Betrayed by the Father Reborn in His Rival's Arms novel Chapter 14

Madeline hadn't laid a finger on the boy. She could easily guess that Liliana had coached Leo to lie.

She pointed to the nightstand, where the painstakingly reassembled fragments of her grandmother's photo lay. "He shredded my most precious photograph."

Lucius stared at the torn pieces for a moment.

He thought about pointing out that keeping photos of the dead immediately after a funeral was morbid and inappropriate.

But if he said that, Madeline would inevitably throw a tantrum and cause a scene.

So he opted for silence.

He simply replied with cool indifference, "If it was so precious, you should have locked it away. Leo lacks discipline, but that's partly your fault for failing to raise him properly."

Because of his own childhood trauma.

Lucius was profoundly detached from the concept of family.

Not just toward Madeline's relatives, but his own as well.

His father, Alastair Whitman, was a notorious playboy in the billionaire circuit. The man had left behind a trail of over two hundred recorded affairs with young models.

Growing up, Lucius had front-row seats to Alastair's blatant betrayals of their marriage.

The infidelity had driven his mother into deep manic depression. She would frequently dissociate, treating Lucius like he didn't even exist.

Eventually, she suffered a complete mental collapse and had been institutionalized in a private psychiatric facility ever since.

Having grown up devoid of any maternal warmth or family bonds, Lucius genuinely couldn't comprehend why Madeline cared so much about seeing her grandmother one last time.

In fact, Madeline had always shouldered the entire burden of raising Leo on her own.

Madeline knew it was her own fault for loving the child too fiercely and submitting entirely to her husband's indifference.

But now that she finally realized she had given her heart to the wrong people, she was ready to let go. She had to let go. Her grandmother's dying words still echoed in her mind: Let him go, Maddy. Keep moving forward.

It was time to sever ties.

Madeline carefully placed the reassembled photo into a protective laminate sleeve and tucked it into the hidden compartment of her suitcase.

Now that her grandmother was dead, she had literally no one left in the world. Who else could she possibly turn to?

Lucius was absolutely certain that a little cold shoulder would have her breaking in no time.

The moment the door clicked shut, Madeline let out a long breath of relief.

She knew Lucius's playbook inside out. He weaponized emotional abuse perfectly. Once, he had ignored her existence for half a month straight.

But this time, she just didn't care anymore.

This silent treatment was the perfect window to pack her bags and get the hell out.

Madeline locked the door behind him and stepped into the shower. Afterward, she headed straight into the walk-in closet to finish the purge she had started a few days ago, trashing anything she didn't need.

That would make leaving so much easier.

She had made her choice. She was done with Lucius, done with Leo, and done with this suffocating house.

Madeline grabbed a massive trash bag and started tossing things out without a second thought.