Chapter 226: We don’t have anything left

Of all the people Dorothy had trusted blindly, her brother had always been the one she believed would never turn his back on her. But hearing him refuse to help now left her feeling deeply betrayed.

"Mom, you said Uncle would help us. Then why is he suddenly refusing?" Julianna whispered, staring at her mother, who looked as though the ground beneath her feet had split open.

Before Dorothy could answer, Fiona, her sister-in-law, spoke.

"Well, maybe you should ask yourself that," she said with a mocking smirk.

Both Dorothy and Julianna frowned.

Dorothy had always been proud of her status and never missed an opportunity to flaunt it in front of them. There had been several occasions when her husband had asked her to help him with a few projects through Vincent. Yet every time, Dorothy had turned him down, claiming that they simply lacked the potential to handle such projects.

Now, seeing what had happened to Vincent, Fiona couldn’t help but feel relieved that her husband had never entered into business with him and had kept his own work clean.

"What exactly are you implying, Fiona? How is any of this our fault?" Dorothy demanded, clearly offended by the accusation.

Fiona let out a short laugh.

"You really think that just because we’re not as influential as you, we don’t know what actually got Vincent behind bars?"

Dorothy’s face immediately paled.

But Fiona wasn’t finished.

"I always knew Vincent wasn’t a man with a good reputation. And despite knowing what kind of person he was, you still chose to stay with him. That makes you no different from him."

Dorothy’s expression hardened.

Her father, Leonard, had been devastated when he first learned about Vincent’s betrayal. He had been so furious that he even urged Dorothy to leave Vincent and come back home. But blinded by Vincent’s wealth and status, Dorothy had forgiven him instead, creating a deep rift between herself and her father.

Years later, Leonard passed away, and Felix took over the family company. He tried repeatedly to repair his relationship with his sister, but Dorothy always looked down on him, considering him less capable and inferior to Vincent.

Instead of building bridges with her brother, Dorothy had spent years burning them.

"Fiona is right, Dorothy."

Felix’s voice was calm, but his words carried a finality that made Dorothy’s expression stiffen.

"If Vincent had truly been framed, like you kept telling us, we would have helped you. But that isn’t what happened. Your husband crossed Dominic Sterling and Adrian Graham. Do you honestly think I can put my business at risk just to protect Vincent?"

Felix shook his head.

"I’ve spent years building this company. Maybe I’m not as influential as Dominic or Adrian, but I’ve managed to keep my business running even after Dad passed away. I’m not going to throw everything I’ve built away because of Vincent’s mistakes."

Dorothy stared at him in disbelief.

"So that’s it?" she asked, her voice trembling with anger. "You’re just going to stand there and watch your own sister suffer?"

"I’m not watching you suffer, Dorothy. I’m refusing to make the same mistake you did."

Her eyes widened.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me." Felix’s expression remained firm. "Dorothy, leave. We cannot help you."

The words shattered whatever composure she had left.

"You’re unbelievable!"

She suddenly stormed toward him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "You dare turn your back on me after everything?" she shouted. "I’m your sister, Felix! Your own sister!"

"Mom!" Julianna rushed forward, trying to pull her away. "Please, stop! This isn’t helping."

Dorothy shoved her hand away.

"Stay out of this!"

Then she turned back to Felix, her fingers tightening around his collar.

"You’ll pay for this," she hissed. "Do you hear me? You will regret humiliating me like this."

Felix calmly removed her hands from his collar.

"You’re making a fool of yourself."

"A fool?" Dorothy scoffed. "You think you can throw me out like some stranger? I am your sister!"

"And I’ve done everything I could to bridge the relation over the years, and all you did was to throw it away with your pride," Felix replied. "But this time, I’m choosing my family and my business over Vincent’s problems."

Dorothy’s face reddened with fury.

"I swear, Felix, I’ll make you pay for this!"

"Mom, enough!" Julianna pleaded, grabbing her arm. "Let’s just leave."

"No!" Dorothy snapped, pulling herself free. "I’m not leaving until he takes back what he said."

Fiona, who had been watching the confrontation from the side, finally stepped forward.

"That’s enough. You were asked to leave."

Dorothy glared at her.

"This is a family matter. Stay out of it."

"It stopped being a family matter when you started threatening my husband."

Fiona turned toward the guards stationed near the entrance.

"Get them out."

Two guards immediately approached.

"What are you doing?" Dorothy demanded.

"Ma’am, please come with us."

"Don’t touch me!" She struggled as the guards took hold of her arms.

"Felix!" she screamed. "You will regret this! I swear I’ll make you pay!"

"Mom, please!" Julianna cried, following them.

But Dorothy continued shouting until the guards escorted both of them out of the building, leaving Felix and Fiona standing in tense silence.

***

Meanwhile, Dorothy and Julianna were escorted out of the gates by the guards before the heavy gates were shut behind them.

The sudden dismissal left both of them stumbling forward. Julianna quickly regained her balance and turned toward her mother, her eyes filling with panic.

"Mom, what are we going to do now?" she asked, her voice trembling. "You said Uncle would help us, but look what he did. He threw us out. Where are we supposed to go?"

Dorothy remained silent.

"Our house has been seized, our money is gone, and the company has collapsed," Julianna continued, her voice breaking as the reality finally sank in. "Mom, we don’t have anything left."

The realization hit her like a slap.

For the first time, Julianna truly understood how much they had lost. The luxurious life she had once taken for granted was gone, and there was no longer anyone willing to save them.

Dorothy, however, stood completely still.

Her mind was still struggling to process everything that had happened.

The woman who had always held her head high, proud of her wealth, status, and connections, now stood outside her own brother’s house with nowhere to turn.

Her pride was slowly crumbling beneath the weight of humiliation and helplessness.

"Mom..."

Julianna’s voice barely reached her.

Dorothy heard nothing.

She simply stared ahead, unable to accept that everything she once had was slipping away.