Rising From Betrayal Reborn As The Family Outcast novel Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Kevin’s eyes softened as he thought of his mother.

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He didn’t keep them guessing. “I contacted the lawyer today and found out that, apart from that, Mom made Dad sign another notarized agreement before she passed away.

“If Dad remarried after she died, no matter if he had kids or not, as long as there was an irreconcilable conflict between him and any of us, all the shares in Hammond Group and ninety percent of the family’s assets would be ours.

“I would get the majority of the shares, but no other assets.

“You two and Ally would each get three percent of the shares, and the three of you would split ninety percent of the Hammond family’s assets.

“Mom also left Ally the key to a bank safety deposit box. Inside is the wedding gift she’d been preparing for her for years.

“She instructed the lawyer to give it to Ally when she gets engaged or married.

“If Ally isn’t married by the time she turns twenty-eight, she’ll get it on her twenty-eighth birthday.

“There’s also an extra clause in the agreement-if Dad tries to hand over any of the shares or assets listed in it to a new wife or kids from another marriage, it would be considered invalid.

“Mom was probably worried that after she was gone, Dad might get sweet-talked or manipulated if he remarried. So, to protect us, she made him sign this agreement and was smart enough to get it notarized.

“But I bet Mom didn’t want us to find out about the agreement too soon. If Dad really did remarry, it might mess up our relationship with him, so she kept it under wraps.”

Back when his mom passed away, Leo was still really in love with her. Remarrying probably wasn’t even on his mind, so he agreed to sign the papers.

If we go to the lawyer and ask about the clean break agreement, he’ll tell us about this other one and hand Ally the key ahead of time,” Kevin added.

Bringing up the agreement would mean things had gotten rocky between them and their dad.

His mom had really planned ahead before she passed.

So when Kevin asked today, the lawyer laid it all out for him.

Kevin hadn’t expected that-it was a nice surprise.

Kevin paused for a moment, then said, “Do you guys remember? Before Mom passed away, she told us that if anything ever went wrong at home, we should go to that lawyer for help.

“So she really made sure we had something to fall back on.”

When Kevin mentioned it, it clicked for Austin and Caleb too.

Both of them felt a rush of warmth in their hearts. “Mom really did love us the most,” Austin said, and Caleb silently agreed, No one cared about us like she did.

As for their mom setting aside something extra for Alicia as her wedding gift, Austin and Caleb didn’t feel jealous or envious at all-they felt it was only fair.

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Not once growing up did the siblings ever fight over money-their mom had taught them well.

As for their dad, ever since he married Mavis, he really changed a lot.

Kevin reminded them, “Now that we know about the agreement, let’s not tell Dad just yet.

“First, let’s test how Dad really feels about Nicole and her daughter.

“Then we’ll know which agreement to use.

“Of course, it’d be best if we never have to use any of them.”

It all came down to what their dad decided.

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Kevin narrowed his eyes. “And we can’t let Mavis and her daughter know about this yet. If they stay in the dark, they might make a move and show their true colors, fighting us for the family assets.

“In the end, they’ll end up with nothing, and Dad will finally see who they really are.”

Kevin didn’t buy for a second that Mavis’s love for his dad was anything but materialistic.

If his dad wasn’t the heir to Hammond Group, just an ordinary working guy, there was no way Mavis would’ve been secretly in love with him for years, let alone schemed to marry into the Hammond family.

Austin and Caleb were on board with testing their dad’s limits and putting some pressure on Mavis and her daughter.

Austin handed the file bag to Kevin. “Here, Kevin, give Dad everything we found.

“If he still protects Mavis and her daughter after seeing all this, then he’s really turned his back on us.

“We won’t hold back anymore.”

Kevin nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Then he pulled out his phone to call his dad, only to find his dad’s phone was switched off.

He’d already asked around-his dad hadn’t left the office.

So Kevin stood up. “I’m heading to the office to find him.”

Austin and Caleb didn’t go with him. They were worried they might lose their cool and end up arguing with their dad.

Hammond Group.

At Hammond Group, Kevin knocked on the Chairman’s office door, but there was no response.

“Dad, it’s me,” he called out.

After a moment, his dad’s voice came from inside. “Come in.”

When Kevin walked in, he saw his dad looked terrible.

