Preston quivered in anger. His face turned white.
"Dad, how could you say so? Preston is your son too! I don't know how he'll live out the rest of his life after what Landon did to him!
"You didn't offer him words of comfort or even hold Landon responsible. Instead, you're pinning the blame on him. Do you want him dead?" Sylvia widened her eyes in disbelief and raged.
"How am I supposed to hold Landon responsible? He's the second largest stockholder of Harper Group and the company president. All the directors on the board pledged their loyalty to him. Laying a finger on him would mean hurting the company.
"As the family patriarch, shouldn't I look at the big picture?"
Preston clutched his bedsheet tightly. Anger festered in him. What Cornelius did wasn't "looking at the big picture", but sacrificing his second son.
Cornelius knitted his brows and sank into a short silence. Then, he said resolutely, "Preston, I bought the flight tickets for you. Take a few days' rest before you emigrate abroad with Sylvia to recuperate."
"Emigrate? What do you mean?" Preston was thrown a curve.
"You had a fallout with Landon. After you transferred your stocks to him and were removed from your duties in the company, you have no business staying in Solana City. You'll only make the Harpers a laughingstock." Cornelius marched out of the room without hesitation, seemingly worried that he might be attacked by Preston at any time.
He added, "You have nothing left to fight with Landon. If you keep living in denial, you might lose more than an arm the next time you go up against him."
Penelope and Zoe took the opportunity to leave with Cornelius. After the three of them departed, silence returned to Preston's room.
Sylvia, knowing that the tide had turned against them, brazenly pointed a finger at Preston and laughed at him. "Hahaha! Seems like your dad has completely given up on you. You are of no use to him anymore. This is the Harper family-a den of heartless wolves!
"Well, that's not technically true. Your brother, Bill, was the only good egg in this family. He's kind and passionate. He always took good care of you. Too bad he died an untimely death, no thanks to a certain somebody." "Shut the fuck up!" Preston grew belligerent when she touched his sore spot. Sylvia, who had been by his side for years, was privy to a lot of his secrets.
Scoffing, she retrieved the papers she had prepared from her luxury bag and tossed them onto his bed. "Sign the divorce papers as soon as you can. You need to fulfill all the conditions I listed in the document, or your secret of ten years might get out."
With that, Sylvia left the room with a look of disgust.
Preston, alone in his empty room, went hysteric after Cornelius abandoned him and Sylvia demanding a divorce. Growling, he smashed everything in sight before he dialed Zoe's number with shaking fingers.
After Zoe declined Preston's call, she received a sarcastic text from him.
Knowing she couldn't avoid him, she made up an excuse to leave the car and return to the hospital.
With a stiff smile, she asked, "Uncle Preston, w-why are you looking for me?"
"Zoe, you're really mentally tough. How could you still smile at the sight of my terrible state?"