3
Mrs. Gilbert's face went dark green with rage at being cut down by me. She threw up her hand to slap me, but I caught her wrist before it landed.
I'm strong. I gripped hard enough to make her yelp. "Sophie Henson, have you lost your mind? Let go of me!"
"And what if I have?" I flung her hand away and shoved her back toward Corey.
I said it slow, one word at a time. "Corey Gilbert, your mother doesn't understand what I'm saying, but you should. If you don't want the Gilbert family to go bankrupt, you'd better talk her into apologizing to my sister. Otherwise... in a little while it'll be too late."
My words left Corey's face burning red.
It was exactly as I'd said.
This decision of mine had landed squarely on Gilbert Group's weakest point.
Earlier he'd let his mother put me in my place because he didn't want to spend the rest of his life at my mercy.
He'd wanted to set the rules for me before the wedding.
He just hadn't expected the whole thing to blow up in his face.
In any other setting, forget talking his mother into an apology.
He'd have gotten down on his knees and kowtowed to me if that was what it took.
But bowing to me now, backing down in front of this many people.
Even if Gilbert Group survived, he'd never hold his ground in his circle again.
His throat bobbed twice, and his eyes cut sideways to the guests murmuring all around him.
Those probing looks, hungry for a show, some even pitying, dug into his back like needles.
It took him a long moment to force a few words out through his teeth. "Sophie, restore the patent license first, and we'll talk about whatever this is in private. Don't make an ugly scene here."
"Scene?" I raised an eyebrow and pitched my voice higher on purpose.
"When your mother was slapping my sister across the face, why weren't you worried about an ugly scene? Now it's a scene? Where was all this before?"
My sister saw the situation spiraling further out of control and tugged at my sleeve again. "Sophie, really, let it go, I'm fine... don't fight with them..."
But the more she gave in, the harder my heart clenched.
I turned to Corey, my face cold. "I'll say it one last time. Make your mother apologize to my sister. Otherwise... don't blame me when I take this all the way."
Seeing me threaten Corey again, Mrs. Gilbert jumped back in to stir the pot.
"Apologize for what? Was I wrong? She got herself pregnant out of wedlock, so what if I hit her? Corey, don't be afraid of her, throw this madwoman out of here! The Gilbert family is big and rich, what do we have to fear?"
Corey, already backed into a corner by me, watched his mother court disaster all over again, and this time he truly couldn't take it.
He whipped around and cut her off, his voice sharp. "Mom, stop talking!"
Then he closed his eyes, as if steeling himself for some enormous decision.
Biting down on his lower lip, he said to Mrs. Gilbert, "Mom, apologize to Sophie's sister... this really was your fault..."
"My fault?" Mrs. Gilbert's eyes went wide with disbelief, and her hand shot out to pound his chest. "You ungrateful son! I did all this for your sake! For the Gilbert family! And now you're taking an outsider's side against me?"
"Look at the situation we're in, and you're still going on about this!" Corey ground his teeth.
"The Aurora chip is the core of Gilbert Group. If she really pulls the license, every one of our orders defaults, and just the breach penalties alone would bankrupt us! Are you not going to be satisfied until you've burned the whole Gilbert family to the ground?"
