At last, Sheffield turned to Lea. It seemed that she had no intention to speak, so he turned to Kaylee instead. "Kaylee, use your brain once in a while. What kind of family are you from? How could you even compare yourself to the likes of Evelyn Huo? Same goes for you and your wife, Felton. These women should be honored that they are able to sit at this table with the Tang family. The case with Evelyn, however, is different. She has agreed to marry me, and you should all be honored that she is willing to be a daughter-in-law of this family. You think giving her a mere one billion dollars as betrothal gift is too much? Sandra Tang, that is about the same amount of money that you have spent all these years. Am I wrong? Evelyn will soon be one of the Tang family's daughters-in-law. Peterson Tang will finally have a decent daughter."
His words dumbfounded both Kaylee and Felton. It was indeed true that none of the daughters-in-law could compare their families to the Huo family.
Sandra was furious. She had always hated Sheffield, and argued, "What is that supposed to mean, huh? You think I am not a good daughter? I spend my own father's money. What is wrong with that? And Evelyn Huo... She is not even married to you yet, but do you know how much you have spent on her already? You spent hundreds of millions on an engagement ring! And the wedding will cost billions of dollars. How can we afford to spend so much money for her? It would be better for you to marry a daughter from an ordinary family, just like our brothers did."
Sheffield was annoyed. He said in a much harsher tone, "How much I spent on the engagement ring has nothing to do with you or this family. I bought it with my own money. And I don't need the Tang family's help to support my wife. I can make enough money to support her myself. The old man is giving the betrothal present out of his goodwill. And I have already decided to give the Huo family another betrothal present from my side. Sandra, if you are uncomfortable with this decision, why don't you file a divorce and marry a rich man instead? Maybe his family could give you better betrothal gifts."
The table was silent. Sheffield was always so blunt with all of them. He didn't care about their feelings. Sandra's husband was sitting right next to her, and yet he had no qualms in asking her to get a divorce and marry someone else.
Sandra Tang's face darkened with anger. She lost her appetite as she yelled, "You are pushing it too far, Sheffield! Who do you think you are? Are you aiming to be the next boss of the Tang family after Dad? Don't forget that he has other sons and daughters. You are not even qualified to be the head of this family!"
Sheffield scoffed in disgust, "Is that so? I hope you still remember that the main income of the Tang family depends on Theo Group. Now that I have taken over the company, it is up to me to decide who gets how much from the profits. Since you are already married, you have no right to spend a penny earned by the Tang family. Just as how after I marry Evelyn, I won't let her spend a penny of the Huo family. It is the duty of the husband to take care of his wife." Just like that, Sheffield cut off Sandra and her husband from the family money.
Sandra was about to explode. The money for her monthly expenses came from the Tang family. Her salary could never cover her expenses. "You bastard!" she yelled.
"Sandra!" Peterson, who had been silent all this while, interrupted her.
"Dad, he has gone too far! Did he even ask your opinion before cutting me off? This man is arrogant and lawless!" Sandra was filled with so much anger and disgust that her face became distorted.
Peterson looked at Sheffield's calm face and finally said, "As you said, I will give you fifteen percent of the shares. But on one condition."
The father and son duo looked at each other. This time, Sheffield did not say anything. He knew what Peterson was going to say.
The reason why many people in the city did not know his identity all these years was that his name had been deleted from the Tang family's residence booklet after he was cut off by Peterson.
A faint smile appeared on Sheffield's lips and he stood from his seat. "Let me think about it."
With those words, he turned around and walked towards the front door.
Peterson caught up with him. "Sheffield!"
Sheffield turned around and showed the cigarette in his hand. "I'm going out for a smoke. You want to join?"
"Okay." They walked out of the house together.
In the dining room
Sandra Tang glared at the silent Lea. "You are our stepmother. Why didn't you speak for us while that bastard was insulting all of us?"
Lea was stunned for a moment by her words. When she replied, her voice was weak. "You know how your father is. Once he makes a decision, few people can change his mind. And I can't interfere in matters related to Sheffield. My words carry no weight, that's why I didn't say anything. Please don't be mad at me, Sandra."
Sandra knew that Lea was right. Few people could change Peterson's mind. She was depressed and desperate. She shifted her hostility towards Evelyn Huo.
Outside, Sheffield leaned against his car. He lit a cigarette and gave one to Peterson as well. They both smoked silently.
When his cigarette was about to burn out, Peterson said slowly, "I'm sorry. I was wrong about your mom."
In an instant, Sheffield's face changed. The one thing he hated the most was Peterson mentioning Ingrid. His father was not qualified to speak of her or the past. But before he blew up, Peterson said, "Hear me out first."
It took a while for Sheffield to regain his composure. He looked away indifferently, waiting for his father to continue.
"I have been with many women in my life, but I've only ever loved your mother. And you are just like her! I was always happy around her. She was much younger than me, and sometimes behaved like a child. When Sidell framed your mother for dealing in fake drugs, I thought that she was just a young girl who had made a mistake. But she refused to admit the accusation and insisted on arguing with me. I wanted to help her when she was put in prison, but she refused." Peterson could only offer his help in secret, and he had succeeded in cutting down her sentence.
"Before passing away, you were the only one she was worried about. I wanted to contact you after you left, but I was too ashamed. I didn't want to see my sons killing each other, so..."
Sheffield gave him a quizzical look.
Peterson didn't look at him. His eyes were fixed ahead in the distance.
"Pierson has always wanted your grandfather's notes, but your grandfather gave it to you. You said that you burned it all, and I believed you. But Pierson didn't. That day, I deliberately made a scene to make him give up completely." Peterson was well aware of what Pierson had done to Sheffield.
"I used the incident about Kaylee as an excuse to drive you away from here. But what I didn't take into account is that you are as stubborn as your mother. I was angry at that time. I beat you, but you still refused to accept the mistakes. You let me beat you bloody..."
As Peterson recalled the scene from their past, extreme guilt washed over him.
"Stop talking." Sheffield looked at his father coldly. He was ashamed of his past and didn't want to hear any more of the old man's rambling. "I didn't come here to talk about the past. If you don't want to give the betrothal gifts, it's fine. I don't expect you to do anything for me."