Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 114

Frederick knew Julius absolutely had the power to make that happen. It seemed the recent severing of his company's financial lifelines had been his doing all along.

His entire goal was just to help Stella get revenge!

He collapsed into a single armchair, looking thoroughly defeated. "Stella, your mother and I didn't marry out of love.

I got blackout drunk one night and made a terrible mistake, which ended up compromising your mother. After that, your grandfather forced me to marry her, and that's how you came along. The truth is, your mother didn't love me either.

She only stayed with me so you could have a complete family. Before your mother even came into the picture, I was already deeply in love with Miranda. We were practically planning our wedding."

This was the first time Stella had ever heard the full story of her parents' past. She hadn't known any of this.

Stella's anger flared. "So, even after you married my mom, you were still sleeping with Miranda on the side?

If you didn't love her, you could have just divorced her! You could have gotten a divorce and then married Miranda. Why didn't you just do that?"

What absolute scum!

Frederick's expression twisted in agony. "Do you think I didn't want to? I tried to divorce her, but she refused!

She wouldn't sign the papers. She said she refused to let you grow up in a broken home. She was the one holding me back!"

"Now I understand. That's why you hated me so much. No wonder you refused to hold me when I was little;

you never bought me a single toy or a piece of clothing; you never showed up to my parent-teacher conferences. And after my mom died, when Miranda and her daughter moved in,

you just stood by and let them abuse me. It was all because my mom refused to divorce you for my sake!"

Things that had never made sense to her suddenly clicked into place.

"Stella, stop. I know I failed you. None of that was your fault. You were completely innocent in all of this."

Stella let out a cold laugh. "Why shouldn't I say it? Frederick, you really don't have a conscience, do you? So what if my grandfather forced you to marry my mom?

Did you honestly not benefit from the arrangement? After you married her, if my grandfather hadn't funded you,

do you really think you could have started your own company? Could you have become a CEO? Everything you have today is thanks to my grandfather!"

Frederick raised his voice defensively. "No! Yes, your grandfather gave me the seed money to start the business, but everything I've achieved today is the result of my own blood, sweat, and tears!"

Only he knew exactly how much of his life he had poured into this company over the years!

From its founding to hiring the very first employees, all the way to the massive corporation it was today—he had built it from the ground up. What right did Stella have to dismiss all of his hard work?