?Chapter 514:


    As he changed his shoes and clutched the bread he had purchased, he paused when he noticed Z sitting on the sofa. He turned, intending to head straight upstairs.


    “Stop!” Z stood up and blocked his path. “Why did you keep it from me that Bryan and Eileen have a daughter? What’s going on in your head? Helping a bunch of outsiders hide a secret from me!”


    Every time Z and Milford argued over these petty issues, Milford couldn’t bring himself to engage. He was eager to head upstairs, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through his shoulder.


    Z had hurled a ss of water at him, striking his shoulder before the ss shattered on the floor. The sharp crack of the breaking ss was particrly jarring. Standing at the top of the stairs, Milford turned around and red at Z. “Have you lost your mind?”


    “I haven’t lost my mind!” Z marched over, gesturing wildly around the house. “Don’t you realize that I’m no longer the CEO of Apex Group? This house won’t be mine much longer!”


    Milford watched in silence as Z’s anger erupted.


    “Brandon has lost his grip on power, and I have no one to help me now!” Z’s bitterness deepened as she continued. “My glory and wealth are gone—all because of Eileen and Bryan! If you hadn’t kept the fact that they already had a child from me, things might not have turned out this way!” She was seething with frustration. “You are all obstacles in my way, and so are our parents! It would be better if you didn’t even exist in this world. I’ll get rid of you all eventually. Mom and Dad failed to protect me from the Dawson family, and they took me away. But that’s not enough! You kept causing me endless trouble and pain!”


    Overwhelmed by a sense of injustice, as if the world itself had conspired against her, Z broke down in tears, clutching her hair in despair and copsing to the floor in a dramatic disy of anguish.


    Milford watched her for a moment, then hurried down the stairs. He reached out, gripping her shoulders firmly, trying to make her stand. “What are you talking about? Who are you nning to get rid of? And why would you want to get rid of me, too?”


    Milford’s grip on Z’s shoulders was tight, almost painful.


    Regaining control, Z pushed Milford away with a burst of strength, her voice steady despite her trembling hands. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just go upstairs and rest. I need to find a new ce for us. We’re moving to a smaller house.”


    Before Milford could process her words, Z sprang up, grabbed her bag from the entrance, and bolted out the door. Milford stumbled back, hitting the wall as Z pushed him. In the process, he stepped on a shard of ss that had pierced his shoe, sending a sharp pain through his foot.


    Blood immediately began to drip onto the floor. Wincing, Milford crouched down, carefully pulling the shard out. He limped around the room, searching for the first aid kit to treat the injury.


    Despite the severity of his wound, Milford couldn’t afford a hospital visit.


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