Chapter 121

“So you want to cut ties with me? Is that it?” Gabriel asked through gritted teeth.

“You’re the one in the wrong here, and now you’re threatening to disown me? Fine. I’m going straight to the police.” Stephant spun around, and Maarsset—Bianca quickly stepped forward to stop him. “Your father’s been under so much stress with the company lately.”

“Then maybe he shouldn’t be running a company! If all he does is sell out his own kids to keep it going, he should just shut it down.” Stephen shoved her aside, his words cutting deep.

Gabriel stood there in shock, unable to say anything for a long time.

“How can you talk to Dad like that?” Christian couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up.

“Why can’t I say it? Tell me what I got wrong! I remember exactly how he forced Abigail into that situation. This time, I’m the one taking the fall for him, but who knows which one of us he’ll sacrifice next for his precious business deals.”

Stephen threw those words at them and stormed out of Gibson Villa.

The truth always hit the hardest. Gabriel stood there speechless, still processing what his son had just said.

“Go calm Dad down,” Daniella told Christian, then quickly ran after Stephen.

Bianca helped Gabriel, whose face had gone pale, while she sobbed quietly. “He’s just upset, that’s why he said those things. He didn’t mean it.”

Wyatt came down the stairs, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “So he gets upset for a few days and throws this kind of tantrum with you people."

“Meanwhile, someone else suffered for three years, came back, and still gets bled dry by this family without making a scene. I guess when they’re not your real family, you can squeeze them however you want.”

He stopped at the door. “Since you can’t run the company properly, take a break. I’ll find a new CEO.”

“Dad!” Gabriel panicked.

“I was sick for three years, and the company lost money the whole time. That proves you and Stevie don’t know how to manage anything. Now you’re having this blowout with Stephen in front of everyone. You’ve completely embarrassed the Gibson family name!” Wyatt’s voice was stern.

His words left the room in total silence. Bianca saw how pale Gabriel had turned and didn’t dare say another word.

Meanwhile, Daniella caught up with Stephen and grabbed his hand from behind. “Stevie, I know you’re hurt, but you shouldn’t have talked to Dad like that.”

Daniella’s eyes were red-rimmed, her voice thick with tears. “Stevie, I get why you’re mad at Dad for making you take the blame, but what did I do wrong?”

“Don’t ‘Stevie’ me. I’m not your brother. You want someone to be your puppet? Go find someone else. Leave me out of it.” Stephen stepped back with bitter sarcasm in his voice.

“Stevie, just tell me what I did wrong. Please don’t be like this. You’re really hurting me.” The tears were already streaming down Daniella’s face.

They’d grown up together, and even though Stephen didn’t like her anymore, he couldn’t treat her as harshly as he’d treated Abigail before.

He sighed, “Since you’re asking, I’ll spell it out for you today. I was good to you, wasn’t I? Every time someone picked on you growing up, I had your back. But did you ever once genuinely care about your brother?”

– Stephen had done more than just feel sorry for himself after getting beaten up in jail. He’d actually thought this through.

Ever since Abigail came back, Daniella had manipulated him into bullying her every single time. Sure, he hadn’t liked Abigail much at first, but that didn't give Daniella the right to use him like a weapon.

Daniella had played both Christian and Stephen like fools with her scheming, getting them to do her dirty work against Abigail.

During his time in jail, Stephen had plenty of time to think things through, and it made him sick to his stomach. He realized that all his genuine feelings had been nothing but tools for her to manipulate.

Daniella was selfish to the core. Abigail coming back hadn’t threatened her at all, but she’d still done who knew how many things behind the scenes to hurt her.

Stephen couldn’t even begin to piece together all of it.

“I was sincere with you—” Daniella said.

Stephen cut her off sharply, “Stop treating everyone like idiots. You photoshopped fake pictures to spread rumors about Abigail. That says everything about your character right there.

“You’re a woman too, so you know exactly what happens when someone gets targeted like that.

“But you did it anyway. You two hadn’t even had a terrible weight during that time, so I can’t think of any excuse for you. The only explanation is that you’re just a terrible person.”

Stephen had always been blunt. When he’d disliked Abigail, he hadn’t held back then either. Now, facing Daniella, he wasn’t about to go easy on her.

Daniella stared at him in disbelief. “I’m a terrible person?”