Chapter 2 - The Safe Haven
The drive home was silent, save for the soft hum of the luxury SUV's engine.
Marcus kept glancing in the rearview mirror, watching his three children huddled together in the back seat.
Ethan had fallen asleep against Leo’s shoulder, his small hands still red from scrubbing the tables.
When they finally arrived at their large, gated estate, Marcus carried Ethan inside and tucked him into bed.
He then found Chloe and Leo sitting at the kitchen island, staring blankly at glasses of warm milk.
"I am so sorry I didn't get there sooner," Marcus said, taking a seat across from them.
"Why do they hate us so much, Dad?" Chloe asked, her voice cracking with lingering sadness.
"They don't hate you, sweetheart, they are just deeply broken and bitter people," Marcus explained, reaching out to hold her hand.
"They never approved of my marriage to your mother because she came from a working-class family."
Leo clenched his fists on the marble countertop, his jaw tight with anger.
"Grandpa told me that if I dropped that tray, he would make sure I never saw a dime of the family inheritance," Leo muttered.
Marcus felt a fresh wave of rage boil in his chest.
"Listen to me very carefully, both of you," Marcus said, locking eyes with his eldest children.
"My parents do not have a family inheritance anymore, because their business went bankrupt five years ago."
Chloe and Leo gasped, their eyes widening in shock at the sudden revelation.
"I have been secretly funding their luxurious lifestyle to keep up their appearances in high society," Marcus confessed.
"I thought if I gave them everything they wanted, they would finally accept you kids."
He stood up, pulled out his phone, and opened his banking application.
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"But tonight proved that they are incapable of love, and I am entirely done playing their game."
Marcus tapped the screen, permanently freezing the joint accounts he had set up for his parents.
