentionally hurt during her frenzied attack on Anthony.
"You son-of-a-bitch! Just die! Go to hell!" Winnie yelled erratically.
Like a crazed woman, she stabbed at anyone who approached her.
"Stop her! Just stop her already!"
Clutching at his wounds, Anthony supported himself with his other hand, trying to crawl away from Winnie, hollering, "You lunatic! You’re crazy!"
Because Winnie’s mental state had improved a lot recently, her doctor had recommended not to keep her locked up.
He had suggested that keeping her locked up for prolonged periods would in fact be detrimental to her state of mind.
And that was why, Winnie had been allowed to roam about freely in the house.
Truth be told, her condition had stabilized in recent days. In fact, her mental state had improved to the extent that she would occasionally converse with Grandmother.
She was indeed on the road to recovery, slowly but surely.
Unfortunately, Anthony had made an appearance.
When Anthony had forced his way into the house, Winnie was about to go to the kitchen for some food because she was hungry.
Just when she was making her way down the stairs, she heard Anthony talking.
Her initial thought was to sprint down the stairs and kill him.
However, with what remained of her rational mind, she stopped herself.
Instead, she walked stealthily down the stairs and into the kitchen to look for a knife.
She then hid in the shadows, waiting for Anthony.
As soon as he left the house, she ran after him with the knife.
With a knife in hand, she dashed toward him, yelling at the top of her lungs that he should go to hell.
Hearing the commotion, Anthony turned around in reflex. That was when the knife was driven directly into his stomach.
It had happened so quickly that the security guards did not have the opportunity to react.
Of course, neither did Anthony.
No one had expected something like this to take place here.
"Crazy? Lunatic? HaHaHa, that’s right. I’m crazy!" Winnie replied, looking deranged.
She continued to shout wildly, "Yes, I’m a crazy woman! I’m demented! So what?!
"Since I’ve been driven crazy, you, Anthony Lucas, must die! So, die already!"
She then rushed toward him with every ounce of her strength, aiming the knife at him.
But this time around, a security guard had stepped forward and stopped her in hepath.
Held back by the security guard, Winnie struggled frantically to shake him off, waving her knife about wildly.
And that was how the security guard got stabbed in the arm.
