Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 168

Julian leaned in close to his mother and muttered, “Mom, just give me this house, and I won’t fight you over the money. Otherwise, you’d better give me a million dollars—your choice.”

His mother exploded, her voice hoarse with rage. “Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with!” She slapped him hard across the face, her hands trembling. “You think these old bones of mine can squeeze out even a thousand dollars, let alone a million?”

“Aw, Mom, that’s just not fair,” Julian scoffed, his tone dripping with the petulance of a second-rate hustler. “If you refuse to hand over the house, I’ll just have to go through your savings myself!”

With a quick glance, Julian signaled to Gabriella and Jonathan, and the three of them lunged toward his mother’s bedroom.

“The middle drawer! Smash the lock!” Julian shouted as they rushed down the hallway.

Emma helped her grandmother into a chair, then darted forward, planting herself firmly in front of the bedroom door. “None of you are getting in there today. Over my dead body!”

Julian laughed coldly. “Come on, Emma, you think you can stop the three of us with that bad leg of yours? Sweetheart, you’re lame—don’t overestimate yourself. Just stick to waiting on your wealthy husband and enjoy the good life! Jonathan, move!”

Emma clung desperately to the doorframe, refusing to let go no matter how hard they tried to force their way past her. Her fingernails tore and bled, pain searing through her hands, but her strength was no match for the three of them—she couldn’t hold back the wolves forever.

From the living room, her grandmother’s voice rang out, raw with desperation. “Anyone who takes one more step—I’ll end it right here!” She held a kitchen knife to her own throat, her hands shaking.

Emma’s heart broke. She sobbed, her voice cracking, “Grandma, please, don’t do this! If you’re gone, you’ll be giving them exactly what they want!”

She didn’t know what else to do—words were all she had left.

The old woman froze, startled by Emma’s desperate cry. Yes, if she died, everything—her savings, the little house in the countryside, whatever value it still had—would fall straight into the hands of these vultures.

With a trembling hand, she let the knife clatter to the floor.

Julian burst into wild, mocking laughter. “That’s my girl! My sweet daughter, let’s see how long you can keep this up!”

Emma’s fingernails were torn and bloodied, several fingers streaming with blood. She was losing her grip, physically and emotionally, but she braced herself and slammed her shoulder into Jonathan. “If you want to get through this door, you’ll have to walk over my dead body!”

“N-no…no, of course not…” Julian stammered, his fake smile twitching as he backed away. “Son-in-law, what a surprise to see you—”

“Shut up.” Theodore’s face was stone cold. “The only reason I ever called you ‘father-in-law’ was because you’re Emma’s biological father. But a father should at least act like a human being. If you refuse to behave like a person, then I have nothing to say to you—I don’t deal with animals.”

Theodore’s words cut deep, especially coming from a younger man. Julian’s face went white, then flushed red with humiliation, but he didn’t dare lash out. He just forced himself to smile, trying to placate Theodore. “No, no, you’ve got it wrong. Emma’s my daughter—I care about her more than anyone! Parents are strict because they love their kids, right, Jonathan?”

“Yeah, that’s right, brother-in-law,” Jonathan chimed in quickly, his former arrogance gone as he bowed and scraped. “Dad’s always been tough on me too, like I’m some sort of punching bag.”

Julian and Gabriella exchanged awkward glances—whose child was this, really?

But Theodore wasn’t amused in the slightest. “It doesn’t matter who gave birth to whom, or what you choose to call yourself. If you want to act like a snake, that’s your business. But my wife is nobody’s victim.”

Julian’s face twitched with barely restrained anger, but he didn’t dare answer back. He managed a stiff, awkward grin. “Of course, you’re right. Emma’s lucky to have you.”