He Revealed a Secret Son, So I Swapped Grooms Instead Chapter 04

He Revealed a Secret Son, So I Swapped Grooms Instead Chapter 04

Arthur stood in the doorway.

A group of people stood behind him.

The family butler. The Prescott attorneys. A few Prescott security guards.

The ballroom went dead silent.

The men who’d been egging him on moments ago froze in place.

Desmond didn’t move. He swallowed hard.

“Grandpa…”

Arthur slammed the end of his cane against the floor.

“Don’t you dare call me that!”

“How did the Prescott family produce a bastard like you?”

Desmond’s face went white. His eyes darted toward Nora.

She was clutching Leo, trembling from head to toe.

She clearly wanted to hide. But every exit was blocked. There was nowhere to run.

Arthur walked into the ballroom one step at a time.

Every tap of his cane echoed like a hammer blow.

He looked at me first.

I was still sitting on the floor. Blood trickled down my forehead. My cheek was on fire.

Vernon wrenched free of the guards and rushed over.

“Miss Hastings!”

His hands trembled as he helped me up.

“Are you all right?”

I nodded. “I’m fine.”

It hurt like hell.

But more than the pain, I felt sickened by what had happened.

Arthur saw the injury on my face, and his expression grew even darker.

He turned toward Desmond.

“So this is what you call fulfilling your responsibilities as the heir?”

“This is how you answer to the Hastings family?”

Desmond panicked. “Grandpa, that’s not what happened.”

“Claire was the one making a scene. She was about to come to you and call it off. I just lost my

temper…”

Arthur gave a cold laugh.

“You lost your temper?”

“So you locked the doors. You had your men pin down the Hastings heiress. And you pulled out a camera on her?”

“Desmond, do you think I’m senile?”

Desmond’s lips turned pale.

“I never meant to actually hurt her.”

Then he hurriedly looked at me.

“Claire, I was only trying to scare you.”

“I wasn’t really going to do anything.”

I looked at him. My stomach churned.

“Scare me?”

“Desmond, if Mr. Prescott hadn’t shown up, what exactly were you planning to do?”

His mouth opened. Nothing came out.

Every eye in the room was on him.

The people who had defended him earlier were suddenly very quiet.

Even the man in the floral shirt quietly took a step back.

Arthur swept his gaze over them.

His voice was ice-cold. “Who was it that said women need to be put in their place?”

Their faces changed instantly. Not one of them dared to speak.

Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongues?”

Chase was the first to crack.

“Mr. Prescott, I was just joking.”

“I didn’t think Desmond would actually…”

Arthur cut him off. “You didn’t think?”

“You seemed to be having a great time.”

He turned to the butler.

“Get copies of the security footage and everything recorded here tonight.”

“Send them to the Whitmores, the Ellsworths, and the Thornes.”

“Let them see exactly how their sons behave when they think no one’s watching.”

The color drained from their faces.

“Mr. Prescott!”

“Please, no!”

“We’d had too much to drink!”

Arthur didn’t even spare them a glance.

“Being drunk’s your excuse for helping him cross the line?”

“Then nobody drinks.”

The moment he finished speaking, the police stepped forward.

“Desmond Prescott, you need to come with us.”

Desmond’s head snapped up.

“What for?”

The officer’s face remained blank.

“Unlawful confinement, assault, and making threats.”

“We’ll discuss the details when we take your statement.”

Desmond finally panicked.

“Grandpa! I’m the Prescott heir!”

“You can’t let them take me!”

Arthur looked at him. There wasn’t a shred of mercy in his eyes.

“Not anymore.”

Just a few words.

They cut through Desmond’s last line of defense.

He stood there frozen.

Even Nora looked up, stunned.

Desmond’s voice shook. “Grandpa, what did you say?”

Arthur spoke slowly, making every word clear.

“The Prescott family’ll never be handed to an idiot.”

“And definitely not to a man who’d throw away the family’s bottom line over a woman and a bastard child.”

“Since you’re so devoted to them, go be devoted to them somewhere else.”

“You no longer have a place in this family.”

Desmond’s eyes reddened.

“Grandpa, you raised me yourself.”

“You can’t throw everything away over a few words from Claire!”

Arthur gave a cold laugh.

“You think this is because of a few things she said?”

He raised a hand.

An attorney immediately handed him a thick folder.

Arthur tossed them at Desmond’s feet.

“Read them.”

“How many of the things you’ve done behind the family’s back over the years do you think would hold up under scrutiny?”

Desmond’s face went ashen.

He bent down and picked up the documents.

Two pages in, his hands were shaking.

I couldn’t see everything from where I stood.

But a few words jumped out at me.

Secret accounts.

Project kickbacks.

Related-party transactions.

Misappropriated funds.

