Chapter 10 I Failed at Raising My Son

The Wilson family received news of Julianna's return, which made Albert throw a fit. He even called for his mother to return home. Melissa reacted with controlled anger as she gripped her staff. She did not think her son would be so enraged over Julianna’s return. “Who gave her permission to return? She brought such shame to our family. She should’ve died out there!” Melissa was having none of it. She raised her staff and struck Albert right in the knees. Judy cried out in shock as she hurried over to Albert. “Have you lost your mind?” Melissa scolded, “Julianna is your daughter. Look at how you talk about her. Do you still think of her as your own?” Albert kept his mouth shut, despite his disdain for Julianna. “I’m the one who told Julianna to come back home. What’s the matter? Do you think our family has had a good reputation recently?” Melissa questioned him. Julianna's incident did draw public attention to the Wilson family at the time, but it was quickly resolved. Sean and Brandy's relationship made the family's situation much more difficult. Many people have gossiped about the Wilson family for the past few years—much of it revolved around Brandy. People were dissatisfied that, despite not being a legitimate child of the Wilson family, Brandy could marry a member of the Bellock family. The gossip was that Sean adored Julianna, and they planned to get married. He then turned around and decided to marry the Wilson family's stepdaughter. The family, on the other hand, thought Sean and Brandy's relationship was a good thing. After all, what happened to Julianna impacted the entire family, and they had some good years after she left. "Our family was made fun of because she became pregnant out of wedlock. We didn’t even know who the father was. Sean and Brandy are in love, so what’s wrong if they get engaged? It doesn’t matter what the outsiders say. We've got nothing to be afraid of.” Melissa was disappointed with Albert's self-righteousness and struck him with her staff again. Albert yelled out in pain. He could not understand why his mother was so upset. "I’ve always known you’re ambitious, but I had no idea you’d do something so repulsive," Melissa said. “I know the true reason you don’t want Juliana home.” That put Albert on guard, and even Judy was silent. As a matter of fact, Judy had always kept quiet every time Melissa was around. Melissa knew Brandy was a legitimate child of the Wilson family. However, Julianna did not know about it. Not even her mother knew. The Wilson family had wronged Julianna as well as her mother. That was why Melissa always sided with Julianna whenever there was a conflict between both her granddaughters. In reality, Melissa did not like Brandy. Her ambitions were high, and she always wanted things that did not belong to her, such as the Wilson family’s property. “Albert, you know how our family got to where it is today. You know it better than me. There was no way you could’ve had such resources back then. You stole Julianna's mother's property and are trying to make her leave. The universe is going to punish you for this!” Albert was irritated. It was true that he could only reach the height of success due to his ex-wife’s property. However, was his mother trying to say he didn’t work hard all these years? "The company she left behind back then pales compared to our family's current fortune. If you expect me to give Julianna all of our family's property, I assure you I won’t." Melissa was thoroughly disappointed. She never imagined her son would become what he was then. “What gave you the right to say that? The properties were never yours, yet here you are, trying to keep them for yourself. This is not how I raised you, Albert.” It looked like she failed at raising her son. Albert was silent. The fact that his mother looked down on him at his age made things even more upsetting. “That’s enough. It’s my property. It’s up to me how I want to deal with it. I could pass it down to whomever I like. If you keep bugging me about it, I’ll send you to the nursing home.” Melissa stood up in silence and walked toward the door. Judy's worries intensified. She wondered if Melissa was planning to look for Julianna and possibly reveal the secrets to her. If that happened, Judy feared nothing might be left for her and Brandy, especially since they had no legal right to inherit the family's property. The company didn’t even belong to the Wilson family, after all. “Where are you going, Mom? Sean and Brandy’s engagement party is in two days. You’re her grandmother. You should be there.” Melissa was speechless at the audacity of her son and daughter-in-law. She felt deeply let down by them and could not find the words to express her frustration. “You’re on your own. You can pretend I never came here today. Also, I won’t attend the engagement party. If you dare to invite Julianna, I’ll tell her everything.”