Chapter 8 - Breaking the Chain
Foster’s face flushed a dark, furious red. His polished mask completely slipped, revealing the bitter, controlling tyrant beneath.
"How dare you bring that up in my house!" Foster spat, his voice booming. "Julian was a disruption to this family! And your son's equipment ruins my dining room! I built this family estate! I fund your cousins' businesses! You will show respect in this house or you will leave with nothing!"
"Then we leave," Colton replied without hesitation.
Colton turned to face the room—his aunts, uncles, and cousins who had spent decades keeping quiet to protect their inheritances and social standings.
"My son, Asa, is brilliant, hilarious, and strong," Colton told the room. "He deserves to be loved and celebrated, not hidden away in a kitchen. Anyone who thinks my son is an 'inconvenience' is no longer welcome in our lives. If you want to stay here and pass the gravy for a bully, that's your choice. But the chain breaks today."
Colton reached out, took my hand, and turned toward the door.
For a second, there was dead silence.
Then, near the fireplace, Colton’s younger cousin, Liam, stood up. "He's right," Liam said quietly, taking his coat off the rack. "This is insane. I'm leaving too."
May you like
Two other aunts stood up, shaking their heads as Foster shouted demands for everyone to sit down. By the time we reached the front porch, half the family was walking out behind us into the crisp winter air.
For the first time in his life, Foster Prescott was left standing in his grand, empty dining room, surrounded only by his silence.
