Chapter 746
Francesca had enough. She turned to Christina and snapped, “Christina, are you seriously going to stand there and let your mother humiliate herself like this?”
Christina’s face burned with shame. She was beyond embarrassed, but Andrew’s attitude toward her was something she could not accept.
So instead, she steeled her voice. “Andrew, there’s no denying that my mother was hit. You probably don’t want this to escalate, so here’s the deal–come back with me to the Stevens mansion, and I won’t pursue this any further.”
Andrew let out a short laugh. “Go ahead. Let her make a scene all she wants. In fact, I have a pretty good relationship with Donald over at Jayrodale’s law enforcement division. I’m sure he’d love to look into a case where a crazy old woman is harassing my business.”
The second Andrew reached for his phone, Irene instantly panicked. She scrambled to her feet so fast it was almost comical–no trace of the poor, battered old lady was left.
She shrieked, “Andrew, you bastard! You’re a heartless, ungrateful wretch! You bully me, you bully my daughter— I swear, karma’s coming for you!”
Her voice was venomous, her fingers shaking as she pointed at him.
Suddenly, Leroy’s expression twisted with rage, and before anyone could react, he lunged forward and kicked at Francesca. “You little bitch! How dare you lay hands on my mother? I’ll kick you to death!”
Francesca gasped, completely caught off guard. She had not expected Leroy to attack, and there was no time to dodge. If that kick landed on her stomach, she would be seriously hurt–maybe even cough up blood.
Yet, before Leroy’s leg even reached her, Andrew’s icy voice rang out. “You’re digging your own grave!”
At the last second, Andrew lashed out with his own kick, and Leroy’s chest took the full force of the blow. He was sent flying backward, crashing nearly 15 feet away. He hit the pavement hard, his body curling up in pain as he groaned.
Andrew did not spare the Stevens family a single glance. He simply grabbed Francesca’s hand, led her to the car, and drove off.
Behind them, Irene fell apart, wailing like a madwoman. “Andrew, you bastard! You come back here! You hear me? Get back here right now!”
Christina ran over and crouched beside Leroy, her voice urgent. “Leroy! Are you okay?”
Leroy’s face was covered in dirt, his hand clutching his chest. He gritted his teeth and snarled, “Christina, you have to do something about him. This isn’t the first time Andrew’s beaten me! If he refuses to respect us, then fine! We don’t need him anymore! Just find a way to get rid of him already!”
Christina did not respond immediately. Her lips pressed together as her eyes darkened with something cold and ugly.
Jealousy and resentment boiled in her chest, twisting into something dangerous.
“Fine,” she muttered under her breath. “If this is how Andrew wants to play, then I won’t hold back anymore. You want to humiliate me? To push me aside like I’m nothing? Let’s see how long that lasts. One day, Andrew, you’ll be on your knees, begging for my forgiveness.”
Jealousy was a terrifying thing–stronger than logic, more consuming than fire. And in Christina, it festered, growing more twisted with every passing second.
Andrew’s success was a slap in her face, a painful reminder of Stevens Corporation’s decline and her own failures. Instead of blaming herself, she funneled all that hatred straight at him.
Meanwhile, Aspen had been watching from the sidelines the entire time, completely indifferent to the chaos unfolding around her. She had zero sympathy for Christina, Leroy, or Irene.
In fact, seeing Christina slowly unravel brought her genuine satisfaction. Her own life was a disaster–so why not let her dear cousin share the experience?
After all, what were fake friendships for, if not for dragging each other down?