He Got the Mistress. I Got the Empire. Chapter 06

He Got the Mistress. I Got the Empire. Chapter 06

My father ignored the potbellied vice president, Peter Calter, who had rushed forward to greet him, and paid no attention to Freddy’s ashen face. Instead, he walked straight to me.

The moment he saw Elise in my arms—her face drained of color, her small arms mottled with bruises—and the raw finger marks still visible on my neck, the air around him seemed to drop several degrees.

“What happened here?”

His voice was calm, not loud at all, yet it sliced through the banquet hall like a blade. The once-boisterous room fell instantly silent.

Peter, who had been so arrogant just moments before, now dripped with sweat, still fumbling for an explanation.

“M-Mr. Lindt, it’s all a misunderstanding! This maid and her daughter tried to cause trouble at Mr. Richmond’s son’s birthday banquet, that’s all. Truly nothing serious. You mustn’t take it to heart. Next time you visit, please let your secretary inform me in advance so I can prepare a proper welcome—”

My father cut him off coldly.

“Are you saying my daughter and granddaughter came here to make trouble?”

His gaze, sharp as a knife, swept over Freddy and Lisa’s still-entwined arms.

“Elise,” he said, his voice softening, “tell Grandpa… who hurt you?”

Freddy panicked, rushing forward. “Dad, please, let me explain—”

“Tell me, Elise,” my father repeated, his tone brooking no refusal.

From the safety of my embrace, Elise timidly lifted her head. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she pointed with trembling fingers—first at Eugene, still sobbing in Lisa’s arms, then at Lisa herself.

“He… he slapped my face and kicked my stomach. And she held me so I couldn’t run away…”

Freddy’s forehead broke out in a sheen of sweat. He tugged Peter aside, whispering in disbelief, clinging to a shred of hope.

“Peter, are you certain this is the new official? You didn’t mistake him for someone else?”

Peter wiped at his soaked forehead with a handkerchief, his voice low and trembling.

“Absolutely certain, Mr. Richmond. I saw Mr. Lindt myself at last month’s economic conference. There’s no mistaking him!”

He’s your father-in-law? You never mentioned such a thing!”

Lisa, listening nearby, paled. Her earlier smugness vanished, replaced by panic. She turned on Freddy in a hiss.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me her family background was this powerful?”

Freddy’s face twisted, ugly with frustration. He yanked his hand out of hers, muttering in a low, frantic voice.

“How was I supposed to know? My father-in-law always looked like some quiet old man who just liked fishing—never spoke much, spent his days with rods and newspapers. And he never worked in this city before. He hardly meddled in Valerie’s affairs. I thought—”

The more he spoke, the sharper his regret became, his voice thick with self-reproach.

While the two whispered frantically, Eugene, oblivious to the suffocating tension, only grew angrier. He had banged into the table earlier and still smarted with grievance. Seeing his father shielding me and letting Elise ‘complain,’ he exploded again.

He stormed up to my father, hands on his hips, imitating the way adults scolded, his pampered little face twisted with insolence.

“Hey! Where did this old geezer come from? How dare you meddle in my business? Believe it or not, I’ll have my dad throw you in jail! My dad’s a big boss!”

With that, he stretched out a hand to shove my father’s leg. The secretary intercepted him swiftly.

Lisa nearly fainted with fright. She rushed forward to snatch Eugene into her arms, clamping a hand over his mouth, forcing an awkward smile.

“Eugene’s just spouting nonsense! Children don’t understand things. Sir, please don’t take it to heart.”

Freddy bowed and nodded hurriedly. “Yes, Dad. He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better. Please don’t hold it against him.”

My father’s secretary let out a snort. “Mr. Richmond, what excellent parenting.”

But Eugene still squirmed and struggled, muffled protests spilling from behind Lisa’s hand, still staring daggers at my father.

Only after Lisa pinched him hard, again and again, did Eugene finally quiet down.