Anthony returned to the house only to overhear Rona nagging about him.
"Mom, you shouldn't have brought him back. He's bad luck, everyone says so. He just came back yesterday and we suffered such a huge loss. If he stays for a week, what's gonna happen? He should go to hell." She muttered, stamping her feet before Joyce.
"Don't say that now, he's your eldest brother. You should love and respect him, even if he's weaker than we expected. And for the last time, he's not bad luck. Don't join the rest of the family to insult him. They're intentionally doing this to frustrate him because they don't want our branch of the family to continue holding the dominant force." Joyce whispered patiently, smiling at her.
"Then let it pass to another branch. Is all that stress worth it for a mere title? After all, we will still have all our assets and resources because we earned them ourselves. Instead of causing chaos and making everyone hate us, he should have just died out there!" Rona shouted, making the smile on Joyce's face disappear.
"Rona Meyer! How dare you say that? Has your hatred made you dumb or is it your little cousin? Are you blind, can't you see their intentions? If your brother fails to inherit the heir position, we will be in so much damned trouble. It was alright when we didn't find him, we could just find a way to forcefully make Kaiser take over. But now he has been found, they will insist we didn't use our slot well and use it to push for impeachment. Do you think they will let us go if we give up on the heir's position? No fucking way! Your father, the current patriarch, will be killed. They will force us to give up all the wealth and power we control right now. We will be kicked out without a dime! It's alright if it's rendering us penniless, but they might actually wipe us all off, and make it look like an accident before the rest of the world. They could even paint us black to gain the moral high ground. All these time we kept the power, it didn't stop their attacks. They continued to make efforts at insubordination. What about those your father and Kaiser ruthlessly crushed because of one reason or the other? Do you think they will sit still instead of retaliating? Dream on! Even the enemies outside would take advantage once you get weaker to retaliate for past grievances. Friends, subordinates and allies who you once helped will kick you down, treat you with disdain, and spit in your face. If the power ever leaves our family, we will be ruined. Even though I don't think Stephen can do it, we still have to hope and help him. That's the only way we can survive. Kaiser alone can't do it, he needs a strong buffer beside him to continue holding us up." Joyce growled and walked closer to Rona.
"Mom, stop it! Stop painting everyone black in your bid to support Stephen or Anthony, whatever you guys call him. The next legible person is Brent, and he's very close to brother. The rest who might hate us don't stand a chance. Do you think they will let us come to harm or take away the group of companies dad and brother multiplied with the limited assets? Most of the things we have now were earned solely by our branch. When dad took over, he was asked to make his own money and prove that he is competent. He used the limited resources he was allowed to build it to this level. Most of what we have now has nothing to do with the clan, why will they take it? Also…"
Joyce grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close to herself, her eyes filled with desperation and anger.
"Shut up, Rona, you don't know shit. Why are you so immature? Being book smart is not the same as having common sense and wisdom. I can see that now. How did I give birth to such a selfish, blind, and foolish girl? The world you live in isn't the real world, you don't know how the real world works like. You have not experienced real pain and treachery of the world because we tried our best to keep you away from all that shit. People are not what you think they are. Those smiles on their faces are not what it is. Every one your age in the clan understands the real dynamics, but you suddenly got stupid and dense for reasons I know not. Rona, the only real allies you have are your blood brothers, remember that."
"Joyce!" Anthony called loudly from the door, pretending he just came in and didn't witness the arguments.
The guards and maids were nowhere to be found. They have long since mastered the art of dissapearing once Rona begin to act up.
Joyce turned to him, quickly letting go of Rona.
"What's wrong?" Anthony asked, pretending to just notice the atmosphere.
"It's nothing, Stephen, let's eat. The person your grandpa delegated will be here in thirty minutes."
"It's Anthony, not Stephen. I'm not used to the name. Changing my name suddenly feels awkward."
Rona scoffed at that moment, making their attention return to him.
"Look at him, so idiotic and disrespectful. You address mom anyhow and expect others to respect you? You lack home training. But of course, that's something that should be expected from a sewer rat. Just go back to the streets where you belong. There's no space for you here." She shouted and turned around, leaving them.
"I'm sorry, mom. It's just that I'm not used to calling someone that for a long time." Anthony whispered with a smile, not minding Rona's words in the least. After all, in the book of people who have done stupid and unbelievable things for love, he ranks way higher than her. Who could be more stupid and reckless than he was with Priscilla?
Besides, the most important thing was to stay alert and not let the enemies scheme against him using his training. As for the little girl's antics, he can't mind it too much. He kept having a bad feeling since Kaiser left, making him uncomfortable. What the hell could be wrong?