Three days later, the four family members returned home exhausted, furious, and completely stripped of their luxury luggage.<\/p>\n
They fully expected to find Lucas weeping helplessly beside a lifeless corpse.<\/p>\n
However, the moment Rachel unlocked the front door, all the bright ceiling lights flashed on simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Walter was sitting proudly in the middle of the room in a sharp gray suit, standing completely upright.<\/p>\n
Attorney Douglas Ross stood ready at his right side, while two stern officers from the prosecutor\u2019s office stood to his left.<\/p>\n
Rachel dropped her expensive handbag onto the floor in sheer terror.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa, what is the meaning of this?\u201d Rachel stuttered nervously.<\/p>\n
Walter lifted a thick red folder off the table with authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means I finally know who tried to bury me alive,\u201d Walter answered calmly.<\/p>\n
The senior prosecutor then asked them all to step inside and close the door immediately.<\/p>\n
Pamela was the very first person to react by placing both hands dramatically over her chest and letting out a theatrical moan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter, what a wonderful surprise, because we honestly thought you were gravely ill,\u201d Pamela gasped dramatically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so ill that you cut off my water supply and locked my door from the outside so I could not call for help,\u201d Walter replied directly.<\/p>\n
Gregory turned deathly pale in an instant as he stared at his father.<\/p>\n
For years, he had strolled through the estate like an absolute monarch, ordering workers around, showing off company vehicles, and lounging in a custom leather armchair.<\/p>\n
Now he looked like a caught child who had been stolen red handed.<\/p>\n
Derek took a nervous step backward toward the exit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have absolutely nothing to do with these personal family matters,\u201d Derek claimed quickly.<\/p>\n
The tallest officer immediately blocked his path.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are heavily involved with six point four million dollars transferred through fictitious suppliers,\u201d the officer corrected him sharply.<\/p>\n
Rachel spun around to confront her secret lover in panic.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou explicitly swore to me that those transfers were completely legal,\u201d Rachel yelled at Derek.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you explicitly swore your grandfather would not last another month, so do not act innocent now,\u201d Derek spat back angrily.<\/p>\n
\u201cShut your mouth right now,\u201d Rachel screamed hysterically.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I, considering you gave me the security keys, photographed his signatures, and claimed Lucas was too stupid to ever check the accounting records?\u201d Derek retorted furiously.<\/p>\n
Lucas observed the chaotic scene quietly from the far side of the room.<\/p>\n
He felt no desire to yell, because the sheer depth of betrayal had pushed his anger into a cold, motionless calm.<\/p>\n
Attorney Ross opened his legal folder on the counter to explain the legal consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo summarize, Mr. Walter Lawson retains total ownership of the entire consortium, while the estate and vehicles belong strictly to his holding corporation,\u201d the attorney announced clearly.<\/p>\n
He added that Gregory\u2019s management powers were completely revoked and all fraudulent employment contracts were immediately terminated.<\/p>\n
Gregory slammed his heavy fist onto the wooden table in rage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI built that entire company with my own hands,\u201d Gregory shouted indignantly.<\/p>\n
Walter looked at his son without even blinking.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou arrived when there were already fully operating sawmills, established clients, and steady payrolls,\u201d Walter reminded him calmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started this business with a single used saw, a rusty pickup truck, and ten workers who only got paid when we had money, so never confuse being born near a fortune with actually building it,\u201d Walter added forcefully.<\/p>\n
Pamela broke into loud, dramatic tears beside her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe only did what we did because we were utterly exhausted, and taking care of you became far too overwhelming,\u201d Pamela sobbed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never took care of me, because you intentionally drugged me,\u201d Walter countered sternly.<\/p>\n
The attorney placed clear photographic evidence on the table, showing sedative bottles, altered prescriptions, video stills, and official blood test results.<\/p>\n
Gregory turned to glare at his wife in shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me the doctor explicitly recommended those soothing drops for him,\u201d Gregory accused Pamela.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were the one who kept pouring them into his warm drinks,\u201d Pamela shot back.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you handed me the bottle every single time,\u201d Gregory argued loudly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, you were secretly increasing the daily dosage on your own,\u201d Pamela screamed back.<\/p>\n
Walter allowed them to tear each other apart for several minutes while the prosecutor took detailed notes.<\/p>\n
Rachel slowly walked over to Lucas with a pleading expression on her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas, sweetheart, we desperately need to talk about this in private,\u201d Rachel whispered softly.<\/p>\n
Lucas looked back at her with a chilling calm that deeply unsettled her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have listened to you talking about me for months with Derek behind closed doors,\u201d Lucas answered quietly.<\/p>\n
She swallowed hard, trying desperately to regain control of the narrative.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a terrible mistake because I felt abandoned while you were always away in the mountains, worrying about work and my grandfather,\u201d Rachel claimed desperately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was working endlessly in the mountains to pay off this estate, cover your lavish expenses, and purchase the expensive medicines you claimed to buy,\u201d Lucas pointed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, you were plotting to throw me out onto the street the moment the inheritance money came through,\u201d Lucas added calmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just confused and overwhelmed,\u201d Rachel whimpered softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you were doing precise financial calculations,\u201d Lucas replied firmly.<\/p>\n
Rachel lowered her voice to a desperate whisper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can fix everything together, because you know my family depends entirely on your hard work, and you will not let them arrest us,\u201d Rachel urged.<\/p>\n
Lucas pulled his plain wedding band out of his pocket, held it in his palm for a brief moment, and placed it quietly on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor five years, I foolishly believed that enduring abuse was a form of devotion, but today I finally realized I was only teaching you how much you could walk over me without facing consequences,\u201d Lucas said steadily.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas, please do not do this,\u201d Rachel pleaded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe divorce petition has already been formally submitted to the court,\u201d Lucas stated plainly.<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s begging expression instantly vanished, replaced by pure malice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho do you think you are, because without us you were an absolute nobody, and my father gave you a job when you had nothing,\u201d Rachel sneered.<\/p>\n
Walter let out a sharp, dry laugh from his chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave him a job, and I kept him because he never lost a lumber shipment, never inflated an invoice, and never abandoned an old man who could not thank him,\u201d Walter declared loudly.<\/p>\n
Rachel glared at her grandfather with bitter resentment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas this entire sickening setup just a trap for us?\u201d Rachel demanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a test of character, and every single one of you went out of your way to fail it in the most disgraceful manner possible,\u201d Walter replied sternly.<\/p>\n
The old man then explained what no one had ever suspected.<\/p>\n
After his initial heart attack and the painful loss of his wife, he had spent six months in rigorous physical rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
He had regained most of his physical mobility, but quickly discovered disturbing signs as his son inquired relentlessly about wills and stocks, his daughter in law discussed selling off assets, and his granddaughter treated him like an annoying burden.<\/p>\n
With the secret help of Dr. Reynolds and Attorney Ross, Walter feigned a complete physical relapse.<\/p>\n
Though he originally intended to observe them for just a few weeks, the more helpless he acted, the more cruel and careless his family became.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, I thought their harsh behavior was just stress, but then I heard my own son placing bets on how many days I had left,\u201d Walter reflected sadly.<\/p>\n
Three days later, the four family members returned home exhausted, furious, and completely stripped of their luxury luggage. They fully … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-amomama-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3913,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3910\/revisions\/3913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amomama.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}