Chapter 2 - The Safe Haven
Arthur did not stay to watch his parents being dragged out of the country club.
He turned his back on the screaming crowd and knelt down in front of his three children.
Lily was still shaking, her small hands clutching her brother’s jacket.
Leo was staring at the floor, his cheeks stained with humiliated tears, while little Finn simply looked terrified.
"Are you guys hurt?" Arthur asked gently, his voice instantly changing from ruthless to incredibly soft.
Lily shook her head slowly, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Grandma said if we didn't serve the food perfectly, she would make sure you lost your job," Lily whispered.
Arthur felt a fresh wave of absolute fury crash over him, but he forced a reassuring smile for his kids.
"Grandma lied to you, sweetheart," Arthur promised, pulling all three of them into a tight, protective hug.
"I own my own company, and nobody in this world can ever take my job away."
He stood up, taking Finn’s small hand in his own while Lily and Leo followed closely behind him.
"Come on, kids, we are leaving this awful place," Arthur announced.
"We are going to go get the biggest ice cream sundaes in the city, and we are never speaking to those people again."
As they walked through the grand lobby toward the exit, Arthur’s phone began to vibrate violently in his pocket.
It was a barrage of text messages from his cousins, demanding apologies and threatening to ruin him online.
Arthur didn't even bother reading them; he simply turned his phone completely off.
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Tonight was about making his children feel safe again.
Tomorrow, he would deal with the absolute destruction of his parents' empire.
