CHAPTER 6 : THE STORM AT HOME

Jerome’s car skidded into the driveway of the Liu penthouse, tires squealing against the marble, his hands clenched so tightly on the steering wheel that his knuckles were white. Every heartbeat felt like a drum of war inside his chest.

He didn’t knock when he stormed through the front door. He didn’t pause to greet the familiar smell of jasmine that always meant home. Tonight, there was no home. There was only fire, rage, betrayal, and grief all intertwining into one suffocating storm.

“Mother!” Jerome’s voice echoed sharply, bouncing off the marble walls. “Mother, I need to talk to you!”

Miranda Liu emerged from the living room, her poised elegance unchanged, but her eyes narrowed slightly, sensing the tension radiating off her son.

“Jerome,” she said carefully, keeping her voice calm, “what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” he repeated, almost laughing bitterly. “Do you want me to start from the beginning, or just jump to the part where your fiancé is sleeping with my girlfriend?!”

The wor