"Say that one more time, I dare you!" Adrian glared furiously at his third son.
"Am I wrong? You brought some random daughter from nowhere to ruin this family, and I'm supposed to pay the price?"
"You..." Adrian gasped, his face turning a sickly shade of purple as he struggled to breathe.
Lacey hurried to his side, desperately rubbing his back. "Ethan, call the doctor!"
Before the doctor could even arrive, Adrian managed to catch his breath.
Seeing her husband stabilize, Lacey breathed a sigh of relief and turned her frustration toward her son. "Damon, your sister is still young. Can't you just give her one more chance?"
"When Mira was kicked out of the house, I didn't see you begging to give her one more chance. I honestly don't get it. Is Mara your illegitimate daughter, or Dad's? Seriously, what kind of sick, shady secrets are the three of you hiding?"
"You..." Adrian nearly passed out again from the sheer disrespect.
"Damon, let's just leave for now," Ethan suggested.
"No. I'm not leaving until they give me that Legal Severance Decree."
He knew perfectly well that as a famous actor, stepping out of the house today—with the family embroiled in yet another massive scandal—meant he would be swarmed by reporters and crucified by the public. But if he officially severed ties with the Mercers, the narrative would shift entirely. With Mira having set the precedent, the public would blame the family's toxicity, not him.
"Damon, are you trying to kill your father?" Lacey cried out in agony.
"He's the one trying to kill me by keeping Mara around. Whether he drops dead or not is none of my business, but before he goes, he needs to sign that decree."
"Damon, are you not happy until this family is completely shattered?" Lacey shouted, enraged.
What a monster she had raised. If she had known he would turn out like this, she would have smothered him at birth to save herself the headache.
Seeing his younger brother's absolute resolve, Ethan figured that severing ties might not be the worst idea. Mira was still in high school and had left with absolutely nothing, yet she was living perfectly fine. Damon was a grown, established artist with his own savings.
Ethan dialed the family lawyer. "Mr. Grant, please draft a Legal Severance Decree and bring it over."
"What? Another one? No need to draft anything from scratch. I still have the template from Miss Mira's case. I'll just hit print."
The entire room fell into a stunned silence.

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