Chapter 270
Susan met his gaze, her tone dripping with defiance. “If you had just agreed to help, I wouldn’t have had to go to such extreme lengths to come all the way to
Switzerland.”
Kingsley grabbed a file off his desk, strode over to the sofa, and slammed it onto the coffee table with a violent smack. “Take a look for yourself. See exactly how deep The Neville Group’s hole really is!”
He paused, his voice turning lethally cold. “I have no obligation to bail them out, nor do I owe him any favors. And you’re barking up the wrong tree. Whatever laughable mother-son bond you thought we had burned to ash a long time ago.”
Susan flipped through the documents, her fingers trembling slightly. She looked up and snapped, “This is just a drop in the bucket for you! It takes one word! Whether you like it or not, I will always be your mother.”
A harsh, mocking laugh echoed through the office. Kingsley glared down at her, his eyes hollow and cynical. “Do you honestly think you’re worth even a single word from me? Ms. Talmadge, you are only my mother if I acknowledge you as one. Since I don’t, you are nothing but a stranger.”
His tone shifted, laced with sharp suspicion. “You’re risking so much to save him. Did he promise to divorce his wife and rekindle your old romance?”
“Are you truly determined to sever ties with me forever?” Susan demanded. There wasn’t a trace of genuine heartbreak in her demeanor, though her voice tightened. “Helping someone doesn’t require an ulterior motive, and it certainly doesn’t require a reward!”
Kingsley picked up his phone and fired off a quick text. Without bothering to look at her, he replied coldly, “We never had a relationship worth saving in the first place, so what is there to sever? Don’t flatter yourself.”
A sharp knock sounded at the door, and Xavier walked in, flanked by two burly security guards.
Susan’s face darkened at the sight of the muscle. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded furiously.
Kingsley picked up a document from his desk. He didn’t even glance up as he delivered his icy verdict. “Having you escorted back home.”
Xavier stepped forward. His tone was perfectly polite but brokered zero room for argument. “Ms. Talmadge, right this way.”
Susan exploded instantly, her voice
shrieking to a hysterical pitch.
“Kingsley Sherwood! I am your mother! Denying it won’t change the truth! You want out of your way to avenge Leona for the tiny scraps of affection she threw you, yet you treat the woman who gave you life with such cruelty! Aren’t you afraid of going straight to hell?”
Hearing this, Kingsley slowly lifted his gaze. His eyes were devoid of all warmth. “Giving me life is your only
contribution my existence, frid had a choice, I would have gladly rejected it.”
Before Susan could launch into another screaming fit, Xavier gestured to the guards. The men stepped forward, grabbing her firmly by both arms.
Pinned in their unyielding grip, Susan continued to spit vicious curses, but it was useless. She was forcibly dragged out of the office.
Just as Xavier was about to shut the door behind them, Kingsley’s voice rang out one last time. “Put her on a flight back home. Notify Mr. Winston Sherwood to have her travel privileges revoked.”
“Understood,” Xavier nodded, gently pulling the heavy office door shut.
The moment it clicked into place, Susan’s frantic shrieks and venomous curses were completely cut off.
Kingsley picked up the cigarette on his desk, placed it between his lips, and flicked his lighter.
He leaned back into his leather chair
and closed his eyes, shutting out the swirling within
raw vulnerabil
them. A thin wisp of smoke spiraled
from his fingertips, slowly curling into the absolute silence of his
office.