Trouble Stirring

When Griffin was finally done talking with Aiden, they rejoined everyone else. As soon as Isaac saw them coming back, he went directly to Aiden's side to make sure everything was alright. He had obviously been concerned over what his father would say to Aiden but he was relieved when he found out that everything went rather well.

Throughout the rest of his time there, Aiden was introduced to the different family members and exchanged casual greetings at most. The Atwood family members seemed to be waiting to see whether Aiden would be worth getting closer to or if it was better to ignore him so they kept their distance while not exactly being rude either. Amelia was the only person there that showed her discontent but that was to be expected so Aiden didn't pay it much attention.

When Aiden was standing alone near the door waiting for Isaac, who was speaking with Griffin before they left, Amelia walked up to him with a disgusted scowl on her face. She opened her mouth to speak but Aiden raised a hand to stop her and cut off her words.

"Let me stop you there. Whatever long list of insults and grievances you're about to prattle on about, don't. I guarantee it'll be a waste of time for both of us. And before you get any strange ideas about me trying to take your son's place or inheritance like some cliche TV family drama, I couldn't care less about something like that. Just stay away from me, don't try to start anything, and we can go about our lives like the other person doesn't exist."

"How dare…!"

"I didn't say I was done yet." Aiden's voice got colder when Amelia tried to speak. The shock of how threatening he sounded to her made her unintentionally recoil and fall speechless. She couldn't wrap her head around how she felt so intimidated. Aiden continued, "Despite what I've said, I'm almost positive you'll end up thinking about doing something stupid anyway. So let me tell you this…" Aiden took a step forward, narrowed his eyes, and lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper. "If and when you inevitably try to mess with me or anyone I care about, I'll take away everything you value most." He suddenly smiled cheerfully. "Well, bye now!"

At that moment, Isaac walked up to them carrying a small box and glared at Amelia before addressing Aiden.

"Let's get going, Aiden," Isaac said as he opened the door.

"Okay!" With that, they left a shocked and fuming Amelia standing stock still in the middle of the entryway.

Once they were in the car and back on the road, Isaac asked Aiden about his run in with Amelia after handing him a small box of tea from Griffin.

"She didn't do anything or threaten you, did she?" Aiden couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of Isaac's question.

"No, she hardly even got to open her mouth to speak before you showed up." Which was true. Though, Aiden wondered what expression Isaac would make if he found out that the one doing the threatening was in fact Aiden and not Amelia. Isaac sighed.

"Well that's good. If she ever tries to cause you any trouble, don't hesitate to tell me."

"Alright." Aiden agreed but it wasn't like he actually had any intentions of doing so. He didn't want Isaac to have to put up with anymore of that woman's shenanigans or her family's. If she really did decide to do anything, Aiden wouldn't let her get away with it.

Meanwhile, Amelia and her son had returned to their own home.

"Lucas! How could you just sit there so indifferently as your father introduced that woman's son!? Do you even know what this could mean for you?! He'll try to take everything that's rightfully yours!" Amelia had been in a rage the entire time after the gathering. Lucas scoffed and then sighed.

"Come on mom. Let's not pretend that this has anything to do with me. You're just afraid that this will influence your social standing or you might lose some of your money." Amelia immediately lashed out and slapped Lucas hard across the face. The sound echoed through the room.

"How dare you speak to me that way! Everything I do is so we can live a good life in comfort. How can you be so ungrateful?! Do you think you'll get to keep what you have now if that woman's child manages to worm his way into the family? And what about your future, huh? You've been raised to take over after your father and a hefty portion of your grandfather's wealth was set to be yours when he dies. Do you think you'll still get all that now?"

No matter what Lucas wanted to say, he already knew that his mother wouldn't listen. She never did. She was obsessed with wealth and power and she had always had an inferiority complex when it came to the only woman his father had loved. It was a constant shadow over everything she did.

Lucas didn't actually want to take over after Isaac but his mother had never bothered to care about something as trivial as what he wanted. Everything always had to follow her plans exactly or she'd fly off the handle. His entire life had been methodically planned out since before he was even born. Being forced to live up to her nonsensical expectations was exhausting. During her rant, Lucas refrained from speaking his mind again. His mother huffed.

"Mark my words, if we let this go, we'll lose everything. Keep that in mind and don't hang around that boy no matter what your father says. Now go to your room and study." Lucas didn't have to be told twice and immediately left the room as soon as she told him to go.

As soon as he reached his room, Lucas slammed the door shut and collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. He was so tired of dealing with his mother's nonsense. Honestly, what did she expect after forcing an unwilling person into marriage through evil schemes?

Lucas had long since known of the circumstances surrounding his parent's marriage and how he was brought into the world. When he first found out what his mother had done, he was distraught but also relieved. It explained why his father could hardly look at him and was barely around. Lucas was disgusted just hearing about what happened, so he couldn't even imagine how his father must have felt. It was a small comfort for Lucas to know that it wasn't his fault. It was all because of his insane mother.

Thinking back to how Isaac acted around Aiden, Lucas felt slightly hurt. He didn't blame his father or his new half brother but that didn't mean he didn't envy them. It would've been nice to be treated so important by a parent.

Lucas sighed again. There was no point in thinking about it any longer. Nothing would change anyway. He got off the bed and headed towards the bathroom to get a shower. Just before he shut the door he heard shattering glass from the floor below. He shook his head knowing that it meant his mother had started throwing anything she could get her hands on at the floor again.

Later that evening, after most people across the city had gone to sleep, a looming shadow creeped through the dark empty hallways of the school building. The owner of the shadow scanned row after row of lockers before stopping at a particular one. They stared at it for a moment before pulling a red envelope out of their pocket and sliding it through the gaps in the locker's door.

Once their goal was complete, the shadowy figure quickly fled from the building so as not to be seen. When they successfully reached the road, a car pulled up alongside them. After the person got in, the car disappeared into the night.