The Billionaire's Mistake (Anya and Daniel)

Chapter 168: When the dust settles

Ben shuffled back into the dreary apartment in a daze, his entire world having shifted on its axis once more. He had gone to the hospital with hopes of finding solace and comfort in the wake of his mother’s arrest of knowing that at least he still had his father’s support to lean on through this nightmare. But Martin had utterly shattered those hopes with a few terse statements that cleaved straight through to Ben’s very core.

“I am not your father.”

The words reverberated through his mind like a death knell, chasing away any lingering flickers of the idyllic family life he had taken for granted all these years. Just like that, he was untethered from the one male presence whose love and guidance he had naively expected would always be a constant in his turbulent life.

How could his own father disown him so callously? How could any man turn his back on a child in their most desperate hours of need?

Chest heaving with ragged breaths, Ben shrugged off his jacket and sank heavily onto the worn sofa. He forced his eyes away from the abandoned video game controller sitting on the cushion beside him a silent reminder of the afternoons he used to while away after school before his perfect world had disintegrated around him. That life was over. He was alone now, a pariah tossed aside by both of his parents as if he were nothing more than collateral damage from their toxicity.

Reflexive tears of anger and betrayal burned hotly against his lashes, but Ben angrily swiped them away with a swipe of his hand. No more crying, he vowed to himself. If he was destined to become the forgotten, discarded offspring of these broken people, then sobbing uselessly would only compound his own disgrace.

After several steadying breaths, Ben rose and crossed the small living area to retrieve his laptop from the kitchenette counter. If writing had been his outlet through the upheaval of his parents‘ turbulent marriage, perhaps it could help dull the sting of losing them both altogether.

For the next hour, Ben poured his anguish and disillusionment into the form of a ranting blog post unlike any of his previous literary efforts. He spilled forth every seething detail of Martin and Emma’s deliberate ostracizing of him and his mother from the family estate. He described the years of whispers and sidelong glances whenever Gina was around, the blatant disdain Emma had always leveled towards her stepparent and half–brother.

The words seemed to burst from his very essence, a torrent of grievances and accusations about his selfish, toxic lineage that he could no longer keep bottled inside:

“They always hated my mother from the very beginning, twisting every innocent action into some maniacal plot to entrap their father and bleed the family dry of money and status. Well, their insane paranoia has cost us both everything – Gina is behind bars now because those

entitled SHREWS decided to frase their Art attempted meter once my father fell into his coma

Every anful speculation and theory about their pofsted soothes seems to be true now. They poisoned my father against Cina, turned his against his com son whom be one uses to

hús refuses even acknowledge as his own flesh and blood. If they have their way, I’ll soon be just another nameless, fatherless orphan tossed to the cold cruelty of the world

Does being born to a family with mean automatically forfen one’s right to human decency and dignity? Or do I only face rejection because my word was poisoned by a gold digger like Gina – a woman who dared to seek physical and emotional fulfillment after her cheating husband repeatedly dishonored their marriage bed?

Anya and Emma Jones aren’t the doting nieces they projen themselves to be. They’re a pair of wicked harpies hellbent on seizing control of the family dynasty for themselves,

exterminating any threats to their supremacy along the way.

Well they’ve succeeded, congratulations, just know that I’ll be watching as the mighty Jones empire crumbles to dust around your cold, empty lives. Maybe next time you’ll think twice before eviscerating your own family the way you have mine.”

Ben’s fingers trembled slightly as he typed out the final words before hitting post. A small vindicated smile tugged at the comers of his mouth as he imagined his blistering diabe sending shockwaves through the upper echelons of Metropolis society. No more cowering in fear or excusing his parents‘ horrific choices – this time, he was taking control of the narrative before they twisted it beyond recognition.

He sat back to admire his furious writings for a few more moments before closing his laptop with a decisive snap. Now all he could do was wait to gauge the internet’s reaction to his newfound honesty about the Jones clan’s seething dysfunction. He may have lost everything else, but he could at least retain his sense of self–respect.

Somewhat surprisingly, the initial trickle of responses to his post began as little more than morbid curiosity from the outside world. Usernames he didn’t recognize attached to flippant comments like “I love messy rich people drama” and “I’m here for this next chapter of Bitch vs Snakes.”

Others, however, seemed to take his defiant accusations more at face value:

“My heart breaks for this poor kid – having to learn his parents are depraved criminals in such an ugly way. I hope he has a stable support system around him.

“NGL if everything he says is true, I can’t blame him for those feelings towards his wretched sisters lol. Stay strong, Ben!”

Ben felt an unaccustomed lump swelling in his throat at those last few words. He may have alienated what pitiful family remained to him with his no–holds–barred self–expression, but at least he’d found perfect strangers willing to validate his pain in a way his own parents never

Chap 168 When the dust setting |

could.

He refreshed his browser constantly over the next few hours, devouring each new comment and perspective on the matter. Some seemed to chide him for his impertinent language, while others cheered his brazen middle finger to convention and expected decorum. But the patterns that soon emerged threatened to sap his momentary bursts of vindicated catharsis just as quickly:

“Dude hate to break it to you but those police records certainly make it sound like your mom straight–up tried to kill your old man for his money. Maybe rethink taking her side here?”

“This is some juicy tea but am I the only one wondering why the dad is disowning him… Perhaps this kid is actually the spawn of his mom’s sidepiece and he just found out?”

Ben’s hands stilled on his keyboard, stomach roiling uncomfortably as that last speculation seemed to be repeated and extrapolated on by others. Could it really be as simple as that – had Martin truly disowned him because there was doubt about whether Ben was his biological son in the first place?

He thought back to his mother’s frantic defense that Martin’s niecess had erroneously framed her for the attempts on his life. What if she wasn’t lying after all…but conveniently leaving out the reason behind such suspicion being leveled at her?

A trickle of cold clarity began seeping into his psyche, instantly rendering his initial’indignant ramblings hollow and detached from the harsh reality of his circumstances. Just how deep did this maelstrom of toxic secrets and deceits run within the tangled web of his family?

One fact had become abundantly clear to Ben as he say there. His family was over. No matter what, there was no coming back. His sisters were not picking his call, his mother was in police custody and his father did it want him.

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