Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 614

Soon, a maid brought out steaming cups of tea and placed them on the table in front of them.

Hudson leaned back against the heavy wooden chair, his dark, glacial eyes skipping past the seated family members and landing squarely on Clement Burke standing behind the Matriarch.

"My grandmother is getting old, so it's natural her judgment slips from time to time. But Clement, you've served her for decades. Have you gone senile too? Perhaps it's time you retired to the countryside."

Clement's spine went rigid, but he kept his head bowed in utter submission, not daring to utter a single word in defense.

Beatrice's smile vanished entirely. "Hudson, what is the meaning of this?"

Hudson let out a dry laugh. "I think Clement's eyesight is failing him. This is an exclusive family dinner. Why is an illegitimate bastard sitting at the table?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Miles Lancaster violently gripped the armrests of his chair. "Who the hell are you calling a bastard?!"

Hudson didn't even bother looking at him. "I'm talking about a stray dog whose name isn't on the family registry."

"You—"

"Miles!" Arthur Lancaster II reached out and slammed his hand over his son's wrist, squeezing hard enough to cut off the rest of the sentence.

Beatrice quickly stepped in to smooth it over. "Hudson, it was my idea to invite him. Miles is Arthur's son, which makes him Lancaster blood. Our family tree has grown dangerously thin over the years. Bringing him back into the fold is a good thing. You two are brothers, you should be supporting each other."

Hudson finally looked directly at his grandmother. "The Lancaster Code explicitly states that a child born out of wedlock is permanently barred from the registry, forbidden from inheriting the estate, and prohibited from attending official family gatherings. It's been the law since this family was founded. Don't tell me you forgot, Grandmother?"

Beatrice's expression tightened, but she quickly masked it. "Rules are written on paper, Hudson. We're living, breathing people. It's a new era. Why stubbornly cling to dead traditions?"

"Dead traditions?" Hudson leaned further back, lazily tapping his finger against the rim of his teacup. "The Lancaster family has ruled San Francisco for a century entirely because of those dead traditions. If you're so eager to rewrite them, Grandmother, why don't you burn the ancestral hall to the ground, set fire to the Code, and start a completely new family on your own?"

Dead silence fell over the massive parlor.

Beatrice's face flushed with anger. She had never expected Hudson to strip away her authority so brutally in front of the entire family.

"Hudson..."

"I don't care how many women you sleep with, or how many illegitimate brats you produce," Hudson continued, not raising his voice, though every word felt like a shard of ice tearing through the room. "But the moment you brought one of them into Lancaster Hall and sat him down at a family dinner, you crossed a line. I simply haven't had the time to deal with you yet. Are you begging me to officially strike your name from the family tree?"

Arthur Lancaster II shot out of his seat. "You wouldn't dare!"

Hudson completely ignored him. He simply turned his head and looked over his shoulder.

"Arthur. Bring me the family registry."

"Right away, Boss!"

The color drained entirely from Arthur Lancaster II's face, his voice jumping an octave in sheer panic. "Do you think you're a dictator?! Your grandmother is sitting right here! You disrespectful, arrogant brat! You have no right to throw us out!"

Seeing his brother spiraling into a panic, Lawrence quickly stepped in. "That's enough, Arthur. Hudson's health is failing him. Don't take it personally."

Lawrence sighed dramatically. "You know his condition is terminal. He doesn't have much time left. He probably won't even make it to the end of the year. You're his uncle. Can't you just let him vent? Just pity him..."