Arthur’s eyes slowly slid back to meet Joseph’s, his gaze dark with something Joseph couldn’t read.
“…Let her go?”
The very next second, Arthur’s hand shot out. He grabbed the hand Curtis had placed on his shoulder and roughly threw it away. Curtis stumbled half a step back, nearly losing his balance.
“Are you out of your damn mind?!” Arthur roared.
The veins in his neck stood out. His chest heaved violently, all the suppressed emotion breaking through in an instant. His eyes, usually gentle and hesitant, were now blazing with a fury none of them had ever seen.
“You’re asking me to cut off my daughter?” His voice cracked with disbelief. “She ismydaughter!”
His hand slammed against his own chest.
“Everything I have belongs to her! This is her mother’s company. It isSophia’sbusiness. How dare you even bring this into the conversation?!”
Joseph and Curtis looked at each other, shock spreading across their faces. Their mouths opened slightly, but no words came out.
Arthur had never spoken to them like this.
All these years, he had listened to them, trusted them, accepted their advice without hesitation.
But now, the man in front of them looked like a furious animal whose territory had been invaded.
Seeing him lose control so suddenly made their hearts pound.
They stared at him, stunned.
“That’s not what I meant—” Joseph quickly stepped forward, panic flashing across his face.
“I heard everything you meant,” Arthur interrupted angrily, his voice sharp.
Sophia froze.
Magnus also went still, his eyes dark as they landed on Arthur, watching the older man tremble with uncontrollable rage.
“How dare you even think of separating me from my Sophia?!”
Arthur’s voice broke with emotion. His finger shot up, pointing straight at them, his arm shaking.
“You’re trying to remove my daughter from my life?!” he shouted. “How dare you—both of you—all of you!”
His finger moved from Joseph to Curtis and then to Violet, stabbing the air with every word.
“You are no longer part of my company,” Arthur declared, his voice echoing through the room. “There is no relationship between you and me anymore!”
His breathing grew rough, almost ragged, but the fury inside him only burned hotter.
“Only my daughter is my family,” he continued, his eyes red. “I will give everything to her. I do everythingforher!”
His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“Even if she slept with somebody, how the fuck is it any of your business?!” he thundered. “She can do whatever she wants.”
He took a threatening step forward. Joseph and Curtis instinctively stiffened.
“I’m going to stand with her!”
Arthur’s voice shook the walls.
