CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO – RIFTS IN THE FAMILY

Edward's face flushed with rage, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists. "You ungrateful, arrogant brat," he seethed, his words laced with venom. "After everything we've given you, after the opportunities and privileges we've bestowed upon you, this is how you repay us? By spitting on our legacy, our values?" Julian opened his mouth to respond, but Victoria's voice cut through the heated exchange, laced with a rare flash of maternal concern. "Please," she implored, rising from her seat. "This is tearing our family apart. Can't you see what this feud is doing to us?" But her plea fell on deaf ears, as Julian and Edward remained locked in their bitter confrontation, years of unresolved tension and resentment bubbling to the surface. "Values?" Julian echoed, his voice dripping with disdain. "What values, Father? The values of stagnation, of clinging to outdated methods and obsolete practices? Those aren't values – they're chains, shackles that have kept Preston Enterprises from