"Mrs. Isabelle Peterson, please proceed to the stand," the judge instructed. Isabelle approached the stand, took the oath, and sat down. "Mrs. Isabelle Peterson, could you tell us how your son has suffered at the hands of—" "Objection," Christian interrupted. "If he loves Deborah, how can she be cruel and abusive towards his mother? Isn’t that contradictory?" "Not at all. She bewitched my son, making him fall hopelessly in love, but in secret, she mistreated and insulted me," Isabelle replied melodramatically. "I’d like to know how some hand movements could insult you to the point of causing such offense," Christian said, glaring at the older woman. "Do not interrupt my questioning," John retorted angrily. "Counsel, wait your turn." "Tch..." [Calm down, Christian.] Deborah signed. "So, Mrs. Isabelle Peterson, can you tell us what you know?" John asked. "Of course, Deborah appears very kind and all that, but she’s actually very cruel and rude. In fact, even her own
Fortunately, the video stopped there, but it was clear that Christian had the entire recording. Isabelle was now terrified, especially when she noticed her husband furiously texting someone. She could also hear the audience murmuring and pointing fingers at her, disapproving of her double standards. This only added to her distress. "Well, I... it's not that I agree with my son's affair... but it's obvious that I will take care of my grandchild, no matter which woman gives birth to him," she declared, trying to appeal to the audience's humanity. With those words, many seemed to sympathize with the older woman. Christian smiled subtly and discreetly glanced at Deborah, who made a face and nodded. They had anticipated this scenario and had come prepared. Deborah sighed. Christian had predicted her ex-mother-in-law would use those words and thus planned a strategy to counter her argument. --- Flashback --- "Alright, Deborah, we’ve gone over all the questions you might be asked
“What?! You can’t—” Roger protested, jumping to his feet. “Yes, I can. In fact, I disagree with Mrs. Peterson’s request. You will be required to pay her $25,000 a month for her expenses and prenatal care.” “$25,000 is too much and—” “Shut up, Roger.” Roger turned around in shock to see his father standing beside him. “Don’t worry, Your Honor. This useless man will pay that amount promptly.” “You took the words right out of my mouth, Mr. George Peterson,” the judge said, smiling. “But to teach your son some humility, he will accompany your wife in a cell for 24 hours. Guards, take him away.” “What?! No! You can’t…” Roger tried to resist, but two policemen escorted him out. With that, the trial ended, and people began to leave. George and Elliot took the opportunity to approach Deborah. “Well… now you’re my ex-sister-in-law,” the teenager said sadly, running over to hug her. [You’ll always be my little brother to me.] Deborah smiled as she separated from the hug. [And no
The Andersons were itching to punch Deborah for the idiocy she had just spouted. They had none of that money left… In three days? They would never be able to gather the nearly $800,000 they had borrowed over the three years of marriage. The twins' plan was in shambles; they had intended to force the mute girl back home to steal her money, believing they deserved it as the beloved children of their parents. Caroline watched their faces intently, smirking as she discerned their obvious thoughts. “So… why did you come over? I doubt it’s to talk to Deborah,” Caroline commented. “Well, believe it or not, we do want to talk to her,” Cassandra insisted. “That’s right, we’re very worried about my big sister,” Ernest added. “Actually, we wanted to tell you that if you want, you can come back home, Debbie,” Vanessa said, trying to sound kind and understanding. [Oh really? And why would you want me back home?] “Deborah, come on, stop joking. We’re your family, and we’re worried abou
After escaping from the reporters, Deborah and her supporters ended up at a nearby restaurant to eat and celebrate her victory. Out of solidarity, everyone ordered juice or soda to accompany their meal, though Deborah insisted it wasn’t necessary. “Here,” said Caroline, passing Deborah a glass of orange juice. [Thank you.] “Well, let’s toast to freedom and a new beginning,” Jayden said, raising his glass of soda, and everyone followed suit. “Deborah, tell me, what will you do now?” asked George. [What do you mean?] “Well, I remember you haven’t worked, and you’re expecting my grandchild, so…” [Oh, that. Don’t worry, I have a way to survive. Thanks to a friend, I got a job behind Roger’s back.] “That’s great, Deborah. I commend your initiative. Can I ask what the job is?” [I’m an accountant. I help with a government support program.] “That is excellent, Deborah! Congratulations,” George said, noticing how his words made Deborah blush a little. “And how do you do the
Jayden explained the details of the party. For a moment, Deborah felt unsure because she had never attended such events. However, recalling her new mindset of leaving the old Deborah behind, she accepted the invitation, deciding to go and have fun with him.Thus, the day ended, feeling long for some and short for others. The only thing that mattered was that it was a day that marked the lives of many, causing a drastic shift in their way of life.The next day began with a new drama for those who had spent the most uncomfortable night of their lives. Isabelle and Roger were being released but not without fury and threats to the officers accompanying them.“Just you wait. I won’t let this go,” Roger spat angrily.“How dare they let a lady like me sleep on the floor without a sheet or pillow,” Isabelle complained.“Don’t worry, Mom, they’ll get what they deserve. Do you hear me?!”“It seems a night in prison didn’t teach you anything,” said a cold voice. They turned to see George st