Kevin spoke up first. “Dad, you’ve seen the stuff online, right?”

His dad looked up, clearly exhausted. “Yeah, I know.

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“You’re here about that, aren’t you?

“You want to ask if I had an affair and an illegitimate daughter?”

Kevin changed tack. “Dad, I know your love for Mom was genuine. You’d never do anything to hurt her..

“I was just worried about you, so I came to check on you.”

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If their dad hadn’t betrayed them, then they needed to get him on their side and kick Nicole and her daughter out for good.

His dad’s expression softened at those words. “I truly never did anything to betray your mom.

“Before I married Mavis, I didn’t know her at all-we had no connection whatsoever.

“And her daughter is definitely not mine.”

Other people had already misunderstood him, but he really didn’t want his own sons to get the wrong idea.

Kevin finally felt like he could breathe again.

He trusted his dad’s words.

Still, a paternity test was a must-just to be absolutely sure.

Kevin reminded him, “Dad, this is a big deal. We need to get it under control as soon as possible.”

His dad nodded. “I understand.

“Tomorrow, I’ll do a paternity test with Nicole and make the results public to clear things up.

“And about the rumors that Mavis was my lover in the past-I’m open to any investigation. People can check all they want and see there’s nothing between us.”

Kevin cared about Hammond Group, so he didn’t want any family mess hurting the company’s stock or image.

“That’s definitely the best way to handle it,” he said.

He set the folder down on the desk. “Dad, I found some things I think you should take a look at.

“Nicole managed to buy off the assistants working with the three of us and Nicolas. They’ve been feeding her a lot of our info.

‘I think you should check your own assistant, secretary, and any other close staff, like your driver.”

His dad looked stunned. “Seriously? That’s actually happening?”

He opened the folder and read through what Kevin had found. His face, which had just started to look a bit better, turned even darker.

He frowned. “Are Mavis and her daughter really capable of something like this?”

He didn’t doubt the evidence Kevin had dug up.

He just couldn’t believe Mavis and her daughter could really pull something like this off.

After all, the trusted aides around his three sons and Nicolas weren’t the kind of people who’d sell out for a bit of cash or a

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Chapter 137

few favors.

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Kevin said, “That’s why I suspect there’s someone supporting them from the shadows.”

His assistant was loyal-not someone who’d just sell out for a quick buck.

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From what he’d uncovered, whatever Mavis and her daughter offered just wasn’t enough to make someone turn on him.

There had to be something else going on.

After going over it again and again, the only explanation was that Mavis and her daughter had someone powerful pulling strings for them.

Leo rubbed his temples. “It’s not out of the question.

“I’ll have someone look into it.”

This time, he wasn’t going to let his secretary or assistant handle things-instead, he’d have someone investigate those two themselves.

If even they’d been bought off, then things were really serious.

Seeing that his dad was taking it seriously, Kevin let it go.

Instead, Kevin asked, “Dad, what are you going to do about Mavis and her daughter?

“They’ve schemed to turn us against Ally, and even planted their own people around us. There’s no way we can ever treat them as family again.”

Kevin made it clear-if the brothers were staying, Mavis and her daughter had to go.

After reading through what Kevin had uncovered, Leo realized this was the outcome he’d have to face.

If it were him, he wouldn’t tolerate his own trusted people being bought off either,

He couldn’t deny that, after all these years with Mavis, he did have genuine feelings for her.

But he just couldn’t accept her scheming, lying, and overstepping her bounds.

He’d spent half the day torn about what to do, but now, his mind was made up.

He closed his eyes for a moment. “Have Lawyer Smith draw up the divorce papers for me.”

He couldn’t let Mavis and her daughter stay in the Hammond family any longer.

Especially now that he suspected there was someone pulling strings behind them.

Besides, getting divorced would help clear up all the mess online. Hammond Group couldn’t afford to be dragged down by his personal drama.

“Alright!” Kevin let out another sigh of relief. ‘Looks like Dad’s still got his head on straight,’ he thought.

No matter how much Dad cared about Mavis and her daughter, nothing was more important to him than the Hammond family and Hammond Group.

But Mavis and her daughter weren’t about to leave without a fight. Who knew what tricks they’d pull next?

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