Chapter 6

"Fine. Looks like you won't give up till we slap you with the truth. Still want to act tough? Bella, go pull up the surveillance footage," Linda said coldly.

Bella immediately headed upstairs. "Ronan, once that footage is right in front of you, I want to see how you explain it."

Ronan didn't bother responding. He lifted his suitcase and went upstairs.

He didn't have much, so packing took only a short while. Ten minutes later, he was back downstairs.

Bella had just come down too and was speaking with the rest of the family.

"The footage is gone? Isn't our surveillance saved for at least six months?" Dominic frowned.

"I checked. Some clips are deleted. Someone definitely tampered with it," Bella said.

"It must've been Ronan. Only he would know exactly when he went to steal the necklace," Denise added. "No wonder he sounded so confident earlier—he knew we wouldn't find anything."

Allison stayed silent, her eyes flickering with something unreadable.

"You've grown bold, haven't you?" Linda snapped after hearing their accusations. She glared at Ronan, who had just reached the bottom step. "You knew we wouldn't find anything, didn't you?"

Ronan's gaze slid briefly to Thomas, who sat obediently on the sofa, acting innocent.

Then he let out a cold laugh. "I don't even have a key to this house. And the study is always locked. Only a handful of people can get in.

"If something goes missing, you automatically assume it's my fault. Now that the surveillance is gone, you accuse me of deleting it. You really never change—shameless to the bone."

"Enough!" Dominic exploded. "You're completely out of control! If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll forget your own surname!"

He snatched the ruler from Linda and stormed toward Ronan, swinging it down hard.

But before it struck, a hand shot out and grabbed it.

A split second later, Ronan jerked the ruler free, snapped it in half, and threw the pieces to the floor with a crack.

"Dominic," he said, eyes sharp and feral, "I told you—yesterday was the last time. Lay a hand on me again, and I'll fight you to the death."

His expression—twisted with fury—sent a shock through the entire Vance family.

This was not the boy they knew—the boy who always smiled at them, who cowered when scolded, who lowered his head and accepted every insult. Who slipped away silently after each reprimand.

They had never seen him like this.

Even Allison, still deep in thought, stared at him, stunned.

But Dominic's rage only intensified. Breath quickening, he jabbed a finger at Ronan's face. "Ungrateful brat! You think I can't handle you?"

Ronan sneered. "Sure, you have money and status. But you only have one life. Push me far enough—what do I have to lose? In your eyes, I'm worthless anyway. If it comes down to it, I don't mind taking everything down with me."

Dominic choked on fury, unable to speak.

Thomas rushed over, patting Dominic's back soothingly while turning to Ronan with a soft voice.

"Ronan, Mom and Dad are doing this for your own good. You stole Mom's necklace, but she wasn't even planning to punish you. If you'd just admit it, they'd forgive you."

Inside, Thomas was ecstatic. The more chaos Ronan caused, the less anyone would forgive him. Ideally, they'd cut ties completely.

Ronan watched Thomas's performance. If he hadn't witnessed so much in his past life, he might have been fooled. Thomas really was a talented actor.

Ronan smiled lazily. "Thomas, you really treat me so 'well'. But you can fool everyone else—just not me. No need to put on a show in front of them. Honestly, watching you makes me sick."

A flicker of anger passed through Thomas's eyes before he replaced it with wounded innocence.

"Ronan… I just don't want you fighting with Mom and Dad."

Ronan let out a cold chuckle and patted Thomas's face lightly. "Your acting is impressive."

With that, he turned and walked toward the door.

As for the necklace, he had no intention of explaining. Let them think whatever they wanted. Who cared what strangers believed?

"Ungrateful brat! Get out!" Dominic roared, face flushed red. "And don't ever come back!"

"Don't worry," Ronan said without looking back. "Even if you beg me someday, I won't return."

The front door slammed shut behind Ronan.

"Dad, calm down," the sisters hurried to say.

"I should never have given birth to him," Linda fumed.

Allison stood at the foyer, staring toward the door. After a long moment, she headed upstairs.

Inside her room, she locked the door, turned on her computer, and opened a folder.

Inside were all the automatically backed-up surveillance videos.

The house's surveillance wasn't stored only on the study's main system—her computer was linked to it as well. She'd set it up years ago as a backup in case anything happened to the main system.

Ronan's sudden change had startled her.

More than that, the anger he showed carried a weight of deep disappointment.

But disappointment from what?

She didn't understand why she was opening the footage now—it was pure instinct.

Allison had an excellent memory. She quickly located the video from the day their mother attended a banquet.

She watched quietly.

Then her pupils shrank.

Because the person sneaking into their parents' bedroom and taking the necklace… was her obedient, sensible little brother—Thomas.

She stared in disbelief. When Thomas reached Ronan's bedroom door in the footage, she closed her eyes briefly.

Her fingers trembled around the mouse.

In her ears echoed the words Thomas had said downstairs:

"You stole Mom's necklace, but she wasn't even planning to punish you. If you'd just admit it, they'd forgive you."

She remembered Thomas's expression clearly.

That was what shocked her the most.

When had Thomas learned to lie so effortlessly?

And why had Ronan barely defended himself—like he was used to this?

A chill crept down her spine.

Had Thomas grown accustomed to lying… and Ronan accustomed to being blamed?

Pulling herself out of her daze, Allison straightened up and quickly scrolled through the rest of the footage.