Chapter 97: Cruel man
Bella recoiled, her scowl deepening. "Compensate for what?" she spat with loathing. "You tortured us, both of us, every single day. To pay your debts, I even had to mortgage the house. But you? You never stopped gambling, never stopped drowning yourself in alcohol. You nearly killed her that night!"
An involuntary tremor wracked Bella’s body as a wave of horrifying memories washed over her. The night Lionel’s drunken rage escalated into a brutal assault on Selena, leaving Bella with no choice but to call the police to save her mother.
"I’ll never forgive you for what you did to her," Bella stated sternly. "Now, get the hell out of my sight."
Lionel’s eyes flashed with anger, but Bella stood her ground, her gaze unwavering. "My wife’s surgery had just finished. I won’t leave."
"Wife?" Bella scoffed, rolling her eyes. "She won’t be your wife for long. She’ll divorce you soon."
"My dear, naive Bella," he drawled with a deceptive calm that seemed to relish her fury. "Selena wouldn’t dream of leaving me. After all, I was there for her when she needed me most. I gave her shelter, accepted another man’s child, and raised you as my own. She won’t forget that favor, you know."
Bella’s jaw clenched so tightly that her teeth threatened to crack. She knew all too well the "debt" her mother felt she owed this monster. It was the invisible leash that had kept Selena chained to years of silent suffering. But things were different now. Bella wouldn’t let her mother suffer any longer.
"You are wrong," she snarled with a steely resolve. "She is done with you."
"Fine," Lionel conceded with a theatrical sigh. "Let’s say I’m willing to let her go. But consider this – a severance package, if you will. Think of it as repayment for the roof over your head, the food on your plate, all those years I raised you. Give me some compensation, and I’ll disappear, never to trouble you again."
Bella wasn’t fooled. She knew his promises were as empty as his heart. Once she gave him money, he would waste it on gambling and come back to her, demanding more. She wouldn’t fall into his trap again.