Chapter 302 You Are Not At Fault
Emmett blanched the instant he heard those words. His face was ashen-white and ghastly as he thought about what he had just heard. The fact that they could not step into the Goldstein residence after today was the equivalent of kicking them out of the Goldstein family.
He exclaimed, “Jonathan Goldstein! What right do you have to kick me out of the Goldstein family? I’m the head of the household! I call the shots and make the decisions in this family!”
As he spoke, Emmett glared vehemently at Jonathan with a ferocious look. After all, no one knew just how much he had invested and sacrificed for the family in his capacity as the head of the household.
For the sake of keeping his hold on the reins of the Goldsteins, he had gone to great lengths to kick Jonathan out of the family, even going so far as to send men to assassinate his very own daughter. Everything he had done was so he could sit comfortably on the throne he had fought for.
However, despite all this, Jonathan had used but a single mere sentence to snatch his seat from him and kick him out of the family to boot. To Emmett, this was no different from killing him right where he stood.
“What right do I have?” repeated Jonathan mockingly in response to Emmett’s words. He sneered and continued, “Emmett Goldstein, I think there’s one thing you’re still unclear about! This is not a negotiation. I am telling you unequivocally that this is your one and only chance of survival! It’s either you lose your life, or you scram from the Goldstein family!
“From now on, don’t let me see your face again! If I do, don’t dream of looking to anyone to save your life. Not Sophia and certainly not even God himself!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Jonathan turned to leave. He couldn’t be bothered to continue this pointless charade with Emmett any longer. He fixed his gaze on Andy, who was kneeling just beyond the entrance, and yelled, “Andy Morsley!”
“Yes!” acknowledged the man promptly.
In a split second, Andy’s aura had undergone a dramatic change, and he was now overflowing with killing intent.
“I hereby order you to mobilize the ten thousand Asura Guards under your command and surround the Goldstein residence! If Emmett doesn’t scram within half an hour, you have my permission to march straight in and level the place! Kill whoever dares to stand in your way!” commanded Jonathan in a frigid and haughty voice.
“Yes, Sir!”
Upon receiving the order, Andy didn’t bother disputing or questioning any aspect of it. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. Soon after, he was connected to his subordinates, and he instructed, “You have the next ten minutes to mobilize all the Asura Guards we have available. Gather at the Goldstein residence in Yaleview and wait for my command! Remember to be in your full combat gear and prepare for battle!”
“Yes, Commander!”
The second the call ended, Andy silently turned toward Jonathan and shared, “Sir, I have conveyed your orders as instructed!”
“On your knees!” ordered Jonathan indifferently as he glanced at Andy before turning and fixating his attention again on Emmett. All the blood had long drained from Emmett’s face as he knelt on the ground before Jonathan. “You still have another half an hour to reconsider your decision. It’s purely up to you whether you live or die!”
“Jonathan…” began Sophia in an attempt to intercede on behalf of her father. However, Jonathan interrupted her and stated firmly, “This is my bottom line, Aunt Sophia! If he doesn’t scram from the Goldstein residence in the next half hour, I can’t guarantee what will happen next.”
“But… Jonathan…”
Her mouth had begun to open as she prepared to step in once more. Nonetheless, Jonathan interrupted her yet again and exclaimed, “There’s nothing else to be said! Back then, this was exactly how he chased me out of the Goldstein family! Not to mention, I was only ten years old at the time!”
Over ten years ago, this was precisely how the Goldstein family had treated Jonathan and without so much as a warning. At that time, he was still swallowed in grief and sorrow by the deaths of both his parents and had yet to recover from the trauma fully. Regardless, the Goldsteins didn’t care about any of that and had moved to kick him out of the family mercilessly. As such, Jonathan was fully aware that he was now doing unto Emmett only what had been done to him back in the day.
“I’m sorry, Jonathan…” mumbled Sophia apologetically. A tinge of heartache flashed across her eyes in response to Jonathan’s mention of what had happened all those years ago.
No one understood better than her what it was like for one to be utterly alone and without anyone to rely on. Back then, she had felt precisely this way when she was all alone overseas, and she knew full well that Jonathan surely had gone through much worse than she had. At the very least, she had money to her name, as well as a family and home. This was a stark contrast to Jonathan, who had nothing at all.
“There’s no need to apologize to me. You’re not the one at fault,” replied Jonathan flatly as he looked at Sophia before his eyes turned cold and flitted back to rest on Emmett. “It was them. It was the entire Goldstein family!”
He added, “I’m merely doing unto them what they inflicted upon me back then! I’ll treat them with the exact same methods they did with me.”
The living room fell deathly silent following Jonathan’s proclamation. At this point, even Sophia couldn’t think of anything she could say to help intercede on Emmett’s behalf.
Indeed, without a doubt, things were as Jonathan had described. Back then, the fault did lie with the Goldstein family, and Jonathan was merely returning the favor with the current state of affairs. From where he stood, he was doing nothing wrong at all. He knew that if the situation was reversed and it was him kneeling on the ground before Emmett, there was no way that Emmett would let him off easily. After all, the latter had very nearly sent Jonathan to his death just the night before.
After a protracted silence, Emmett finally gave in and lowered his head in submission, declaring, “We’ll leave. We’ll do as you say and leave the Goldstein residence!”
As he said those words, it was almost as if his throat had instantaneously failed him. His voice was now low and hoarse and devoid of any energy whatsoever.
“Let me help you, Dad!” exclaimed Sophia upon hearing her father’s words. She immediately rushed forth and helped support Emmett, who was crippled by Jonathan, as he struggled to rise to his feet.
Following that, she immediately used her other hand to grab hold of Loretta, who had been shot in the leg, and helped to raise the woman to her feet as well. With just her strength alone, she somehow managed to support the total weight of both of them.
“Thank you, Jonathan!”
Just as she arrived at the door, Sophia abruptly turned around and made that remark.
Jonathan casually lit a cigarette upon hearing her words of appreciation and stared meaningfully at her. He reminded her, “Don’t forget. You’re still my aunt, after all.”
Almost immediately, Sophia’s eyes began to redden. She pursed her lips and looked up at the sky as she valiantly tried to fight the tears that were threatening to stream down her face. Finally, she bit down hard on her lip and continued to support Emmett and Loretta as they made their way toward the main entrance of the Goldstein residence.
However, just as she was about to walk through the door, she was suddenly greeted by the sight of a horde of burly men dressed in black from head to toe. They rudely blocked her path and prevented her from moving forward. Next, she saw an old man dressed in a gray formal suit stride into the Goldstein residence with a dragon-headed cane in hand.
Countless other burly men in all-black clothing followed behind him. With one quick look, it was apparent that they had completely surrounded the Goldstein residence.
“Trying to leave, Emmett? Where to?” asked the elderly in the gray suit.
The second he saw Emmett, the old man chuckled coldly and stepped forward to block their path.
“Nathan? What are you doing here?” asked Emmett in surprise.
He had recognized the old man in the gray suit the second he laid eyes on the latter. This was Nathan Zeller, the head of the Zeller family, which was part of the four prominent families in Yaleview. All the men that followed closely behind him were actually from his personal team of bodyguards.
“What do you think?” countered Nathan as he eyed Emmett frostily. “I told you previously that I would come to level your Goldstein residence if you didn’t meet my terms by sundown. You were supposed to get ahold of your promiscuous daughter and her boy toy; otherwise, I would have the Goldstein family pay in blood for their crimes. Did you think I was joking with you?”
