Rising From Betrayal Reborn As The Family Outcast novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20

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Both Lucent Media and Starlight Entertainment had invested in the show this time.

With two notorious stars and the top–tier idol Nicolas making his first appearance on a reality show, the hype was already off the charts before the show even aired.

The last two spots were quickly settled.

Simon Graves, an actor hovering between the second and first tiers, joined the show with Hannah Clarke, a second–tier popular actress.

They weren’t from the same company, but they teamed up and snatched the spots from their competitors.

Alicia knew Simon and Hannah, but she wasn’t really familiar with them and had never worked together before.

Before she died, Simon still hadn’t broken into the A–list.

And next year, Hannah’s drama would end up airing at the same time as Nicole’s.

The two dramas went head–to–head. Even though Hannah’s acting was way better than Nicole’s, she just couldn’t keep up with Nicole’s marketing.

When the show aired, Hannah was constantly hit with scandals and bad press, and people even boycotted her. In the end, her drama totally flopped.

With Nicole’s team working their magic behind the scenes, Hannah fell straight out of the second tier and never managed to climb back up.

It was actually pretty amusing to see them end up together on the show this early.

That day, Thomas reached out to Alicia.

He said, “I’ve already sent a legal notice to the Hammond Group and negotiated with them to get you your dividends for the past two years.

“But Kevin isn’t on board. He insists on meeting you in person.”

Alicia frowned, “I don’t want to see him. If they won’t cooperate, just take legal action.”

She absolutely didn’t want to see Kevin, and she had zero interest in discussing dividends with him.

Otherwise, she’d probably end up getting hit with some random guilt–tripping all over again.

She still remembered how the Hammonds had pushed her to hand over half her shares to Nicole.

In the end, she refused, and her father and three brothers accused her of being selfish.

They each ended up giving Nicole some money as “compensation” instead.

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Alicia just didn’t get why they always went on about making it up to Nicole and what they owed her.

Nicole got abused by her own dad, supposedly leaving her traumatized, inside and out, but it had nothing to do with them. It wasn’t like they were the ones who caused it.

Honestly, ever since Nicole joined the Hammond family, she’d been spoiled rotten, way more than Alicia, the actual Hammond heiress.

Thomas just wanted to make sure where Alicia stood on this. “Alright, I’ll let him know. If they won’t settle this privately, you’re ready to take legal action.”

Alicia replied, “Okay, thanks.”

After hanging up, Thomas immediately reached out to Kevin and relayed Alicia’s message.

Kevin couldn’t believe it. “It’s not like I’m refusing to pay her dividends. I just wanted to meet and talk with her, but she flat–out refused. She’s going to sue us? What’s she up to?”

Recently, the three brothers had all tried to contact and find Alicia, but none of them had any luck.

When Alicia brought in a lawyer to discuss the dividends, Kevin thought this would finally be his chance to see her.

Alicia owned six percent of the company, and her annual dividends were a pretty hefty sum.

‘What’s she planning to do with all that cash?‘ Kevin wondered.

From what he remembered, Alicia wasn’t into flashy stuff or splurging.

Their father had suggested that Alicia give half her shares to Nicole.

Kevin had been hoping to use this as a chance to test Alicia’s attitude.

But to his shock, she actually refused to see him. Something that had never happened before.

In the past, as long as he reached out or asked to meet, she’d always show up.

No matter where she was or what was going on, she’d rush back just to see him.

Thomas could pick up on the irritation in Kevin’s voice. He said coldly. “This is my client’s legal right. If you guys can’t work things out, of course she has every right to sue. She’s up to nothing.”

Kevin frowned, “She’s the Hammond heiress. If she goes and sues the Hammond Group, and people find out, we’ll be a laughing stock.”

Thomas replied, “Then just pay her dividends quickly and get the money into her account. Do that, and she won’t have any reason to sue. Nobody will have anything to gossip about.”

He was basically saying that it was not Alicia’s fault.

Kevin was momentarily at a loss for words, then pushed back. “She can have her dividends, but only if I get to

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Chapter 20

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see her face–to–face. That’s my non–negotiable condition. Otherwise, forget it.”

He just couldn’t believe Alicia would actually drag this into court. After all, she had always been the type to put the family first.

