Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 243

Annihilation

Damon enunciated every word, his voice clear and ringing through the room. “It’s my career. What does that have to do with you? What does it have to do with any of you?”

Chase, who had been silent until now, finally snapped. He barked with authority, “Damon! Watch your tone with your uncle. Apologize. Now.”

Damon looked at his father and let out a cold laugh. “Apologize? He’s the one who owes my wife an apology.”

The veins in Charles’s neck pulsed with rage. He clutched his chest, gasping for air as he stumbled back onto the sofa. He pointed a rembling finger at Chase. “Look at your son! You deal with him!”

His oldest aunt chimed in, “Damon, this is too much. You’re so whipped by Aubrey that you’ve lost your mind. We’re doing this for your own good, and you’re treating us like the enemy? Aubrey doesn’t love you. She’s trying to sabotage your life, yet you treat her ike some precious treasure. It’s pathetic.”

Damon took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his fists clenching until his knuckles turned white. He waited three seconds. Then, he finally snapped.

His rage was the quiet kind–elegant, composed, and dangerous. He sat on the sofa next to his parents, looking perfectly relaxed. On the way back, I heard Uncle Charles‘ little speech over my brother’s video call. All that talk about our family’s ‘century–old egacy, generations of public service,‘ and ‘glory.‘ You even brought up ‘tradition‘ and ‘integrity.‘ Don’t you find it a bit… nauseating?”

Damon, that’s enough!” Chase barked.

Dad, it’s not enough. I haven’t even started yet,” Damon said. “Do you all really believe Uncle Charles is doing this for my sake?”

Chase looked indignant. “Isn’t he?”

No. Some trees look lush and strong on the outside, standing tall. But deep in the dirt, they’re crawling with filth. They’re rotten to he core.” Damon turned a cold smirk toward Charles. “Uncle has his own agenda. He’s doing this for a certain woman. He’s using

ny career as an excuse just to tear Bree and me apart.”

Charles’s face twisted with pure fury.

The other relatives were lost, too stunned to even breathe.

I didn’t plan on airing your dirty laundry,” Damon spat, his voice low and dangerous, every word hitting like a hammer. “But you Jushed too far. My wife has suffered so much because of you. Did you really think I wouldn’t look into it?” He gritted his teeth, his eyes locking onto them. “I might not have the smoking gun to nail you to the wall just yet, so I kept my mouth shut. But make no nistake–every bit of pain my wife felt came straight from your side of the family.”

Hannah panicked, her face pale. “Stop talking nonsense! You’re making things up! What does any of this have to do with us?”

Damon looked at Aunt Hannah with a flicker of genuine pity. “Don’t get defensive just yet, Aunt Hannah. Honestly, you’re the most pathetic one in that house. You’re being played by a mistress, and yet here you are, playing matchmaker and trying to help that homewrecker find a ‘perfect marriage‘.”

The room went dead silent. Shock rippled through the entire family.

Charles realized exactly where this was going. He spiraled instantly, his hand shaking as he pointed a finger at Damon. “That’s enough, Damon! Shut your mouth!”

“Scared, Uncle Charles?” Damon let out a cold, sharp laugh.

Charles turned to Chase, roaring with desperation. “Chase! Shut your son up! Is he trying to tear this whole family apart?”

Chase opened his mouth to intervene, but Damon cut him off. “Uncle, you weren’t worried about ‘tearing the family apart‘ when you targeted my wife just to please your mistress, were you?”

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Hannah Pierce turned pale instantly, her chest heaving with rage. “Who? Who is his mistress?

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That woman isn’t just Uncle Charles’s mistress,” Damon Blackwood said with a cold, calm smile. “She’s your son’s mistress, too. A father and son sharing the same woman? Now that’s something you don’t see every day.

Charles Blackwood’s blood boiled. “You’re full of shit!” he roared. “You have no proof! You’re just standing there throwing around slander-

Damon cut him off. “Uncle, do you want me to show everyone the photos? Or should we just play the videos? I have everything you could possibly want. The real question is, can that old face of yours handle the fallout?”

Charles choked on his words. He fell silent, not daring to breathe another word.

Everyone in the room stood frozen, their jaws dropping as they stared at Charles and Evan.

Hannah’s face turned a sickly shade of green.

Nina Hall clutched her swollen belly, her eyes burning with fury. “Evan? You have a mistress? And you’re sharing her with your own father? Are you two serious? That is absolutely disgusting!”

Evan’s expression darkened. He balled his fists, glaring at Damon with pure hatred. Charles, meanwhile, closed his eyes and took harp, shaky breaths, clutching his chest in silence.

Damon answered for him. “He doesn’t think it’s disgusting, Nina. And she’s not the only one. If we actually sat down to count all he women my dear cousin has played around with, the line would wrap around New Haven twice.”

