I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 136

He paused, clasping his hands behind his back, fully embracing his role as the absolute authority of the household. "Bring the whip!"

Hearing those words, Adelaide's face drained of color. She sprang from her chair, throwing herself in front of her son. "Dad! What do you mean? What did Fred do wrong? Why are you punishing him like this?"

Alastair scoffed, slamming his cane against the floor. "You're asking me why? Did you hear the tone he just used with Mr. Harrison's butler? Does he have any idea that one careless remark from him could destroy our family's standing in Capital City? If Xander Harrison had invested in our project, our status would have skyrocketed! And what did your son do? He spoke to the man like a thug! It's absolutely unacceptable!"

His fury escalated with every word. The veins on the back of his hands bulged. He glared at Adelaide, then at Lance, and finally swept his gaze across everyone at the table, his voice trembling with suppressed rage.

"I taught all of you to keep a low profile outside, to stop causing trouble! And what do you do? Only Nora has never given me a headache."

Lance lowered his head, muttering bitterly under his breath, "Well, she was late tonight. You shouldn't play favorites."

Alastair had incredible hearing. He caught every single word.

He snapped his head toward Lance, his eyes cutting like daggers. "You have a problem with this, Lance? Let's see if you can get Xander Harrison to personally send someone to back you up!"

Lance choked, his face turning an ugly shade of purple. The retort died in his throat.

He clenched and unclenched his fists, finally spitting out with pure malice, "Who knows what kind of tricks she used? It's easy enough for a woman to climb the ladder. Just spread her legs on a bed, and she naturally knows how to serve a man."

A second later, before Alastair could even process what was happening, Finnegan lunged forward. He hauled Lance out of his chair and drove a brutal punch straight into his face.

The entire family knew that the two brothers, Fred and Finn, were always gentlemen. They reasoned their way through conflicts and never resorted to violence.

No one could have ever predicted that he would publicly brawl with Lance—especially not in this setting, and especially not over Nora.

Adelaide panicked and grabbed his arm. "Son, calm down! Stop hitting him! Your grandfather is already furious!"

Seraphina's face paled. She rushed forward to pull Finnegan back. "Fred, please calm down! Let him go!"