Lesson Learned
Joseph’s face was stormy as he shot James a deadly glare. “James, I’ve made myself clear that if you
want to apologize, you’ll have to do it on your knees and bow to my granddaughter.”
Bristling, James retorted coldly, “That seems a little over-the-top, Mr. Harrison. My family may never
match up to yours, but that doesn’t mean you can trample on our dignity!”
Upon hearing her husband speak up, Helen chimed in defensively as well, “That’s right! I know my
nephew is to blame for whatever happened this time, but certainly, there’s no need for you to blow things
out of proportion like this! What are you trying to accomplish with all these men you’ve brought to our
doorstep, Joseph? Do you plan on wiping us out? Have you forgotten about the rule of law?”
Joseph chuckled insidiously. “Indeed, the rule of law exists to regulate man’s behavior, but maybe you
should ask your nephew if he’d like to settle this personally before we call the police.”
Helen’s blood boiled at the old man’s threat. “Go ahead and call the police on us, Joseph!” she taunted
angrily. “You’re the one breaking and entering into a private residence with this large group of thugs,
which seems far worse than our incident if you ask me! So my nephew told a couple of lies, but he might
only be charged for defamation in the worst-case scenario. You, on the other hand…”
She trailed off with implication, and without missing a beat, Joseph countered, “Fine, then. Crystal, get
the police and tell them that we’ve caught a man who was trying to abduct women. In fact, I have a
reasonable suspicion that all those missing women cases in Eastcliff may have something to do with
him!”
Tate began to panic. As far as criminal records went, his was not the cleanest, and an incident like this
one could easily get him thrown into prison for years. “Aunt Helen, you can’t call the police!” he
interjected hastily.
Confused by his belligerence, Helen blinked and asked, “Why? We have every right to call the police on
them, seeing as they broke into our home. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
To the side, Sasha curled her lips into a humorless smile as she scoffed and interjected, “I think it’s pretty
obvious what’s really going on around here, Mom. This punk has probably done something despicable
again and landed himself in boiling hot water!”
Helen’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, and she suddenly recalled what Tate had said when he
arrived at the house—he and his friends had wanted to teach Crystal a lesson, which culminated in the
whole mess.
She had been so angry with the alleged affair between Crystal and Matthew that she completely forgot
about this detail.
Presently, Joseph’s icy voice pierced the heavy air as he drawled, “President Cunningham, I’m going to
assume that you have no idea of the things this young man has done, have you?” He scoffed
contemptuously and added, “I just so happen to have brought along his scumbag friends who acted on
his orders. Why don’t I let them tell you precisely what happened?”
Having said that, he clapped his hands once and cued the shameful entrance of a group of men, all of
whom were Tate’s friends. They were brought in with their arms pinned behind their backs, and the next
second, they spilled the whole truth in front of everyone.
When the explanation came to an end, Sasha felt as if she might throw up in a fit of anger. There was a
dark fire in her eyes as she glared at Tate murderously and snapped, “You’re really done for this time,
Tate! Take a good look at what your precious nephew has done this time, Mom! Are you still going to
defend him? I’d like to see you try!”
Helen, on the other hand, was in utter shock. It was only after hearing what those hooligans had said that
she finally understood the full story.
Meanwhile, James was fuming as he shouted, “Damn it, Tate! You good-for-nothing bast*rd! I can’t
believe you’re trying to instigate a fight between us and Mr. Harrison after what you’ve done. How much
more twisted can you be?” He turned to his wife with a grimace. “Helen, I swear to heaven above, if you
even try to speak up for this boy one more time, I’m going to divorce you right now!”
Tears welled up in Helen’s eyes as desperation washed over her. “Why would you even do something
like this, Tate?” She stared at Joseph in anguish. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Harrison. I really am. Please accept
my apology on his behalf. I’m begging you not to hold this against him. He didn’t know any better.”
The air around Joseph dropped to a freezing point as he regarded Helen impassively. “Remember what
you said to me just now, Helen? Allow me to refresh your memory—you said with utmost certainty that
your nephew would never lie to you, and you called my granddaughter a sl*t, too.”
Blood rushed to Helen’s face. “I was ignorant, Mr. Harrison. I’ve learned my lesson now. Forgive me just
this once, Mr. Harrison, as a favor to Matthew.”
However, Joseph was adamant in his stance, and with a slow shake of his head, he declared,
“Absolutely not! I’ve made myself clear just now that I’d jump down from the rooftop if I was in the wrong.
I put my life on the stake even though I was right the whole time, so do you honestly think an apology on
your part could resolve this?”
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