Evan lost it. He lunged to his feet and screamed at him, “Damon, you’re making shit up! You’ve gone too far! What the hell are you rying to do?”

Don’t get worked up yet, Cousin. I investigated the whole family, so of course, I didn’t leave Nina out. The timeline of her >regnancy is off. She pulled strings at the hospital to fake the records–she pushed the date back by an entire month. Ask yourself vhy she’d do that, Evan. Is it because the real date doesn’t match up with when you two were actually together?”

The rest of the family stood there with their jaws on the floor. Only Old Mr. Blackwood remained silent, his face pale and masked vith a deep, weary sadness.

Evan’s

turned murderous as he glared at Nina. The reality of being cheated on hit him like a physical blow.

fannah wasn’t finished. She kept pushing, “Who is she? Who is my husband’s mistress?”

Damon looked her right in the eye. “Veronica Pierce. The same girl you tried to set me up with on that blind date.”

The words hit Hannah like a freight train. She spun around and hauled off, slapping Charles across the face. *Smack.* The sound vas sharp and deafening. The room went dead silent.

The two aunts gasped, covering their mouths with their eyes wide. They were absolutely terrified.

All eyes landed on Charles. He was a high–ranking official at the District Attorney’s office, yet his wife had just slapped his head to

he side. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t even fight back. He just stood there, looking guilty and pathetic.

Hannah screamed through her tears, “Veronica is my distant niece! You old bastard, are you even human?” She swung her finger oward Evan. “And you! You didn’t even spare your own cousin! You’re both monsters!”

Damon’s voice was eerily calm, almost soothing. “Don’t cry, Aunt Hannah. You aren’t exactly losing out here. After all, that boy toy ‘ou’re seeing is only twenty–two, isn’t he? The kid hasn’t even graduated college yet.”

Hannah’s face turned a sickly shade of gray. Charles slumped against the sofa, clutching his chest as a bitter, hollow laugh escaped

is throat. He laughed until tears squeezed out of his eyes–a pathetic mix of rage and humiliation.

Everyone in the room stood frozen, paralyzed by the sheer chaos.

Damon stood up, his expression cold and lethal. “A fish rots from the head down. This entire family is rotten to the core. I wasn’t going to air your dirty laundry out of respect for what’s left of our dignity, but then you had the nerve to use your sanctimonious

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excuses to bully my wife. You’re all being played by the same mistress. Honestly, you and that woman are the only ones who deserve each other.”

Mer.

He turned to walk toward Aubrey, then stopped. He looked back at his two aunts, his gaze chilling. Try coming for my wife again. I lare you. You’ll be the next ones I dig into. Let’s see which one of you has a past that can actually handle the light of day.”

The aunts shut their mouths instantly. Their husbands looked away, avoiding Damon’s sharp, piercing stare, their heads hanging in

¡ilence.

Damon turned his gaze to his parents.

Chase frowned, looking confused. “What? You’re coming for your own parents now? My conscience is clear. I’m not afraid of you ligging into my life.”

Damon’s expression darkened. “I just want to know one thing. You two were the only ones here who could have protected my wife. Regardless of whether the rumors were true or not, shouldn’t your first instinct have been to stand by her until I got back?”

Victoria quickly apologized, her voice trembling. “Damon, I’m so sorry! When I heard they were going to ruin your career, I just >anicked. I lost my head. But I did tell them we should wait until you were home.”

She never mentioned quitting to me,” Damon said, looking directly at Chase. His voice was sincere but firm. “Even Zach could tell hat recording was edited–sliced and diced to sound worse than it was. The tone was completely off. How could you not hear that? Dad, she probably only said those things to keep Uncle from interfering in her father’s case. She didn’t want him involved.”

Hearing this, Aubrey’s eyes filled with tears.

Zach chimed in. “There is new evidence, but the appeal is stuck in the review stage. We haven’t been able to get the Crestview City

olice to officially reopen the investigation yet.”

Damon’s voice was heavy. “Dad, you saw it yourself. He’s all show on the outside but rotten to the core. Does Charles really deserve Our respect? His mistress is obsessed with me–she’s been trying to marry me for ages. He and his son were even trying to push her nto me just to make their own affair easier. Do you really think a man like that is actually fair or honorable?”

Zach spoke up. “Dad, looking the other way is just as bad as helping him. You always believed Uncle Charles followed the rules, but s that really the truth?”

Chase looked exhausted. He took a deep breath, completely let down by the brother he had once respected. “Fine. If Aubrey’s ather’s appeal is blocked again, I’ll send federal investigators down to tear the Crestview District Attorney’s Office apart.”

Thanks, Dad.” Damon felt a massive weight lift off his chest.

Nearby, Charles’s face turned paper–white.