Chapter 620
“But you? Instead of being grateful, you resented him! What right do you have to resent Stuart?” Keira shouted.
Stuart had earned his position as head of the Gonzales family through his own capability. But to Keira’s shock, Amanda had held a grudge against her own brother for that very reason for years. Keira truly believed she had been more than generous to her daughter’s family. She had set up a family trust for them, bought them luxury cars and a mansion, and even let them live at Gonzales Manor before Ann’s transgressions came to light.
Now, she saw the truth. She had been too good to them, and in doing so, had fed Amanda’s insatiable greed.
“How was the investment failure my fault? If you want to blame someone, blame that idiot Gavin Templeton!” Amanda shoved all the responsibility onto her husband before turning on Keira, her voice thick with rage. “So I make one bad investment, and that’s it? I’m not your daughter anymore? It’s a family company! Being your daughter should have meant I got half, not that Stuart got everything! It’s not fair! It’s just not fair to me p>
Staring at Amanda’s twisted, snarling face, Keira felt a sharp pain in her chest. She couldn’t understand how the daughter she had carried for nine months had turned into this monster.
“You’re a monster, a complete monster! To throw away your own family for money,” Keira sobbed, unable to control herself. “Amanda, you don’t deserve to be a Gonzales. From this day forward, I have no daughter. You will pay for what you’ve done. I’ll see to it that you spend the rest of your life in prison to atone for what you did to Stuart and his family p>
With that, she turned to her son. “Stuart, I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I’m the one who hurt you. I’m the one who destroyed your family.” If only she hadn’t been so indulgent, things never would have gone this far. No one could possibly understand the depth of her regret.
Though her son and granddaughter were safe, the agony of not knowing her daughter-in-law’s fate was a persistent ache, never far from her mind.
Stuart once had a happy family, and now it was in ruins.
Hearing Keira’s vow to disown her and send her to prison, Amanda’s bravado shattered. She crumpled to the floor, then scrambled to Keira’s feet, clutching at her legs. “Mom! Mom, please! I’m your daughter! I know I was wrong now, I swear! Think of all the years I took care of you. Please, just give me one more chance. A chance to make it right. I’ll be Stuart’s servant, I’ll do anything, just please… please don’t send me to prison!” As long as she stayed out of prison, there was still hope. But once she was behind bars, her life would be over.
Having been her daughter for over forty years, Amanda knew Keira’s weakness. She was soft-hearted. A few tears, a pathetic plea, and Keira would always forgive her. Besides, Stuart and Caitlin hadn’t actually died.
But this time was different.
The next thing she knew, Keira kicked her away with surprising force.
“Get out! Get away from me! I told you, I no longer have a daughter.” Keira looked at Caitlin, then closed her eyes, making a decision that pained her to the core. “Caitlin, call Captain Quinn p>
“Yes, Grandma.” Caitlin pulled a phone from her pocket. The entire confrontation had been a setup. The phone Amanda had smashed earlier was just a cheap burner she’d bought for this purpose; she was never foolish enough to let Amanda get her hands on her real one.
Sprawled on the floor, Amanda
stared at Keira in disbelief, her pleas
venom. “Keira Fairchild
turning to ve
Gonzales! I am your own flesh and blood! Ann and I were the ones by your side all these years! If I’d really wanted you dead, you would have been gone long ago! Is your heart made of stone? Youte so cruel You’d cast aside your own daughter without a second thought. You’ll pay for this! You’ll rot in hell when you die p>
She spat, “Ann is ashamed to have a grandmother like you. It’s my fault! I curse the day I was born to a mother like you! I curse myself for not being able to give Ann a better future p>
Amanda knew she was finished. With her last moments of freedom, she was trying to guilt-trip Keira, to plant a seed of obligation. If Keira felt she owed her, she r might in tur feel compelled to provide for Ann. After all, Ann was innocent in all of this. Amanda was reminding Keira that even if she wasn’t her daughter, Ann was still her granddaughter.
Stuart saw right through the pathetic act and stepped forward. “That’s enough, Amanda! You were never a Gonzales to begin with. The fact that my mother raised you and let you leech off this family for forty years was an act of profound charity. You should be grateful p>
Amanda’s eyes went wide. She never thought Stuart would expose the secret, especially not in front of Keira. It was true, then. In his heart, he had never once thought of her as his sister.
Keira froze, looking from Amanda to Stuart, her voice trembling. “Stuart… what are you saying p>
Amanda wasn’t a Gonzales? How could that be possible? She had given birth to her. Where was this all coming from? A thousand questions flooded her mind.
Stuart met his mother’s gaze. “Mom, do you remember the complications you had during childbirth when you had my sister p>