His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus) novel Chapter 461

Frederic glared at his wayward son, his expression as stormy as a raging sea.

And trailing behind him, besides his loyal right-hand man Dennis and a phalanx of bodyguards, was Glynnis, looking like she'd just eaten a fly.

Truth be told, Glynnis would rather be anywhere but here to face Elspeth; she hadn't set foot outside the Windermere Estate since the horse race debacle.

Elspeth, as her flesh and blood, had hung their dirty laundry out for all to see!

These days, she couldn't even glance at the TV without cringing. A quick scroll through Facebook, and there they were, snide comments and jabs at Elspeth.

She even had to mute all those groups. But they never stopped gossiping about the mother-daughter duo.

[Now when I think about it, I feel sorry for poor Elspeth. Frederic probably hasn't touched her in ages. Who else would be so desperate to touch themselves, and with such fervor?]

[Well, once you've had kids, you're just another piece of furniture to men. Even Elspeth, with her star-studded past, couldn't escape that fate.]

[What does middle age have to do with it? Elspeth's on drugs, wetting herself. If I were Frederic, I'd be six feet under from the shame. What a family tragedy!]

[The real victim here is Glynnis. No decent beau and now her mom's been carted off by the cops in broad daylight.]

[Which respectable family would want to tie the knot with that kind of scandal hanging over them? Talk about embarrassing.]

Those so-called friends of hers sure didn't pull any punches when kicking her while she was down. More like 'frenemies' if you might ask!

But right now, Glynnis had to play the part of the concerned daughter. No matter Frederic's stance on Elspeth, she had to show her father that she was the dutiful, caring daughter, better than that simpleton Marilla by miles!

She had just witnessed Thaddeus throw a punch at Cedric, their words as clear as day to everyone present. Inside, she smirked.

Go ahead Thaddeus, make a spectacle for that woman. In the end, you'll just be another disappointment to dad, and that CEO position will slip right from under you.

"What am I doing? You saw it clear enough," Thaddeus said, icy and unyielding, his eyes narrowing with authority.

"Haven’t you realized who you are? This is a precinct! How are you any different from a street thug when you hit someone? It's disgraceful! Foolish!"

Frederic had recently warmed slightly to his son, feeling a twinge of guilt for mistreating Cynthia. But seeing him now, so reckless and impulsive for Evadne's sake, he found his son utterly repulsive.

The officers around, including Aaron, heard the patriarch of the Abernathy Group spout such nonsense and shook their heads in disdain.

"What sort of leadership is this? He runs a corporation? Ridiculous is what it is."

"Yeah, hitting's wrong, but to him, it seems more about losing face than morality. His values are all out of whack!"

"Elites really are heartless, parasites on society. Hopeless!"

Frederic wasn't deaf. He caught snippets of their words and grew even angrier, looking at Thaddeus with fire in his eyes.

"I know who I am," without hesitation Thaddeus returned to Evadne's side, gripping her hand firmly.

His striking gaze softened as he looked at her, "I'm the man of the Ashbourne family’s eldest daughter. My woman was bitten by this cur. I hit him - is that not justified?"

Evadne's heart skipped a beat, her fingers curling within his grasp.

"You!" Frederic was taken aback.

"If it were your woman who’s insulted to her face by such scum, could you swallow that pill and remain indifferent?"

Thaddeus smiled thinly, "But of course, you value your pride over everything else, so you would certainly be above it all."

The crowd gasped! The Ashbourne father-son feud had escalated to an open war!

Frederic, speechless from his son's retort, was caught off guard when Glynnis stepped in, defending her father, "Thaddeus, how can you speak to dad like that?! You're in the wrong for fighting, and you've tarnished the company's image. What's wrong with dad giving you a talking-to?! Are you going to degrading yourself until everyone hates you and spits at you for only a woman?"

Evadne couldn't stand to see her man chastised by someone like Glynnis, but this was an Ashbourne family affair. Though she and Thaddeus were committed to each other, it wasn't her place to intervene.

Her meddling in would only worsen the tie between the Abernathy father and son. She didn't fear Frederic's disdain, but she worried for Thaddeus, who was already walking on thin ice at the Ashbourne Group, that his situation would be only harsher.

"Hated and be spat at by everyone? You must mean Elspeth." Thaddeus didn't even glance at Glynnis, his voice threaded with a chilling threat, "I advise you to behave. If you persist in whitewashing your mom's crimes, I'll make sure you follow in her footsteps, and you two can keep each other company behind bars."

His words were not just for Glynnis but also for Frederic. The implication was clear: Elspeth was beyond saving.

"Thaddeus! how dare you!" Glynnis stomped her foot in frustration, clutching at Frederic's arm, tears brimming, "Dad! What's he talking about? He wants to kill my mom, your wife! He wants to kill not just mom but me too! What did I ever do to him, why does he want us dead? Who's the cruel one?!"

Frederic, dizzied by her shaking and more confused than ever, could barely muster a response.

"Mr. Frederic Abernathy."

Cedric saw the rift between the father and son as his golden ticket.

Scrambling to his feet, wiping the blood from his nose while donning a sorrowful visage, he stood before Frederic, "Mr. Frederic Abernathy. I've been utterly devoted to you, to the Abernathy Group. I've worked my fingers to the bone, given my all. You know this. I'm aware of the bad blood between Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy and your wife, but as a lawyer, I was merely doing my job. Yet Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy, because of his grudge, has taken it out on me. Mr. Frederic Abernathy, I'm so wronged!"

Frederic, catching sight of Cedric's bloody face, couldn't bear to look again and simply said, "Mr. Dempsey, I'm truly sorry for this. I'll handle it."

Thaddeus was utterly fed up with everything related to the Abernathy family.

"Evadne, let's go home."

He didn't want to share the same air as Frederic any longer. Taking Evadne's hand, they walked out unabashed, ignoring the stares of the onlookers.