Chapter 36
+25 BONUS
Sean spent three days in the hospital, and by the time he was discharged, he had already learned that Layla and William had returned to North City. Without any reason to stay, he left early.
But the news of him offending William had reached the Perry family long before he did.
The moment he stepped through the door, he was met with an oppressive atmosphere.
His mother, Susan, rushed toward him, grabbing his arm as if to whisk him upstairs. “My poor baby, you’ve been through so much. Let me see how bad the injuries are….
“Stop right there!”
Mr. Perry Sr.’s furious voice cut through the air. He fixed his sharp gaze on Sean. “If he can still walk through that door, then clearly, he didn’t get beaten badly enough”
Susan’s heart leaped into her throat. Panicked, she hurriedly pleaded, “Dad, Sean is still young. He didn’t mean any harm, he just-”
“He’s about to start a family and take over the business, yet he still doesn’t know how to act? Then perhaps a lesson was exactly what he needed.”
Leaning on his cane, Mr. Perry Sr. took slow, deliberate steps toward Sean. Though his gait appeared steady, there was a faint weariness to it.
He was old now, too old for this kind of nonsense. If he couldn’t discipline his grandson properly, then it seemed the outside world would have to do it for him.
Right now, the only thing he cared about was Layla.
“You saw Layla? How is she?”
Sean met his grandfather’s gaze, searching for any sign of guilt, any crack in the facade.
“Grandpa, if you care about her so much, why don’t you go see her yourself? Why force me to?”
Hearing the unwillingness in his tone, Mr. Perry Sr.’s brows furrowed. “What? You expect me to go begging your fiancée to come back? To grovel on your behalf?”
Sean remained expressionless. “According to you, she’s practically on her deathbed. At a time like this, does pride really matter?”
“You-
Mr. Perry St. finally caught onto the underlying insinuation. His expression darkened “You little bastard! Are you questioning me?”
“No… no, of course not. Sean wouldn’t dare,” Susan rushed to smooth things over, letting out a forced laugh. He’s just talking nonsense, don’t take it to heart. I’ll make sure to talk some sense into him later.”
She turned to Sean and whispered urgently, “You’re already hurt–just keep quiet.”
She hadn’t forgotten the last time Mr. Perry Sr. had used a cane to discipline Sean. He had never been beaten before in his life, not until that woman, Layla, had turned everything upside down
For Susan’s sake, Sean bit back his retort, though his eyes were still full of defiance.
Suddenly, his phone rang in his pocket.
+25 BONUS
Chapter 35
He answered, only to hear his assistant’s frantic voice on the other end. “Mr. Perry, we have a serious problem! You need to check the news right now!”
Sean’s expression darkened instantly. He ended the call and pulled up the latest headlines–his company’s name was trending, and not in a good way.
He clicked in and was met with an onslaught of negative priss.
Reports of substandard materials in construction projects had surfaced, and even an old scandal about violent evictions from years ago was being dragged back into the spotlight.
His assistant was still speaking, voice tense. “The news went viral instantly. Someone is clearly targeting the company. The PR team has been trying to reach the media outlets, but none of our calls are going through.”
“Whoever is behind this… they have serious power.
It didn’t even take Sean a second to guess–William.
And the only one who could have leaked such confidential information was Layla.
So, after all, Xena had been right. That foolish woman had really let herself be used by William!
“I’m going to the office,” Sean said coldly.
Without another word, he ended the call and strode out the door.