Besides, Keven never said no. As far as he was concerned, he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Thomas said, “Looks like we’ll have to sue then.”

Kevin muttered irritably, “Whatever. Do what you want.”

Thomas hung up and started preparing the paperwork for the lawsuit.

At dinner time, the Hammonds were gathered at Hammond Manor.

Everyone was there except Alicia–Leo, Nicole, her mother, and the three Hammond brothers.

The Hammond family never had the habit of eating in silence.

Leo couldn’t help but feel that the dinner table had been way too quiet lately. His eyes drifted to the empty

seat.

He looked at his three sons and asked, “What’s Alicia been up to lately? Why hasn’t she been home for dinner?”

Before, no matter how busy she was, Alicia always found time to join them for at least one family dinner every week.

But he hadn’t seen her in over ten days now.

Austin and Caleb exchanged a glance, then both looked at Kevin, signaling for him to answer.

Kevin looked up and sighed, “I heard she’s been busy with shows lately, so she hasn’t had a chance to come

home.”

Nicole shot Kevin a look when she heard that.

‘He really didn’t tell Dad that Alicia quit and signed with another company,‘ Nicole thought, a bit surprised. ‘Why bother keeping that a secret?‘

Leo grumbled, “No matter how busy she is, she should still find time to come home and be with family.

“What’s so special about those performances anyway? She really shouldn’t have gone off to be some kind of

star.

“Let her know she needs to come back recently.”

He added, “Oh, and by the way, the aromatherapy candle Alicia made for me is all used up. Ask her to make some more and bring it over.”

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He’d been dealing with insomnia for years, so Alicia had specially made him some calming aromatherapy candles. They had no side effects, just something to help him relax and sleep better, and it was good for his health too.

Ever since he started using it, he hadn’t had any trouble sleeping, and he always woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy.

The night before last, he woke up in the middle of the night, couldn’t sleep, and went to light some aromatherapy candles, only to realize the box was empty.

Without the candle last night, he barely slept a wink.

Kevin replied with a resigned look, “Alright, I’ll give her a call later.”

He added, “No matter how busy she is, she’ll definitely come back for your birthday celebration next month.”

up

The truth was, he couldn’t reach Alicia at all, and with her still mad at him, he didn’t think she’d show in the next few days.

Leo frowned, “Next month is too late. See if you can get her to come back soon with some aromatherapy

candles for me.”

Kevin nodded. “Alright.”

‘Just gotta placate Dad for now, Kevin thought.

Leo paused, as if something had just occurred to him. “Has something happened lately? I’ve run into a few people I know, and they keep giving me these strange looks.

“And a couple of folks I don’t get along with even told me to be sharp.”

He honestly had no idea what they were talking about.

He was still the chairman of the Hammond Group, calling the shots on all the important company matters.

‘Am I not sharp now? What are they even talking about?‘ Leo thought.

But whenever he tried to ask them about it, they’d just dodge the question and mumble something vague.

Kevin and his brothers just sat there, totally at a loss for words.

They all thought, ‘How are we supposed to answer that?

‘We can’t exactly tell him Alicia wants nothing to do with us anymore, and word’s probably already gotten around in the circle

After all, Thomas was from an influential family, and his wife was from an elite background too. They all moved in the same high society circles as the Hammond family.

Now that Alicia had asked Thomas to help her with the lawsuit, word was bound to get out, and rumors would start flying. None of it was good for the Hammond family.

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Chapter 20

They all thought Alicia was being so stubborn this time.

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‘Why can’t she just talk things out with us? Why does she have to stir up all this drama?‘ they all thought.

Kevin shrugged. “Haven’t heard of anything going on.

“Probably just that we scored a huge contract lately, and those folks you don’t get along with are feeling salty and jealous.”

Leo fixed Kevin with a sharp stare. “Maybe. But if something’s up, don’t keep me in the dark.”

Kevin nodded. “Never, Dad.”

He didn’t dare breathe a word to his dad about Alicia wanting to cut ties with the family.

And he didn’t dare to mention she was asking for her share of the dividends, or even planning to sue them.

He figured he’d just wait until next month, when Leo’s birthday came around, and Alicia showed up, then try to sit down and talk things out with her.