Chapter Two: Grandma's last stand.
1339 Words
Everyone froze.
Standing at the top of the grand staircase was a woman in a simple qipao, silver hair pinned up, leaning on a jade cane. But her back was straighter than any of the elders below. 70s, but still sharper than all of them combined.
Evelyn Stevens. The matriarch.
“Whoever threw that cup,” her voice was quiet, but it cut through the hall like a knife. “Pick up the pieces. With your hands.”
Silence.
Kathy’s face went white.
Mrs Haley’s mouth opened and closed.
The voice from the stairs: GRANDMA STEVENS.
Kathy tried to intervene “Grandma, she leaked—”
“Enough! You will NOT touch this child in my house.”
Everyone shuts up. Even Mr. Stevens. He seemed to bow his head and retreat to a corner, like a terrified rat, who can only yell at ants and retreat when the king of cats arrive.
Grandma bellowed at her “I said enough.”
Grandma descended the stairs slowly. But her eyes never left Kiera. And for one second, Kiera was 12 again, kneeling on cold tiles while Mrs. Haley Stevens screamed about a doll….
As Grandma steps down the stairs majestically like a queen descending from heaven. Kiera’s hand shakes.
_Flashback_
12 year old Kiera looking helpless as Mrs. Haley continued dragging her by the ear. “You broke Kathy’s doll. On your knees. Now.” Her knee arched, no one dared stand up for her.
It made a 90 degree. No one stopped her.
It landed with a thud.
Cold floor.
No one helped.
“Stop!” The same commanding tone, just more energetic.
Only Grandma came with a blanket later.
_Back to now_
Kiera blinks. Tears she won’t shed. She holds back as Grandma arrives in front of her and takes her hand, smiling.
But as soon as Grandma Evelyn eyes turned back to the people in the hall, it became ice cold.
“Didn't I say for someone to pick up the shattered teacup?” She asked, and this time, Mrs. Haley couldn't bear the humiliation anymore.
“Mom! I can bear with it when you stand up for Kiera everytime she did something wrong in the past and now you're siding with her again? Do you even know how much trouble she has caused this time? Do you remember how she left the house last time after making you almost die from your illness your last birthday? Or are you pretending to have forgotten? She's an intolerable witch mom and you always side her, you never even do that for Kathy, isn't that blatant injustice, cruelty and favoritism? Or have you gone senile?”
Kiera gritted her teeth, she could tolerate anyone insulting her, but her grandma? She was her Achilles heel and who gave this illegitimate wife the cheek to come here and call her Grandma senile? Was she out of her mind?
Grandma Evelyn seemed to sense her growing disatisfaction and patted the back of her hand gently.
“I said, go and pick up the shattered teacup pieces! This is the ancestral Hall and you have the cheek to cause this ruckus here in the presence of our ancestors and even insult me when the Number 1 rule of conduct in this family is respect. That would earn you 20 strokes of the whip and you'd also kneel here for 6 hours and admit your mistakes in front of the ancestral family lineage tree.”
Mrs. Haley was dumbstruck with shock!
“But…but….mom, I… I…”
“Grandma, why would you do this to mom, I know you hate it but you're taking this too far!”
“And you Kathy, for the privilege of being of the younger generation, you'd be getting 10 strokes of the whip!”
Grandma Stevens commanded as she took Kiera's hand and began to walk away when she stopped and glanced back at Mrs. Haley.
Kathy shivered in fright thinking her grandma was about to give another ruthless punishment and was about to speak up in defense of her mom when a voice beat her to it.
“You guys wanted to falsely accuse Miss Kiera Stevens of what she didn't do? That's slander and defamation and you'd be paying a hefty fine!”
Everyone looked at the sound of the voice and were all amazed, staring at the person beside the lawyer who just spoke.
Standing there was Damian Blackwood.
He seemed serious, like a man who valued his integrity.
William Stevens, her cousin was already considered the pinnacle of good looks, yet the man before her seemed to surpass even him.
From his facial features to his physique and aura, everything was flawless.He could easily be described as breathtakingly beautiful.
If there was anything to criticize, it would be the coldness and arrogance in his eyes, which were so intense they made others feel ashamed and hesitant to approach.
Kiera was speechless for a long moment.
He seemed to remind her of something embarrassing as her face turned red.
Even Kathy was stunned silent.
When she finally came to her senses and tried to find something to say to ease the awkwardness, her gaze froze, and her face turned pale!
Wasn't this Damian Blackwood, the man whom her dad owed about $40million?
For some reason, a cold feeling washed over her and an unprecedented chill spread through her heart, that video just now, was… he talking about that?
Kathy pointed at her and yelled again
"It was her! We have proof!"
She hurriedly walked towards the TV and played the video again. Now everyone had to watch it for the second time, and the more they looked at it, the less it seemed like it was Kiera.
Damian watched it with a mockingly disdainful smirk and then turns his head to look at Kiera for 2 seconds.
“This video is AI. I had it checked on the way here.”
Everyone was stunned. Kiera was too.
The implications were clear. She wasn't guilty of the accusation.
Her eyes just remained on the black mask he was holding, and then it traveled up to his face again, was that supposed to be a coincidence?
And also…
Why is HE defending her?
No… she got that wrong.
Is he here to defend her or for some other purpose, like coming to drop a lawsuit? That seemed unlikely, he could just have his lawyer do that.
Or was he… the man from…
She slapped her head and shook it.
IMPOSSIBLE!
He chuckled. “Looking for the leaker? Check in your own company, as a business man, I only care about my profit and a breach of contract remains one. You not only have to pay the $40million as a breach of contract penalty, but for dragging my company's name down with yours too. That'd be an extra $9 million”
Everywhere went dead silent.
“Mr. Blackwood! That's downright taking advantage of us when we're already down, this is unfair. We haven't even gotten the money to pay off the debts and now you're adding $9 million as a compensation for your losses? That isn't gentlemanly at all!”
Everytime Kiera saw that infuriating smirk on his face, she felt like tearing that annoyingly handsome face apart!
Mr. Damian turned his eyeballs towards her, one eyebrow raised with a hint of provocation and intrigue.
Kiera felt like she was being assessed, like an item put up for auction.
“What a protective little daughter bird… with that video, you'd have spent three years in jail and then you still decided to speak up for them, how touching!”
Kiera felt her face heat up but she was about to speak up again when his annoying voice, as smooth as honey, flowed into her ears…
“How about you help them pay it off?”
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