Ralph’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Stephen. “I know I was wrong, but it’s too late now. I’m terrified of going back to jail. Those prison captains were pure hell.”

Before he could finish, Ralph grabbed him by the collar and landed a hard punch on his face. Stephen crashed to the floor.

Everyone in the bar turned to watch.

Ralph didn’t care. He stepped forward and grabbed Stephen’s collar again, hauling him up.

Looking at Stephen’s tear-streaked face, Ralph felt nothing but rage. He spoke slowly, each word cutting as sharply as a knife. “You Gibsons are animals. You don’t even deserve to be called human.

“Daniella faked depression to frame someone, and you helped her. You fabricated evidence to send an innocent person to prison. Did you ever think about what would’ve happened to her if she hadn’t learned computer skills in there? What would she have done when she got out?”

Stephen sobbed, “Ralph, I’m sorry. This has been tearing me apart.”

Ralph sneered, “Tearing you apart? Bullshit! I regret ever knowing you Gibsons. I regret calling you my brother all these years.

“When you said you were framed in that car accident, I ran around finding you lawyers. But what about Abigail? You knew she was innocent, and you still forged evidence.”

Ralph’s voice cracked. He couldn’t continue.

His best friend had been lying to him all along. The person he’d hated was never really Abigail.

Ralph felt like a complete fool, played by the Gibson family from the very beginning.

He shoved Stephen away and stood up, looking down at him with contempt. “We’re not brothers anymore. Whatever was left of the connection between the Fletcher and Gibson families is over. From now on, the Fletchers and the Gibsons go their separate ways!”

“Ralph, wait,” Stephen called out, trying to stop him.

But Ralph walked away without a backward glance, ignoring all the eyes watching him. He had no regrets about leaving.

Stephen lay on the ground, holding his head and sobbing. At this point, dignity meant nothing to him.

Ralph drove until he found a quiet spot and pulled over. His hands gripped the steering wheel as memories flooded back.

He had never liked Abigail from the moment she joined the Gibson family. At first, it was her appearance that bothered him.

Later, Daniella would drop hints about Abigail having sticky fingers, mentioning how she kept taking jewelry to the orphanage. Maybe she was trying to help the orphans, but Daniella clearly disapproved of her methods.

Stephen heard all of this and never once defended Abigail.

Ralph had to admit the truth about himself. He’d always looked down on poor people, seeing them as petty and calculating.

When the Gibson family brought home a daughter with a habit of stealing things, and this same girl was supposed to be his future fiancée, he felt nothing but disgust.

Abigail wasn’t worthy of becoming his wife.

So when Abigail followed him around, trying to get close to him, he found her presence both annoying and exhausting. But his family’s obvious affection for her meant he couldn’t lash out at her directly.

Instead, he simply ignored every attempt she made to connect with him.

When the Gibson family presented evidence that she had killed someone in a hit-and-run, he believed it without question.

All of this stemmed from his prejudice against Abigail. If he hadn’t looked down on her from the start just because she came from an orphanage, this wouldn't have happened.

Ralph sat in his car for a long time, unable to let go of these thoughts. His best friend had been lying to him all along. Abigail had been bullied and ended up in prison. He was partly responsible for that.

Ralph knew one thing for certain. He would never forgive Stephen for deceiving him.

Abigail had just finished her project and had no idea Ralph and Stephen had already fallen out.

She didn’t learn about it until the next day when her coworkers filled her in.

The Fletcher family had pulled out of every Gibson family project overnight and dumped all their Gibson shares on the market.

“Abby, I heard you’re a Gibson. Do you know what happened between the Fletchers and the Gibsons?” a gossip-hungry colleague asked.

The two families had been business partners for so long that the media regularly featured them together in the news.

The sudden and complete break between the Fletchers and the Gibsons shocked the entire business community.

“I have no idea. I’ve never been involved in Gibson family business,” Abigail said, just as puzzled as everyone else. The Gibsons and Fletchers had worked together for three generations. ‘Why the sudden split?’

Just as she finished speaking, her phone rang. It was Wyatt.

Abigail hit the answer button and headed toward the break room. “What’s wrong, Grandpa?”

“The Fletcher family just announced to the media that they’re permanently ending all cooperation with the Gibson family. Do you know what’s going on? I only found out when I got to the office.” Wyatt’s voice was thick with urgency.

“Ralph orchestrated the whole thing. He stayed up all night working on it and gave the statement to the press at five this morning. He even paid for media coverage to spread the news.”