Chapter 4

"Miss Bella, you're here!"

Unlike Oscar, the Chamberlain sisters lived in the spotlight. They made headlines almost daily. In Silverton, nearly everyone recognized them.

Victor hurried to drag over a stool. He wiped it down with his sleeve and offered it to Bella.

She glanced at it. Disgust flickered across her face. She remained standing.

"What do you mean by that, Miss Bella?" Victor asked with a strained smile. "You two had a little family spat?"

"Family?" Bella's voice sharpened. "Listen carefully. As of today, Oscar has been expelled from the Chamberlain family. Whatever he does has nothing to do with us."

Victor's head buzzed.

Decades under the same roof left marks that didn't wash out easily. And just like that, the Chamberlain siblings had severed ties?

"Miss Bella, you must be joking," Victor said, unease creeping into his voice. "If he has nothing to do with you, why would you follow him here?"

"To sever ties."

Bella stepped fully into the shack. She closed her umbrella and pulled a yellowed genealogy book from her coat.

"The Chamberlain family has maintained a single line of inheritance since its founding. Now that you are no longer one of us, you cannot keep the Chamberlain surname."

Her gaze locked onto his. "You will change it."

A stunned gasp escaped Victor before he clamped his mouth shut.

They were serious.

"My adoptive father gave me the Chamberlain name," Oscar said evenly. "Why can't I use it?"

"Because the Chamberlain family now has its rightful heir. We will not allow a counterfeit to stain the name."

The words fell cold and hard. Oscar felt nothing. The rain had already stripped that away. There was cruelty, and then there was this.

"Fine." He straightened. "Arthur took me in and named me Oscar. That is how I entered the Chamberlain household."

His voice steadied. "Now he is gone, and the Chamberlain family has cast me out. I cannot belong where I am nothing more than a stone to be kicked aside."

He raised his hand toward the gray sky. "From today forward, I am Oscar Stone."

The oath lingered in the air.

Bella gave a small nod. "Suit yourself. In a few days, Jason's renaming banquet will be held. You will attend."

"What does that have to do with me?"

Her brows knit, as though she was unaccustomed to his tone. "Of course it concerns you. If you do not appear, how will people know our family has welcomed its true heir?"

She glanced at Victor and the others. "Besides, you appear to be in trouble. Agree to attend, and I will handle this for you."

Victor stood rigid, a thin smile fixed on his face. This was far above his pay grade.

Oscar let out a cold laugh. "So now I owe you a favor? Don't even think about it. What do you take me for? A minor nuisance does not require your intervention."

"Hmph. Stubborn to the end." Bella tucked the genealogy book away, opened her umbrella, and stepped back into the rain.

"You should recognize your position," she said without turning around. "You are no longer the Chamberlain heir."

She paused at the doorway. "Handle this by the book. Do not go easy on them."

The last remark was meant for Victor.

Once Oscar left the Chamberlain family, he was nothing. Yet he still spoke in that tone. She had offered help. He could not even utter a single conciliatory word.

The obedient younger brother she once knew had become intolerable.

Bella disappeared into the storm.

"Yes, Miss Bella. Take care!" Victor called after her.

The moment she left, his expression twisted.

"Oscar." He clicked his tongue. "I guess the mighty really do fall."

He waved at Rebecca. "Take her."

Oscar stepped forward again.

This time, Victor showed no deference. "Get the hell out of my way. Do you still think you're the Chamberlain heir?"

He raised three fingers. "I'll count to three. Move, or I won't be polite."

Without the Chamberlain name, Oscar meant nothing to him.

"I said, return the Miller family's money. Apologize until they forgive you." Oscar's voice remained calm.

Victor stared at him, then burst into laughter. "He still thinks he's the Chamberlain heir!"

The two thugs joined in.

The man could barely protect himself. Where did he find the nerve to interfere?

"Since you love sticking your nose in, you can pay the debt for him," Victor sneered. "Fail to pay, and I'll beat you to death."

He stepped closer, the bat pointed at Oscar's chest.

"Kid, this isn't your fight. Leave," George pleaded.

"Yes, please go," Rebecca added, panic flashing in her eyes. "We'll be fine."

George's family had seen everything. Now, watching Oscar speak up for them, they could not help but worry.

Oscar shook his head. "You talk too much."

His hand shot out and seized the bat. With a sharp twist and pull, he wrenched it free.

The wood cracked against Victor's leg.

A scream ripped through the shack as Victor collapsed.

Oscar stood over him.

"Now I will give you a chance. Tell Dargan to come, get on his knees before me, and beg. Otherwise, the Wyrmwood family in Northspire will disappear from Silverton."

Even through the pain, Victor stared in disbelief. "Are you insane? You're not the Chamberlain heir anymore. Mr. Wyrmwood can crush you like an ant!"

Oscar did not answer. He raised the bat again.

"Go," he told the two remaining thugs. "Call your boss."

Under the threat of the bat, Victor abandoned his bluster.

The two men bolted.

Victor lay on the ground, legs shattered, howling.

George hesitated, unsure whether to approach.

"You really were the Chamberlain heir?" he asked.

"I was," Oscar replied. "Not anymore."

"Forget that!" Helena cried. "Get the children out! Our old lives don't matter, but they're still young!"

She stuffed belongings into a bag and urged Oscar to take Rebecca and run.

"Yes, go!" George said, eyes red. "Mr. Wyrmwood is vicious. You shouldn't have hit his man. Now this is serious."

He shoved the bag into Rebecca's arms. "If you stay together, you'll survive."

Victor barked a bitter laugh from the floor. "Run? Too late. You didn't break my legs. You broke Mr. Wyrmwood's pride."

He glared at them. "Stay where you are. When Mr. Wyrmwood arrives, you'll be dead meat. If you try to run, I swear you won't find a place to hide in this world."

As he spoke, chaos erupted outside. Heavy footsteps thundered through the settlement.

"Quick! It's up ahead!"

Victor grinned through the pain. "See? Mr. Wyrmwood is here. None of you are getting away."

"Is that so?"

Oscar smirked, pulled out his phone, and dialed.

"You have five minutes," he said coldly. "Bring your people here. If not, face the consequences."

He ended the call and turned to George's family with a faint smile. "It's fine. This will be over soon. Go stand to the side."