Jerome was furious. Natalie''s return had thrown their whole family into chaos, and he found the woman utterly detestable.
"Mom, you have to do something about Natalie," he fumed. "Now she''s gotten Larry thrown in jail."
"And she''s turning Sebastian against us," he continued, his voice rising. "She convinced him to cut off Joanna''s allowance. That woman is pure evil."
Wendy looked at her son''s arrogant face and let out a coldugh. "Oh, she''s getting more evil by the day, is she? Joanna, Sebastian cutting off your allowance must feel like a death sentence. We certainly can''t afford to give you a million- dor allowance. Thepany''s situation is getting worse. I''ve been trying to find new partners, but without a new product line, no one''s interested. If this keeps up, the Don family will go bankrupt. Starting this month, all of your allowances are cut in half."
If she put it like that, Joanna would get desperate and run straight to Sebastian. Those two needed to be shackled together for life, just so they wouldn''t ruin her own daughter.
"And another thing, Jerome," Wendy''s voice turned to ice. "You were the one who sent Larry to prison. A single phone call from you nearly destroyed two lives. How could I have given birth to such a vicious son?"
Jerome was stunned. "Mom, how can you me me for that? And is our family''s situation really that bad?"
Wendy sighed, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her. What an idiot.
Natalie was right. Her family deserved whatever wasing to them. What a pathetic bunch they were. They were the ones in the wrong, yet they felt not a shred of remorse.
"Regarding thepany, I''ve already had toy off a portion of the staff to cut costs. Your ownpany has never contributed a single dime; all the money just gets poured into your car racing."
"And your father''spany hasn''t been doing well these past two years either. God knows where the money he earns is going." She turned her gaze to her husband. "Nathan, I looked at yourpany''s books. You cleared over ten million in profitst year, but I haven''t seen a cent of it. Your spending seems to be getting more and more extravagant."
Nathan''s eyes flickered, but he
met
quickly put on a smile. "Honey, you know I frequent high-end establishments. A little money like that doesn''t go far, does it? Taking a few chairmen out for a round of golf can cost hundreds of thousands it''s all about exclusive venues, and those ces burn through cash."
In reality, the money was funding the startup for his son outside the marriage. His four sons here were all useless each one painfully average with no head for business. Why would he bet his future on a bunch of failures?
Wendy took a deep breath. "I''m going to the office to workte. I need all of you to stay out of trouble. I don''t have the energy to deal with your messes."
"Joanna," she added, "make something nice for Sebastian tomorrow morning and take it to him. See if you can mend things between you two. Me yelling at Natalie won''t do any good; she''s already cut ties with this family."
Joanna frowned. Something was off; her mother had changed.
"Okay, Mom. I''ll go see Sebastian first thing in the morning. I will win his heart back." She wasn''t about to give up on him that easily.
"Good," Wendy nodded.
She wasn''t feeling well today, but she had to put on a show for her husband and stepdaughter.
"Jerome, I''ve been feeling weak thest couple of days,pletely drained. I''m worried it''s not safe for me to drive. You can take me to the office."
Nathan and Joanna exchanged a subtle nce. Wendy didn''t miss the fleeting look of delight in their eyes.
"Honey, why are you going back to the office to work sote?" Nathan asked with feigned concern.
Wendy let out a long sigh. "I don''t
have a choice. My four sons are good for nothing, each off doing whatever they please while no one helps me run thepany. You have your own business to manage, and mine is struggling. I''ve had to sell off several properties just to keep our cash flow from copsing."