When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 116

He understood perfectly well that if anyone was going to take the blame, it would only be him.

“This has nothing to do with Jonah,” Nelly said, her voice calm and steady. “He was standing up for me. I was the one who asked someone to teach Rudy a lesson. Uncle Felix and the others had no idea.”

“She admits it! Did you hear that?” Rudy jumped in, raising his voice for everyone to hear. “Grandpa, you have to help me. My leg is so bad I can barely walk. And Jonah shouldn’t get away with this either. The two of them set this up together…”

“Do you really not care about the rest of us just because Christopher’s daughter is back?” Rudy pressed on. “Britney is still here. Grandpa, are the rest of your family suddenly not important now that she’s home?”

Nicholas couldn’t take Rudy’s whining anymore. He shot Rudy a glance and then spoke in a low, serious tone. “Grandpa, this really needs to be dealt with properly.”

Felix sensed things were getting out of control. He quickly rolled over in his wheelchair. “Grandpa, Jonah and Nelly are just too young and reckless. They don’t really understand what they’re doing. There’s no need to make a big deal out of it. I think everyone should just take a step back and move on.”

“Easy for you to say, since you’re not the one who got beat up. Or maybe you just think you can push us around because Christopher used to have so much power in this family?” Britney wiped away her tears, her voice sharp and cold.

Michael’s expression darkened, and his grip tightened on his cane. Suddenly, he slammed it hard on the floor.

The loud thump made everyone fall silent.

He looked straight at Nelly. “Speak.”

“Grandpa, I just came home. I don’t expect special treatment. Of course this should be handled seriously, and it has to be fair too.” Nelly bowed politely to Michael, then explained fully why she and Jonah had gone after Rudy.

Felix’s face grew even more tense. He couldn’t stop her, no matter how hard he tried.

Britney listened with a mocking look, while Rudy let out a laugh.

“Nelly, you are a good storyteller. I barely even know you. Why would I want to hurt you?”

“And if I really did something, how come you’re standing here without a scratch?”

“Do you even have any proof?”

Rudy grew more smug by the second. Nelly didn’t have evidence. Without it, she just sounded foolish.

And if she went around telling people she’d been drugged, how embarrassing would that be for her? To Michael, it would just make her look weak.

“Grandpa, does what I went through not big enough?” Nelly didn’t even look at Rudy. She kept her focus on Michael.

“Nelly, you’ve just come home, so even if you made a mistake, I won’t punish you this time. But from now on, you need to think before you speak and act. We’re a family. Even if Rudy really offended you, you should try to let it go.”

Before he could finish, Rudy grew anxious. This wasn’t how he expected things to go. How could Grandpa still protect Nelly after everything she’d done?

Britney quickly stopped Rudy from saying anything else. Everything was happening just as she’d expected.

After all, Nelly was Christopher’s daughter. No matter what Michael thought of her, he would never really punish her for the sake of the Chandler family.

But then Michael’s tone changed. “Let’s do this. I’m asking everyone to do me a favor today. Nelly, you should apologize to Rudy. As for the fight, Jonah will take all responsibility, and the Chandler family will decide his punishment.”

“Grandpa, I’m grateful that you want to protect me. But today, let’s stick to what’s fair.”

Nelly waited until everyone was finished talking before turning to look at the entrance to the hall.

“You want proof? I have proof. I just didn’t want to embarrass the family by airing our dirty laundry. I really hoped everyone would just do the right thing.”

The words had barely left her lips when the doors to the parlor opened. A graceful, striking lady stepped inside.