And then there was one more.

It was the purchase record for an apartment in Nora’s name.

The payment had come from a Prescott subsidiary.

The ballroom erupted.

Nora went pale. Her grip on Leo loosened.

Arthur looked at her.

“Ms. Ellison. You’ve been saying all the time you don’t want anything.”

“Then where did the three properties in your name come from? The two cars? The money sitting in

your overseas accounts?”

Nora’s lips trembled.

“I-I don’t know. Desmond gave them to me!”

“I swear, I didn’t know the money came from Prescott!”

Arthur’s voice stayed calm.

“Knew or not, you can tell the police.”

Nora’s legs gave out. She nearly collapsed.

She looked at Desmond through her tears.

“Desmond, say something.”

“I swear I didn’t know there was anything wrong with the money.”

“You told me it was your money.”

Desmond suddenly looked at her.

For the first time, his eyes held resentment.

“You’re trying to distance yourself now?”

“When you were cashing those checks, did you ever ask where it came from?”

All the color drained from Nora’s face.

Leo burst into tears. “Daddy! Mommy!”

The wailing made everyone wince.

Desmond grabbed at the lifeline. He picked up Leo and walked toward Arthur.

“Grandpa! Leo’s innocent! He’s your great-grandson.”

“Even if you don’t care about me, do it for the child…”

Arthur looked at the boy. Something flickered in his eyes. Then it went cold again.

“Kid’s innocent. The adults aren’t.”

“You were willing to use a child as a bargaining chip today.”

“Tomorrow, you’d gamble away the entire Prescott family.”

“Desmond, you’re beyond saving.”

Desmond opened his mouth to speak again.

The police had already grabbed his arm.

This time, he didn’t fight back.

But before they took him away, he shot me a venomous look.

“Claire, are you happy now?”

I wiped the blood from my forehead.

My voice was calm. “What’s there to be happy about? I just got the justice I was owed.”

He was taken away. Nora was taken in for questioning as well.

The butler took Leo for the time being.

The ballroom descended into chaos.

The spectators from earlier all kept their heads down. Not one of them dared to say another word.

Arthur walked over to me.

He was old, but his eyes were still sharp.

“Claire. What happened tonight was the Prescott family’s fault.”

“I’ll personally go to the Hastings family and apologize.”,

I looked at him. I didn’t answer right away.

In the past, I probably would’ve thought about the bigger picture.

After all, this partnership wasn’t something you threw away in a childish tantrum.

But tonight, I had nearly been destroyed.

I couldn’t keep covering for anyone anymore.

“Mr. Prescott, you can discuss the apology with my father.”

“But the engagement’s over.”

Arthur nodded. “It should be.”

He paused, then added, “Desmond isn’t the only man in this family.”

“If the Hastings family is still willing to work with us…”

I cut him off. “Mr. Prescott.”

“I don’t want to talk about marriage right now.”

“I just want to go home.”

Arthur studied me for a long moment.

Then he sighed. “All right. Go home for now.

“We’ll make the rest right.”

Vernon helped me toward the exit.

My parents arrived just as we reached the door.

The second my mother saw my face, her eyes welled up..

“Claire!”

She rushed over and pulled me into her arms.

Her hand barely grazed my forehead before she snatched it back.

“How did you get hurt like this?”

“Who did this?”

My father stood behind her. His face was thunderous.

He rarely showed his anger, even when he was furious.

But this time, he could barely hide it.

“Vernon. Who laid hands on her?”

Vernon quietly filled him in.

When my mother heard about the camera, she swayed.

My father caught her.

When he looked up again, his voice was cold as ice.

“The Prescott family owes us an explanation.”

Arthur walked over.

“Mr. Hastings. The Prescott family failed to discipline its own.”

My father met his gaze.

No pleasantries. No small talk.

“I respect you, Arthur.”

“But Desmond crossed a line with the Hastings family.”

“Effective now, Hastings Corporation’s freezing all new business with Prescott.”

“Existing contracts will be reviewed by legal for risk.”

Arthur was silent for a moment.

“I understand.””

“Desmond has been stripped of his heir status.”

“Prescott will hold an emergency board meeting.”

“All positions he holds are suspended.”

My father gave a cold laugh.

“That’s Prescott’s internal business.”

As for what happened to my daughter, my attorneys will pursue it to the fullest extent.”

Arthur nodded. “That’s only fair.”

My mother held me close, tears still streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry, Claire.”

“Mommy got here too late.”

I leaned against her, my eyes stinging.

I didn’t blame them.

They’d gotten here as fast as they could after my message.

But some hurts don’t hit until you see the people who love you.

I whispered, “Mom, take me home.”

She nodded right away.

“Let’s go home.”

“We’re going home right now.”