CHAPTER 30

MIA POV.
“SOFIA! That is quite enough!” My father barked out at her angrily while I stood there, I'm taken aback by Sofia's words. But Sofiia ignores him. Her eyes blazing with anger and resentment towards me. "No, I will not be silenced!" she spits, her voice venomous. "Mia thinks she can just waltz in here and disrupt our family? Our happiness?" I'm stunned speechless by her accusations. Disrupt their happiness? I'm just trying to understand my father's actions. I thought to myself.
I didn’t even get a chance to defend myself when Sofia lashed out again but this time at my father. "You're so blinded by your guilt and your desire to make up for past mistakes that you're willing to deprive our children of their inheritance." she spits. "All for the sake of this...this ungrateful child." She spat angrily towards my father, and I feel a pang of discomfort as Sophia's words hang in the air. My gaze drifts to my half-sister, Alice, who's been quietly observing the exchange. But now, her eyes are fixed on me with a hatred that makes my skin crawl. I see a reflection of Sofia's anger in Alice's gaze, and it's clear on whose side she was. Sofia's continued ranting brings my attention back to her. "You're going to regret this, Hunter." she warns my father, her voice low and menacing. "You're going to regret favouring her over your own flesh and blood." She said and father was red from anger by now. “Mia is my flesh and blood. My first child!” He tries to defend himself, but Sofia would not have any of that from him.
The room was thick with tension, and I feel like I'm suffocating under the weight of their anger and resentment and soon they both had reached their boiling point, as both of them started shouting over each other and I was caught in the middle of it all.
Suddenly, my father slams his fist on the nearby table, making me jump. Sofia retaliates by grabbing a vase and throwing it at him and I flinched as it, shattered on the ground. The sound of breaking glass is followed by a loud crash as my father kicks over the small table. I stand there, frozen in shock and fear by the scene before me and I slightly jump in fright when I felt a hand on my arm, pulling me towards the door. When I looked up, I saw that it was one of Dominic's guards. "Time to leave, Miss." he says, his voice firm but calm. I couldn’t help but agree with him. This whole night was a doomed to be a disaster from the beginning.
I follow him willingly, eager to escape the chaotic scene unfolding behind me. As we reach the door, I hear Sofia's shrill voice, "Did you ever really love us?" She screeched as manic tears slid down her face, smearing her mascara. The bodyguard ushers me out of the house, and I take a deep breath of fresh air, grateful to be free from the toxic atmosphere. But my heart is racing, and my mind is reeling with the aftermath of the explosive argument. How could he just leave everything to me? I wondered. I wasn’t even a son. Usually, the first-born son gets everything, not the daughter.
As we hurry to the car, I hear footsteps behind us and for a moment I thought that, in her moment of madness, that Sofia had come after me. I turn quickly to see Ace, my half-brother, running down the stairs, a small book clutched in his hand. "Mia, wait!" he calls out, his eyes sad but determined to speak to me.
I slow down, curious, and the guard releases his grip on my arm. Ace reaches us, breathless, and holds out the book to me. It was an old photo album. “What’s this?” I ask curiously and look back at Ace.
"Open it. I found this in the storage room the other day." he says, his voice proud. "It's got photos of your mom's wedding and of you inside of it." He says and my heart skips a beat as I take the album from him. It's old and worn, the cover creaking as I open it. Inside, I see pictures of my mother, radiant in a white wedding dress, smiling at my father, who looks equally happy.
I feel a lump form in my throat as I gaze at the photos. I gasped as I saw a picture of a young woman on the first page. She resembles some of my features and I realised with a delighted shock that this was my mother. I have never known what she looked like. There were some photos of the same baby that I guessed must have been me and I had to admit that I looked adorable.
Ace looks up at me, his eyes sparkling. "I thought you might want to see them," he says, his voice soft. I nod, touched by his thoughtfulness as tears sprung to my eyes. "Thank you, Ace," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
For a moment, we just stand there, a sense of connection forming between us.
As I hold the album, Ace looks up at me with hopeful eyes. "Keep it, Mia." he says, his voice sincere. "I want you to have it." I nod, touched by his gesture. "Thank you, Ace. I really appreciate this." I say, thanking him again and he smiles brightly at me. “Can I see you again sometime." He asks shyly but hopefully, and my heart melted. I smile back, feeling a small sense of comfort. "I'd like that, Ace." I said and my little brother suddenly looked like he just won a price as his eyes lit up and I briefly wondered what Sofia had spoken about me behind our father’s back. It was clear from Alice’s attitude that there was talked about me, but for some reason, Ace didn’t seem to care.
As we stand there, the commotion from the living room grows louder. Sofia's shrill voice pierces the air, followed by my father's angry response. The bodyguard clears his throat, reminding me it's time to leave. I nod in his direction before I turn back to Ace.
"I have to go," I say, reluctantly as I felt like I finally found someone whom I could connect to. Ace nods understandingly. "Yeah, you should get out of here and I should probably be heading back." He said as he already started to jog up to his house. "Take care, Mia!" He shouts and waves and I wave back before the guards ushered me back into the car that we came in with and left the grounds of the manor.