"Do you really think he's honest? He once told me he came back to this family to take his revenge," said Vance. Vance, over time, had been getting more and more irritated at Rain's pride and ignorance. He was the real son of the family. Now Rain wanted to take that away from him. 'Well, he'll take it over my dead body.' Vance thought.
"No matter what he said about his motivations for coming back, he has brought new hopes for KD in a short span of time. Could any of you have pulled this off?" said Sanford angrily, scanning and meeting the eyes of his family coldly. He knew what these people in the room were thinking of. They all wanted to take the company away from him. Be he would not let them succeed no matter what the cost.
"Dad, how about you persuading him to let me head the accounting department?" asked Hannah, who was standing beside the fireplace. As long as Rain controlled the capital, the company was his, Hannah thought.
"Wow sis, clever of you to propose such a thing, but not clever enough to be in charge of such an important department." Eugenia, who was slumped on one of the chairs, quipped and then burst into a chuckle. She also wanted this job, and so prevented Hannah from getting it.
"So, what, you think you're smart enough?" retorted Hannah, sneering at her sister-in-law. She and Eugenia were so competitive in everything.
"I don't think so, sis. You're way better than me in all aspects. I would never argue that without justified reasons. But I just heard that KD just got a big project that involves the government. How about you letting me handle that, Dad?" said Eugenia in a sincere tone. She would be showering with money if this project was given to her.
"Now I understand why they call you the most shewd woman in the family," Cyprus said, half laughing. "You really think big, huh? If you get to be in charge of this, you'll be earning a lot." He looked at Eugenia with a critical eye. He was so desperate to expose her scheme before the whole family and embarrass her.
"You're wrong. I work only for the betterment of the family. I won't line my pockets with public funds. You all know me. I'm the simplest and honestest person in the world. Why don't you trust me? Have I ever disappointed you once?" exclaimed Eugenia in an attempt to defend her honor. The mask was torn clean off. All color drained from her face. She felt insulted to the highest degree.
"Yeah, sure you serve the family well. As for the money that clearly doesn't belong to you though.. We all know about that." said Hannah passively, her hand under her chin looking smug. Eugenia still felt aloof even after her scheme was exposed to the family, and everybody inside the room had known her ugly heart all along.
"What are you doing? Stop bickering, all of you!" Vance shouted as he slowly sat up, his legs crossed in a perfect right angle. He was, actually, better at scheming than his siblings.
"What do you mean, Sanford? Are you going to divorce me?" Sheena screamed at Sanford in a fiery fury. In all their years together, in all the decades, she believed that Sanford had forgotten that woman. She had never been more wrong. He loved that woman all along. All that time she just married a man who raised a bastard and mourned that bastard's dead mother.
"I won't divorce you. That would only bring shame for the both of us," replied Sanford solemnly. If he really wanted to leave her, he wouldn't have waited a long time to do it. Even though he never loved her, she gave birth to his children, raised them and guided them from the start. He appreciated her efforts all those years to hold the family together and owed too much to her to divorce her.
"What is wrong with you people? I thought you were here to help me." Tiana pushed her seat back noisily, its legs scraping against the wooden floor. She then stood up. "But you never once stopped bickering ever since you arrived at the house. So, will you help me or not?" Tiana said in a desperate voice, her eyes pleading and face flushed. The memory of how tenderly Rain treated Leena kept playing over and over in her mind. How she wanted such a loving and kind brother. Her family disappointed her so much.
"You made a big mistake. Do you realize that now? You were always scurrying to win his favor. What did that get you in the end? I tried warning you back then of the possible consequences of your actions, but you refused to listen to me. Now you've fallen, and you want us to pick up the pieces. Don't you think it's a bit late for us to do anything useful?" proclaimed Vance. Recalling how badly Tiana treated him with her attitude, he couldn't help but laugh out loud at his sister's misfortune.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: It'll Come Naturally