Chapter 368
“Grandpa, you know exactly how Camilla and I ended up together,” Lance said, his voice steady. “Camilla means everything to me. I’d do anything for her. If Sarah keeps messing with her right in front of me, I have no choice but to ask her to leave the Charles family p>
Even facing Darwin, Lance stayed firm and unyielding, refusing to back down.
How did they get together? The answer was obvious. Lance had made it his mission to win Camilla’s heart, no matter what it took.
Dane hadn’t held back a single detail when filling Darwin in on Lance’s past actions.
Darwin always considered himself a man of strong principles. Hearing what his grandson had done was hard for him to stomach. He couldn’t keep talking to Lance calmly, so he turned his focus to Sarah instead. His tone grew colder. “Sarah, what’s really going on here p>
At this point, Darwin knew rushing things only made them worse. His attempts to break up Camilla and Lance had already failed a few times. Pushing Lance while he was this angry wouldn’t get him anywhere.
Sarah hesitated, fumbling for words. It was the same excuse as always. She insisted she was innocent and blamed everything on Shirley misunderstanding her. When it came to the whole “fiancée” rumor, she shifted the blame to Tessa, saying she’d only repeated a joke she heard Tessa make when she was little. She claimed she never thought Shirley would take it seriously.
With just a few lines, Sarah had painted herself as completely blameless.
Shirley stared at her, feeling like she was seeing Sarah for the first time. So the innocent act had just been a mask, and underneath, Sarah was only looking out for herself.
Tessa, on the other hand, didn’t seem suspicious at all. She put her arms around Sarah and looked at Lance with pity in her eyes. “Sarah already said this was all a misunderstanding. Is this really something worth blowing up over? You’ve yelled enough. Sarah’s just devastated. Let’s drop it and move on p>
Lance let out a short laugh. “Tessa, I think you’re missing the point. I didn’t ask you here for you to tell me when things are finished. If you really believe this is all just a misunderstanding, then let’s clear it up for good. I want you to make a public statement explaining there’s nothing between me and Sarah. Tell everyone that she has nothing to do with me, that she should stay away from me, and stop pretending we’re close. It took everything in me to win Camilla over, and I’m not going to let someone else create doubts between us p>
Tessa’s eyes widened in disbelief. “How can you even suggest that? Lance, don’t go too far. Sarah’s a young woman. If you put out a statement like that, what will people think of her? I won’t allow anyone to drag Sarah’s name through the mud. She’s never done anything wrong. You need to calm down and stop letting outsiders turn you against her p>
She threw herself into defending Sarah, but Lance had grown tired of this routine. “If you won’t agree to the statement, that’s fine. Then there’s another option. Sarah leaves the Charles family for good. She won’t step foot in our house again and she can stop calling me her brother p>
Tessa was livid, practically shaking with anger. She felt like Lance had crossed every line, treating her, his own mother, with zero respect. Before she could start scolding him, he kept going. “If you won’t pick either of those options, Tessa, then you’re leaving Sarah’s fate up to me. So if I do something you can’t undo, or if I send her somewhere you can’t reach her, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself p>
Tessa’s stubborn confidence cracked right away. Her face clouded over with worry. She didn’t doubt Lance for a second. She knew what he was capable of. After all, when he was younger, he’d already…
Desperate, she turned to Darwin. “Dad, you know better than anyone what kind of person Sarah is. You can’t just let Lance p>
“Sarah, I trust you too,” Darwin cut in, his voice serious. “Maybe this really has all been a misunderstanding. But you’re grown up now, and it’s not really fitting for you to keep living with the Charles family.” His eyes bored into her. “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll give you a few properties and some money. After that, you can live however you want—free from any ties to the family. How about it p>
He’d watched Sarah grow up, almost as much as Tessa had, and for a long time, he’d thought that Lance and Sarah were a perfect match. They’d practically grown up together. Maybe, once, he even hoped they’d end up as a couple. He was the reason Sarah came back this time, quietly clearing the way for her.
But lately, ever since Sarah started getting flustered, Darwin had begun to see something else. The sweet and obedient girl he remembered wasn’t as pure as he thought. She had too many little secrets, and no matter how well she thought she hid them, Darwin saw right through her.
That kind of person just wasn’t right to be the Charles family’s matriarch.
Now that he finally understood, he knew he needed to act quickly. There would be no more chances for her and Lance. It was time to cut these ties for good.