I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 279

The next day, The Fletcher Manor.

When Finn walked through the door, the atmosphere in the living room felt entirely off.

Ford was sitting on the sofa, the coffee table in front of him piled high with toy boxes—Legos, remote-control cars, and plush toys, all still in their shrink wrap.

York was huddled in the far corner, as far away from the toys as possible, arms wrapped tightly around his knees, his chin resting on them as he stared blankly at the floor.

Chloe stood nearby, trying to drag York toward Ford:

"York, come here. Look at all these gifts Ford bought for you. Why are you being so difficult?"

"Finn, you're back."

Seeing Finn, Ford stood up with a wide smile and walked briskly over to him.

Just like old times, he threw an arm around Finn's shoulders, acting every bit the loving older brother.

But Finn was no longer the man he used to be.

Lowering his eyes to look at Ford's arm draped over him, Finn shifted his body in disgust and shoved the arm away.

Ford offered an awkward, strained smile.

"I bought some things for York. I don't know what's gotten into the kid, he won't let anyone touch him."

Finn glanced over at York.

York immediately lifted his head, a massive smile breaking across his face. He threw his little arms wide, kicked his short legs, and launched himself right into Finn's embrace:

"Daddy! Daddy, I missed you so much! Why are you never home?"

Ford's face grew even more rigid with embarrassment, but he forced himself to act unfazed, even offering Finn a compliment:

"This kid has always been closest to you since he was born. No matter what, we're all family, right?"

As he spoke, he shot a pointed glance at Chloe.

Catching the cue, Chloe immediately plastered on a smile, walked over, and grabbed Finn's arm:

"Finn, I am your older brother. At the end of the day, we are family. No matter how angry you are at me, when we close our doors, we need to stand united. There is no reason for us to tear each other apart over a woman. Besides, I saw it clearly the other day—that Sienna woman has obviously caught Silas's eye, which is why Silas defends her at every turn. A woman like her plays the field, and you still..."

"Shut your mouth!" Finn's expression turned terrifyingly cold.

He glared at Ford, his eyes practically blazing with hellfire:

"You don't deserve to even speak her name. State your business!"

Ford was fuming, but he was currently at Finn's mercy, so he had no choice but to swallow his pride and force another smile onto his face:

"Look at you, speaking to your brother this way. But I don't blame you, because we are family."

He deliberately placed a heavy emphasis on the word 'family.'

Because from a young age, this was exactly how Finn had been conditioned.

Ford thought back to the instructions Yolanda had drilled into him at the prison.

"Finn has a very strong sense of family loyalty. That's the mindset we've brainwashed him with since childhood, deeply ingrained in his mind. It will control his thoughts for the rest of his life. Even now that he's grown up and wiser, he can never truly shake it off. When you need him to do something, leverage that exact trait to control him."