"But 25 thousand is a lot and—" "So what? You were giving 19 thousand to your mistress, so it shouldn't be difficult to come up with that money for yourself." "I could pay that amount if you give me back my job." "No, Roger. That's your punishment: you'll find a job like everyone else to support your mistress and pay child support to Deborah, without my financial help." "Wait... what do you mean by finding a job?" Roger asked, alarmed. "You need to find employment because you're fired from the company." "What?!" Both Isabelle and Roger were shocked. "George, isn’t that a little excessive? Roger is your son and—" "He's an employee who skipped work without any justification." "Without justification? He was in prison!" "But that happened because he annoyed the judge, didn't he?" "George, you need to be fair." "Well, I wasn't the one who fired him, it was his direct supervisor. And I shall respect Edgar's decision." "George, you can't do this to our son and—” "I
For a moment, Roger remained in a state of shock, because he had truly lost everything. It sounded so surreal. He was the eldest son of the Peterson family, the second-richest family in the country. And now, he had become a nobody with no money or family support. All because of that stupid mute. The moment he thought about Deborah, he clenched his fists tightly, swearing to himself that this wouldn't be the end; he would reclaim everything that was rightfully his no matter how long it took. "Son..." His mother's voice interrupted his thoughts. She was very distressed about everything that was happening, especially now that she was homeless. "Take it easy, Mom," he said, approaching to hug her. "This... this is just a rough patch. Everything will be sorted out in a few days." He tried to sound confident but even he had his doubts considering how set his father seemed to be in revoking their privileges. "Come, let's go to my apartment so you can rest a bit." "Yes... you're righ
Extra 40: A Happy and Perfect Life Part 2That promise came to an end for one of them three years later, as Nicholas was the first to go due to his heart, which began to fail until it simply stopped beating one cold December morning.Despite the immense pain she felt, Deborah fulfilled her father’s last wish… so they buried him with the diamond pendant that had belonged to her mother and grandfather.It was a very sad time, and everyone came together to keep Deborah from falling apart, as she now felt alone, as though she had lost her family again.But her children reminded her that she wasn’t alone, and because of this, they tried to distract her by having her organize the Christmas party.The days continued to pass, and just when they were preparing for James’ wedding, Eric and Samantha Cooper passed away due to old age.That was news that covered all the media outlets, with the headline telling a beautiful love story, as they had gone to sleep together and passed away to the n
Extra 40: A Happy and Perfect Life Part 1Time began to pass quickly, bringing good, bad, and sad moments that gradually changed the family.One good thing that happened was that after much reflection, Roger managed to make peace with his father, asking for forgiveness for all the stupid things he had done when he was younger. He also apologized to his little brother for being such a jerk.Even though he didn’t want to, Elliot reluctantly accepted the apologies because his wife convinced him that holding onto grudges wasn’t healthy.Unfortunately, the Peterson family only got to celebrate being united for a short period of time because two weeks after that reconciliation… George passed away of natural causes.That was a tragic moment for everyone, one that shook his friends, reminding them of how precious and short life is. Those who suffered the most from the loss of their Grandpa George were Howard and Fiona. But their parents, uncles, and maternal grandparents showered them wit
Extra 39: Deborah and JamesAfter lunch, and taking advantage of when his father taking his little siblings to their extracurricular activities, James sought out his mom to talk with her.“Mom,” he called out when he saw her in her study, reading some papers.“Hey, come in,” she said, looking up and setting aside the documents for a moment.“More work?”“Not exactly. These are the reports of the current buildings for sale in the city.”“Huh… are you already looking into that?”“Well, son, your sister graduates next year, and a year is not a lot of time to start a company from scratch.”“Will it already be furnished for her?” he asked, taking the documents to read them.“Yes, that’s why I want to buy a warehouse to remodel or a vacant lot so you and your dad can work your magic to build it and make it just like Elizabeth wants.”“It’s a project I can’t wait to start,” James said excitedly.“Your little siblings are also helping me, looking into sewing stores to buy industrial
