On the screen, Adam’s shoulders tensed, and for a mont, it seed as if he would outright refuse.
But then, his posture sagged.
He dropped to his knees.
Lucas inhaled sharply.
The sight of his father, a man who had spent decades providing for them, humbling himself in such a degrading manner, sent a pang of rage through his chest.
"I need the money," Adam said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Please."
Olivia could feel her heart drop, the mont Adam kneeled.
Lucas and Theodore’s jaws clenched.
Adriance looked remorseful, while Aurora, stared blankly at Adam’s figure.
Mark’s words echoed in her mind.
’I loaned you money previously because you begged properly’
So every ti, her father returned ho and gave them gifts and pocket money while managing their school fees and extra costs, he had gone through so much?
The siblings only felt their minds turning blank.
They never realized their happiness was so costly.
They thought their sacrifices could cope with expenses. To their shock...it was never enough.
Mark tilted his head as if considering. "Now, that’s a little more like it. But you see, Adam, I have my own concerns. Giving out a loan ans trusting the borrower to pay it back. And lately, I’ve been hearing so... troubling rumors."
Adam’s head snapped up. "What rumors?"
Mark folded his arms.
"People have been saying that you’ve been stealing from the shop. That missing inventory? It didn’t just vanish into thin air.
I’m curious, Adam—why should I trust you when it seems like you’ve already been taking money behind my back?"
Adam’s expression darkened.
"That’s a lie, and you know it. I’ve worked for you for twenty years, Mark. I’ve never stolen a single thing."
Mark chuckled, shaking his head.
"Oh, Adam. You’ve always been so self-righteous. But let’s be honest here. If I were to accuse you, who do you think people would believe? The business owner or the desperate employee begging for a loan?"
Lucas slamd his fist on the table, jolting his siblings.
"That bastard," he growled. He quickened the footage and checked others.
In each of them, Mark was mistreating Adam. It was as if he was venting so personal grudge.
"Do you think, father has been enduring mistreatnts for all these years?" Aurora whispered.
All of them fell silent.
Thinking back, Adam’s reaction made sense to them...
He was frightened. He didn’t want his children to know about his sufferings. He didn’t want his kids to know how much he went through to buy their happiness.
"Let’s skim through more videos." He calmly said.
Lucas nodded and soon they continued to watch the videos.
They watched so at normal speed and skipped the aningless parts.
However, each video explained to them how much Adam had faced.
"Adam you know you are useless yet I kept you. This is because I was being generous."
"$100,000 loan? Adam, you would never be able to pay off such a huge amount."
"Let’s be honest, your children will leave you eventually, then even with a raise in your salary, you will have to work for for more than 10 years to pay all of it."
"Adam, maybe in this life you are destined to be a nobody."
"You are late again? What? You were busy dropping your children off? What does that have to do with ? Your pay will be deducted."
"You have perford terribly, your salary will be cut off this month. How? Don’t think I didn’t notice, how you sneak off to pick up your youngest daughter in those luxurious cars. You are disgusting Adam. Even if you pretend for the rest of your life, you will never be able to reach where I am."
Aurora’s heart sank.
So each ti, her father ca to pick her up, he suffered so much?
Such terrible remarks were passed by Mark, yet Adam didn’t leave the repair shop.
"Why couldn’t he leave the job?" Adriana asked in frustration. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
Lucas exhaled sharply, his grip tightening around the mouse.
"Because he had no choice," he answered, his voice rough with restrained fury.
"We were his priority. Our education, our futures—he put all of that above his own dignity."
Adriana shook her head, wiping at her eyes with trembling fingers.
"But how could he endure this for so long?"
Theodore’s composed expression started to crack.
"Because he knew if he left, we’d suffer. He’d rather be humiliated than let us struggle."
Olivia’s gaze remained fixed on the screen, watching Mark sneer down at Adam like he was less than human.
The sheer cruelty in his voice, in his dismissive posture—it made her sick.
"This man has been playing God with Dad’s life," she whispered. "Holding his power over him just because he could."
Aurora’s stomach twisted painfully. "And Dad just... took it."
Lucas let out a slow, asured breath.
"Not anymore." His voice was cold, resolved. "We know the truth now. And we’re not going to let this continue."
Olivia narrowed her eyes,
"But...don’t you feel...he is doing too much?"
"He has a personal grudge against father," Theodore said softly.
"What personal grudge?" Olivia asked with a confused expression.
Her question was soon answered. In footage from 3 weeks before, Adam was busy working when Mary ca to deliver him food.
They softly talked about Lucas and Adirana’s college choices and how much it would cost them before Mary left.
Just as Mary left, Mark called Adam into his office.
Adam without hesitation went in. The mont he entered, Mark said,
"You wanted $100,000 as a loan, right?"
Surprise flickered on Adam’s face and he nodded. His expression turned hopeful.
Mark chuckled,
"I can give it to you. I won’t even ask you to return it. Only one condition."
"What is it?" Adam asked. He almost wanted to agree right away, however, he tried his best to hold back.
"Give Mary for a week." A lecherous smile appeared on Mark’s face.
User Comments
0 comments from readers