Chapter 10 - The Unwelcome Guest
Ruth Miller didn't knock politely. She pounded on our front door with frantic, desperate energy.
"Robert! Clara! Open this door right now!" her voice shrieked through the heavy wood. "Robert, answer me!"
Mia flinched at the sound, instinctively stepping behind my legs.
"Clara, take Mia upstairs to her room," Robert said, his tone turning instantly to steel.
"Rob, don't let her in," I warned, holding his arm.
"I'm not letting her past the porch," he replied. "Go upstairs."
I led Mia up the stairs, locking her bedroom door behind us and turning on her favorite cartoon to drown out the noise from downstairs. I sat on the edge of her bed, my ears straining to hear what was happening at the front door.
Downstairs, Robert pulled the front door open, stepping out onto the covered porch and shutting the door firmly behind him, blocking Ruth’s path.
"Get off my property, Ruth," Robert said, his voice flat and distant.
Ruth looked unraveled. The perfectly polished matriarch of Oak Creek was gone. Her hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes were bloodshot, and her tailored coat was unbuttoned.
"Robert, you have to undo what you did!" Ruth gasped, waving her hands frantically. "Your father received your email! Do you have any idea what you've done?! The board is in a panic! The entire IT infrastructure is locked out! Gerald is having chest pains!"
"Then call an ambulance for him," Robert said coldly. "He should have thought about his health before he attacked my daughter."
"She isn't your biological daughter!" Ruth blurted out, her voice rising in pitch. "Robert, listen to yourself! You sacrificed your career, your inheritance, and your family's legacy for a child that doesn't even carry your blood!"
Robert stepped closer to her, towering over his mother. His eyes burned with an absolute, terrifying fury.
"If you say one more word about my daughter, I will have the police arrest you for trespassing right now," Robert said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
"We are your family!" Ruth cried, tears finally spilling down her face—tears of frustration and loss of control, not remorse. "We raised you! We gave you everything! Jenna was just trying to expose a lie! How were we supposed to know about your... your medical issue?!"
"You weren't supposed to know because it was none of your damn business!" Robert shouted, his calm demeanor finally cracking into pure, raw rage. "You didn't care about the truth! You wanted to humiliate Clara! You wanted to parade her around like an adulterer to satisfy your own sick, arrogant pride! You destroyed this family, Ruth! Not me! YOU!"
Ruth stumbled back a step, shocked by the force of his words. She looked at her son as if she didn't recognize him.
"You are cut off," Ruth whispered, her voice shaking with bitter malice. "If you walk away from us now, Gerald will disinherit you completely. You won't get a single penny of the estate. Jenna will get everything. You will be dead to us."
Robert stared at her with utter contempt.
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"Keep the money, Ruth," Robert said quietly. "It’s all you’ve ever had anyway."
He turned, stepped back inside the house, and slammed the heavy door shut. He locked the deadbolt, clicked the latch, and walked straight to the window to draw the blinds, leaving his mother standing alone on the porch in the cold morning wind.