Extra 38: A Father’s FearsHonestly, it was a strange conversation for James, one he never thought he’d have… in fact, not even in his wildest dreams did he imagine having this kind of interaction with the man who was supposedly his biological father.After telling him a bit about his school life, James paid the bill and said goodbye to Roger, as he had to get back to the office; he didn’t want to be away from work for too long.When he entered the conference room, he saw his father talking to some other architects.“Great, we’re all set then,” Jayden said, dismissing them. “Son, how did it go?” he asked as James approached him.“Fine, but it was weird.”“So... has he started to feel his age?”“I think so,” James replied, making a face.“And what did he want?”“Well, he just started talking to me, apologizing for being absent, and now he wants us to meet up to talk because he wants to get to know me,” James said, scratching his head. “I don’t know… it seemed odd that he wants
Extra 37: A Late Talk Part 2“Wow, sorry for the confusion.”“Don’t worry about it. My family supported me, and thanks to learning the truth, I understood why we had three grandfathers.”“I imagine you became an architect because of Jayden.”“That’s right. My motivation was seeing how his drawings came to life… it excited me to the point where I wanted to do the same, and as the days went by, that desire grew stronger, so I decided to make it a reality,” he said, his excitement evident in his words. “Though I also saw that Uncle did something similar by turning his sketches into beautiful jewelry, but that didn’t impress me as much.”“I see, but didn’t my dad teach you the basics of the company?”“Yes, Grandpa showed me the trade,” James said with a smile. “In fact, I’m a good appraiser, and I know how to make jewelry because Uncle also taught me the basics of jewelry design and creation. But I see that as a hobby because the only jewelry I’ve made has been for my mom, my sisters
Extra 37: A Late Talk Part 1“I’ll ask you again. What are you doing here?” James questioned, frowning slightly.“James… I…” Roger stammered nervously, his words catching in his throat and refusing to come out.“Are you here to apologize on behalf of your daughter?”“Something like that,” he said, finally managing to speak, though he made a face. “Would you let me talk to you?”“To me?” James asked, confused, pointing to himself. “About what?”“Can I invite you for a drink so we can talk?”“What do you want with my son?” At that moment, Roger saw his longtime rival approaching and standing next to the young man.“Jayden, please let me talk to James,” Roger pleaded.The now platinum-blonde looked confused at his rival. It was the first time Roger had called him by his name, and he could see that Roger seemed genuinely sorry and defeated. Jayden let out a sigh. “James, go with him.”“What?” James looked at him, surprised and confused.“Are you serious?” Roger said, a note of h
Extra 36: Late Regrets Part 2The next morning, during breakfast, Roger was focused on his phone, determined to reach out to James and be the one to make the first contact.“Hey, Dad,” Cassandra called out, trying to get his attention, noticing he was more focused on his phone than his breakfast.“What is it?” Roger asked, looking up.“Well... hey, what are we going to do about last night?”“What?” he said with a frown.“Come on, Dad, aren’t you going to do something about Grandpa and—”“Casandra, enough... I think whatever happened last night should have made the situation clear.”“But…”“They no longer see me as family, and they never recognized you as such, so just forget about it because it’s only the three of us, no one else.”“No…”“Cassandra, enough,” her mother scolded. “I told you yesterday not to go, and all you did was humiliate yourselves in public,” she said, looking her daughter in the eyes. “Grow up already. You lost that boy because you chased something that
Extra 36: Late Regrets Part 1Roger didn’t return home for the rest of the night. He ignored the cries of his ‘daughter’ as he headed to the nearest bar to have a drink and try to clear his mind.Seeing his father defeated and exhausted had made him stop and think.While sipping his third beer, he raised his gaze and saw his reflection in the mirror behind the bar, realizing that an old man was staring back at him... which scared him. He now looked at his hands, which had more wrinkles than he remembered. When had he changed so much?His once beautiful hair was now streaked with gray, his face showed his age, and he had dark circles under his dull eyes.When had he gotten so old?And why did he look like this?He was supposed to age gracefully, but that wasn’t the case... because what he saw in that mirror was a shell of the successful man he once was.He thought back to James. That boy had surpassed him in height; he was the version of himself Roger had always wanted to be: ta
Extra 35: Total BreakElliot was furious to see Roger and his daughter at the party.“Why did you hurt my daughter?” Roger hadn’t recognized James and just wanted to help his princess. “Who do you think you are…?” Then he saw James and, how could he not recognize him? He was Roger’s spitting image, giving the latter the same hateful look Roger himself wore.“I should ask you the same thing, sir. Who do you think you are, crashing a private event?” James asked.Roger was about to respond, but…“What’s the meaning of this?” George asked, approaching them.“Grandpa, they attacked me, and…” Cassandra started to say.“Miss, don’t call my grandpa ‘Grandpa,’” declared Howard.“Tom, call security,” Eric ordered. “Get these two out of the party.”Among the guests, a blond young man recognized Cassandra but didn’t go to help her because his parents didn’t allow it. They didn’t want to end up caught in the middle of the problem and become collateral damage, nor did they want to fall out