years, you told me I was boasting. You told me I was living in a fantasy. You never listened because you were too busy looking at what you could take from me."
"Mother, please!" Clara sobbed, taking a frantic step toward Margaret, her hands clasped in a pleading gesture. "We can fix this! You don't have to leave! Richard was just stressed about his job—he didn't mean it! You can keep your room! We'll make it larger!"
Julian stepped gently between Clara and Margaret, his tall frame forming an impenetrable wall of protection around his grandmother.
"She isn't staying in this room, Clara," Julian said quietly. "She’s coming with me to the estate in Greenwich."
Richard took two steps forward, his face contorted in a mixture of anger and desperation. "You can't do this! You're ruining us! If Apex loses the Vance Dynamics contract, my firm will go bankrupt by the end of the month!"
"Then I suggest you start updating your resume, Richard," Julian replied, without a trace of pity in his eyes. "Driver, please place my grandmother’s luggage in the trunk."