He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 163

At the sound of that voice, Corinne flinched instinctively.

She turned to see Franklin Flynn standing in the doorway of the hospital room, dressed in a sleek, black athletic tracksuit.

Standing nearly six feet tall, Franklin had maintained an athletic build through years of strict fitness routines. For a man his age, he was undeniably distinguished and imposing.

Yardley bore a striking resemblance to his father; side by side, their commanding presence was identical.

In recent years, after handing the reins of the Flynn Group's main operations in Bay City to Yardley, Franklin spent most of his time in Sterling City, managing the family's peripheral assets in a state of semi-retirement.

Yet, his authority within the Flynn family remained absolute. After all, he still tightly controlled more than half of the family's vast wealth, having not entirely passed the torch to his son.

Corinne had always held a mixture of deep respect and genuine fear for her husband.

Franklin was a textbook perfectionist. His impossibly high standards and critical nature created a suffocating aura of pressure that had kept Corinne on edge for their entire marriage.

"Franklin, you... you think that of me too?" Corinne whispered, lowering her head, her tone defensive and pitiful.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Franklin walked slowly toward the bed.

In the few days since his return to Bay City, he had been thoroughly briefed on the absolute circus his family had become.

He had zero interest in petty domestic squabbles, but looking at the bigger picture, he grasped exactly what had happened.

His daughter-in-law's recent crusade had undoubtedly been extreme, humiliating the family publicly.

However, Corinne and Yardley's handling of her pregnancy and the birth of the child was a catastrophic failure of basic decency and family honor.

Franklin's face was unreadable and cold.

"Regardless of the circumstances, Scarlett gave birth to a Flynn descendant. Boy or girl, as the mother-in-law, it was your absolute duty to ensure she was cared for. That is basic human decency."

His voice dropped, dripping with clear disapproval.

"Clarissa, you're the eldest sister. If your mother missteps, you need to correct her. Grandmother doesn't know the extent of this mess, and I refuse to let an elderly woman stress over this pathetic household drama. Go talk to Scarlett. Agree to her reasonable demands. Get her to bring the baby back so my mother and I can see her."

Franklin's words were directed at Clarissa, but they were a blatant warning to Corinne.

Corinne listened in silence, swallowing her massive pride, feeling suffocated by a sense of deep injustice she couldn't voice.

Clarissa, who had already planned to play the peacemaker, immediately nodded.

"Understood. I'll go talk to Scarlett."

"Grandmother's timing is actually perfect. By the time Mom is discharged, the baby will be nearly a hundred days old. We can throw a massive, highly publicized 100-day celebration for her. It can serve as our family's public apology and compensation to them. What do you think, Dad?"

Franklin, who rarely cared for the minutiae of social events, gave a curt nod.

"You and your mother can handle the arrangements. The bottom line is, this feud with Scarlett ends now."