31
Chapter Thirty One
The next day, Sunday, Lucas walked into his family’s home around noon. His mother had called him that morning, claiming there was an urgent issue she and his father needed to discuss with him.
He was convinced it had to do with the company. He could not remember the last time both his parents summoned him. If they were planning to gang up on him about taking responsibilities in the conglomerate, they were about to be disappointed.
When he walked through the front door, the housekeeper appeared to take his coat. “They’re waiting in Mr. Erikson's study,” she informed him.
The study? Definitely business-related.
A minute later, he walked into the room. His mother was pacing in front of a bookshelf, while his father sat behind his desk.
Lucas closed the door and approached the desk. “I’m here. What is it?”
Susanne came forward. “We want to talk to you about Amanda.”
Lucas frowned down at his mother. This was unbelievable! At first, he had suspected that his mother would want to press him about the issue after she found out about them. But, he never expected her to go as far as setting up a meeting with his father. “Mum, I told you this is my personal business!”
“Break up with her,” his father spoke for the first time. “We don’t want you to be involved with her.”
Lucas’s gaze swung to his father. “What?”
“We can find a better match for you,” Peter expounded.
Lucas raised his hands, palms out, unable to wrap his head around the situation. “Look. Mum, dad. My relationship with Amanda has nothing to do with you two. I did not start it with her because you told me to, and I sure as hell won’t be stopping it because you said so.”
Peter banged his hand on his desk and shot to his feet, glaring at his son. “I’ll not have my son involved with a nobody!”
“Wh-what?” Lucas sputtered.
“She is not a Lemaiyan,” Susanne revealed.
“What the fúck are you talking about?” Lucas demanded, beyond the point of watching his language.
“When Adeline died in the accident, her child did not survive.”
“Adeline Lemaiyan?” Lucas questioned. “Amanda’s mother?”
“Yes, that Adeline,” Susanne replied. “But as I have mentioned, Amanda is not her child.”
“Okay, so who’s Amanda?”
Susanne resumed the pacing in front of the bookshelf. “At the time of the accident, Adeline was in the car with her housekeeper, who was also pregnant. Adeline was, you know, a very open person, and when she found out the housekeeper was expecting too, she let her use her doctor on her bill. They would go to the clinic on the same day, and such. Their due dates were also pretty close to each other. The housekeeper and the driver at the Lemaiyans back then were a married couple.”
Lucas kept his eyes on his mother, soaking in every word she uttered.
“When Adeline had the accident, she was in the housekeeper’s company, and her husband was driving. Adeline and her baby were the only casualties. The housekeeper survived, and she had an emergency birth. The baby, who’s now Amanda, survived.”
“So how did Amanda end up as Adeline’s daughter?”
“Charles had just lost his wife and child while the couple responsible for her death came out alive, with their newborn.”
“It was an accident. They were all injured. How was it their fault?”
“The driver was drunk, and Adeline neglected her own safety because she was busy administering first aid to the housekeeper after the accident. She saved that woman and her child, at the cost of her own.”
“Okay, so what next? If Charles blamed them for her death, why did he raise their daughter?”
“Adeline was a Bolton,” Peter contributed. “You know the Boltons.”
Oh yes, Lucas did. Everybody knew the Boltons. The one family that outshined both the Eriksons and Lemaiyans in matters business and wealth.
“I do,” he replied.
“The Boltons never liked Charles, and they never supported Adeline’s marriage to him.”
“This still has nothing to do with Amanda,” he pointed out.
“To be frank, with Adeline’s death, Charles was going to lose out on anything she would have brought into the Lemaiyan Group.”
Lucas stared at his father. No, this couldn’t going in the direction he was sensing…
“But if he at least had the Bolton family’s granddaughter, he had a chance at Adeline’s inheritance.” Peter shrugged. “But she was dead too. He needed a replacement.”
Lucas forgot how to breathe, and everything shifted to the background. This was all so unbelievable. He reached for the office chair near him and took a seat. He rubbed his hands over his face. Let everything sink in.
Amanda was a pawn Charles Lemaiyan used to tap into the massive Bolton wealth. Nothing more, nothing less. It all made sense now. Him borrowing her inheritance, him convincing her to put the fashion company under the Group, him holding on to his majority share at the company.
“Amanda’s parents were willing to take money and hand her over to Charles,” Susanne completed the narration. “That’s how she ended up in the Lemaiyan family.”
“So what, Amanda’s parents sold her to him?”
“Money makes the world go round, son.” Susanne walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She gave him a soft squeeze. “We cannot let you continue your relationship with her. Charles is working on a way to completely cut her off from the family. She’s not suitable for you.”
“So, now he’s done using her, huh?” he posed.
“Do you know how much her mother’s inheritance was worth?” Susanne asked. “A hundred million dollars. It helped Lemaiyan Group get out of a financial hole at the time. She more than served her purpose.”
Lucas brushed his mother’s hand away and shot to his feet. “You are all sick.”
“What?” his mother snapped.
“I don’t care what you think,” his father said. “But you’ll never be with that woman!”
“Because without the Lemaiyan name, she’s nobody, right?”
Susanne reached out for him, but he stepped back. “Yes, yes, that’s what…”
“So am I.”
“What?” Susanne shrieked.
“If I have to go right now and change my last name for you two to understand how much I’m not interested in living in your little Erikson bubble, that’s what I’ll do.”
Peter scoffed. “Are you disowning your family?”
“If you keep trying to control my life, I’ll not think twice!”
“Go ahead,” Peter challenged, voice rising. “Do it! Return everything this family’s money has bought you, give me my name back, and see how far you’ll get in this world!”
Susanne gave her husband a worried look. “Peter, calm down. Let’s not get carried away…”
Lucas stepped closer to the desk, his attention on his father. “Think that’s hard for me to do? I’ve spent the last five years earning quite well and paying for everything with my hard-earned income. I cannot remember the last time I used the credit cards you gave me. Do you want me to pay back the money you used for my degree? I could have the math done by this evening and the money wired to your account by tomorrow morning, father.”
“Don’t talk to your father like that,” Susanne warned.
Lucas stepped back, towards the door. “You two, you’re perfect for each other. You’re also perfect for this world of yours where money and names mean everything. And I can never, ever, be one of you!”
He opened the door and walked out of the room, gunning for the front of the house.
Susanne rushed after him. “Lucas! Don’t do this!”
Lucas retrieved his coat and put it on. “Think about it, mother. By the end of next year, you’ll be the president’s in-law. You don’t need me to marry a heiress for the precious Erikson name to shine, do you?”
“Can you imagine what people will say about us if you marry Amanda after she gets disowned by the Lemaiyan family?”
Lucas shrugged. “No, I can’t.” He pulled the front door open. “Because I don’t give a damn.”
