Chapter 4Back at My Brother's Birthday From Hell

My mother leaned in too, staring hard at the gold pendant. "With quality like this, it's worth at least tens of thousands of dollars. How can a nobody like him have something like this? He definitely stole it!"

My father frowned, his tone turning icy as he spoke to Mr. Wade. "Your staff is stealing from guests, Mr. Wade. Your reputation is going to be ruined if this gets out."

Mr. Wade broke out in a cold sweat. He grabbed Rowan by the arm and snapped, "That pendant you stole is Mr. Samuel's to deal with as he sees fit. Hand it over and apologize, now!"

Rowan shook his head desperately, his voice already hoarse. "I didn't steal it! It really was left to me by my parents!"

Samuel toyed with the pendant, then lifted his foot and ground his heel down on Rowan's fingers, looking down at him from above. "You say you didn't steal it and we're just supposed to believe you? Fine, then. Let's call the cops. Let them figure out who it really belongs to. However…"

He paused, pressing down harder with the tip of his shoe. Rowan let out a muffled groan of pain.

"Once the cops are here, that theft charge is going to stick, and you're going to prison." Samuel said with relish.

Rowan's lips trembled, and his face turned ashen.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I lunged forward and shoved Samuel away. "That's enough, Samuel! Give him back the pendant! Or do you want everyone to think the Stone family throws its weight around and bullies others?"

He stumbled back a couple of steps from the force of my push, then exploded with rage. He threw himself at me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back. He snarled, "Who the hell do you think you are, Jeremiah? You think you get to lecture me?"

His grip tightened, sending a sharp, tearing pain across my scalp.

Off to the side, my mother screeched, "How dare you push my darling Sam! Are you out of your mind?"

Blinded by the pain, I swung my fist up on instinct and punched Samuel hard. The sound of my fist coming into contact with his jaw echoed through the restaurant, and the room went dead silent.

Samuel clutched his jaw and stared at me in disbelief. Then, he let out a furious roar. "Jeremiah Stone! Did you just hit me? How dare you!"

He pounced on me like a madman. I wasn't in time to dodge, so he slammed right into me, knocking me to the floor.

My hand landed on shattered glass, slicing a long gash across my palm. Blood immediately began pouring out.

My mother acted like she didn't see it at all. She rushed to help Samuel to his feet before turning to shriek at me, "You ungrateful traitor! How dare you side with an outsider against your own brother! Sounds to me like you don't want to be part of this family anymore!"

I stared at the blood streaming from my hand and let out a bitter laugh. "Was there ever a place for me in this family?"

I looked up, meeting my parents' enraged gazes head-on. I said, my voice flat and final, "In that case, I'm done. I'm cutting ties with the Stone family right here and now. From this moment on, I'm no longer one of you."

My father let out a cold, mocking snort. "Fine by me. I'd love to see how you manage without us. And let me make one thing clear—don't expect a single cent from this family from now on!"

Rowan struggled to his feet, looking at me with worry. "Sir, don't bother about me. Don't fall out with your family because of me…"

Samuel arched a brow, his tone dripping with fake sympathy. "My, my, how touching. Tell you what—I'll be generous today. You don't have to pay for the shoes anymore."

Rowan relaxed just a little, only for Samuel to smirk cruelly as he changed his tune. "But you're going to get back on your knees and prostrate yourself at my feet. Do that, and I'll let you off the hook."

Samuel paused, then jerked his chin in my direction. "Oh, and I'll let your little knight in shining armor here off the hook, too."

With that, he lifted his foot and stomped down hard on my bleeding hand. His sole dug into my torn flesh, and a jolt of pain shot through me.

I gritted my teeth and slowly shook my head at Rowan.

His eyes filled with despair and guilt. In the end, his knees began to bend.

Just then, the restaurant's front doors flew open with a bang. A group of professionally trained bodyguards streamed in and quickly fanned out, surrounding us.

Right after that, a commanding voice rang out. "Who dares make my son kneel?"