Chapter 238 Willing to Take Responsibility
Joshua was on his knees again.
Vito Curtis sat at the head of the room, his expression stern, his face etched with a strong sense of anger.
The butler approached to announce, "Luann Weaver is here."
"Let her in."
Luann Weaver soon entered, as usual, in her white T-shirt and black wide-leg pants, topped with a pale yellow jacket, looking bold and vibrant.
"Good morning, Grandpa," she greeted, then paused, noticing Joshua kneeling on the floor. She looked confused.
What's going on?
What has he done this time?
"Have a seat."
Vito Curtis wasn't in the mood for a chat with Luann Weaver.
He was nearly at his wits' end with the irresponsible children of the main family branch!
For a moment, the air was filled with silence. Luann dutifully sat down and started scrolling through her phone. It was a message from Myron Curtis.
Myron: [Where are you?]
Luann: [The old house.]
Myron: [I just left there.]
Luann: [Well... want to come back?]
Myron replied quickly: [Had breakfast?]
Luann: [No.]
Myron: [Wait for me.]
Myron instructed his driver to detour to Luann's favorite breakfast spot to pick up soy milk and a multigrain pancake.
As he parked at the gate of the old house, he noticed an additional car there.
It seemed the entire main family had arrived.
Indeed, upon entering, he saw a middle-aged couple sitting together. The woman's hair was cut short, much like a man's, giving her an efficient look.
Alvin Curtis whispered to Luann, sitting beside her, "You should call them aunt and uncle by family hierarchy."
Myron Curtis walked over, exchanged brief greetings, and sat on the other side of Luann, passing her the breakfast.
Luann felt it was inappropriate to eat in this setting, so she held off.
Queenie, from the main family branch, took notice, and her tone was sharp.
"If you're going to eat, do it outside. Don't stink up the living room."
"Who knows if that sort of street food is even clean to put in your stomach."
On their way over, Queenie and her husband, Bear Zhenghang, had already learned the whole situation.
It was clear to Luann Weaver that their daughter would never have suffered such punishment from the old man if it weren't for her.
Luann was caught off guard. She hadn't expected Queenie, whom she had just met for the first time, to harbor such hostility toward her.
Before Luann could speak, Myron Curtis had already spoken up coldly. "If you have the idle time to meddle in these trivial matters, you'd be better off spending some to educate your child properly."
"Look at the malicious things your precious daughter has done; what right do you have to criticize anyone?"
Queenie's eyes narrowed with anger brewing in her chest, much to her displeasure. Complicating matters, Mr.Reginald didn't utter a single word of reprimand toward Myron's disrespectful comments; in fact, he remained silent on the sidelines.
With a stern face, Queenie could only swallow her pride. She turned to Joshua, who was hanging his head low, and asked, "And what's your story?"
As if one daughter wasn't enough to worry about, how did Joshua get involved?
Joshua felt wronged inside. It was a mess that had nothing to do with him, but his own sister had gone and tattled everything out.
Emma spoke up loudly, "Mom, Joshua is an accomplice! He knew about all the stuff my sister did, but he didn't tell Grandpa!"
Queenie, a shrewd businesswoman, instantly understood the situation. She massaged her temples, increasingly questioning the intelligence Emma had - whose traits had she inherited to be this foolish? And to tattle on her own initiative?
With an authoritative voice, Vito Curtis commanded, "Now that everyone is here, bring Grace and Wilber Gilbert up to me!"
Turning to Luann, Myron suggested, "Let's eat first."
"It doesn't seem like a good time."
"You'll get low blood sugar if you don't eat breakfast."
Myron opened the bag he brought with him. "It won't taste good once it's cold."
Luann muttered an 'okay' and began eating slowly from his hand.
Soon after, the disheveled Wilber Gilbert and Grace were brought up. A servant had draped a thin blanket over Grace, who was shivering and wrapped up in it. Her hair was a mess, her face drawn and haggard.
The sight instantly tightened Queenie's heart.
"I hope I'm not intruding at a bad time?" A voice came accompanied by the sound of high heels and a composed tone.
Diana and Watson walked in with a serene smile, her demeanor elegant.
"Big sister, brother-in-law, it's surprising to see you could find the time to come here amidst your busy schedule."
Queenie replied with effort, "When the kids mess up, of course, I have to come and see for myself."
Grace's fingers clawed at the ground, her fingernails nearly splitting. She had never found herself in such a disarrayed scene before.
All this fiasco could be traced back to the handiwork of Luann Weaver!
Diana hummed slowly as she looked around.
"Where's the youngest?" she inquired.
Alvin Curtis replied, "My folks went on a business trip a couple of days ago; they're still in the dark about all this."
Diana smiled faintly, "What a pity."
They were missing out on such gripping drama.
Queenie's mouth twitched sharply upon hearing Diana's words.
She never got along with Diana.
Diana and Watson took their seats on the couch and watched Myron Curtis serving Luann Weaver. Diana couldn't help but comment, "What a bunch of blind fools—doesn't anybody know to offer some fruit and tea?"
The servants rushed to fetch the refreshments.
Grace twitched her nose as she glanced at the whole-grain pancake in Luann Weaver's hand.
She never would've thought that this seemingly appetite-less, low-class street food could actually smell so tempting!
Wilber Gilbert couldn't believe it; he had just finished dealing with Grace's mess, and now the Curtis family had drawn him into another.
He took the initiative to speak up, "Sir! I'd like to apologize for everything that happened last night! I'm willing to take responsibility! I could marry Miss Curtis, and I assure you, I'll treat her well!"
Before Vito Curtis could respond, Queenie was the first to speak up with biting sarcasm.
"You think you're fit to marry my daughter?"
"Take a good look in the mirror and see what kind of man you are!"
"It must only be someone blind who could find you appealing."
After her remarks, her eyes quickly flickered toward Luann Weaver.
Luann Weaver simply smiled without offense, "Indeed, it's surprising such a man could snag Grace... alas, it truly is an embarrassment for the Curtis family."
Queenie's eyelids twitched violently.
She knew that Luann Weaver was not someone to be underestimated!
Otherwise, how could her clever and intelligent daughter make such a fatal mistake?
Wilber Gilbert felt a lump in his throat.
"Ma'am, I know you don't think highly of me."
"But if you knew the whole truth, you would realize... last night, I was a victim too!"
"I had no idea what was happening from the start!"
"I never aspired to climb the Curtis family tree; I was just doing my best to handle the situation since it had already occurred!"
Wilber spoke with seeming transparency, but the subtext was clear—
Your daughter has dug her grave with her antics, and I'm lucky I'm willing to shoulder half the burden!
Everyone present understood the implications.
And they were well aware that Grace was the architect of her own downfall.
No matter how it was framed, the Curtis family was at fault.
Queenie shot up from her seat and, with a swift motion, landed a harsh slap across Wilber Gilbert's face.
"Playing innocent after scoring a point? Pack away your filthy tricks!" she snapped.
