Chapter 3: His Threats
1432 Words
About thirty minutes after Dora called him, Joseph arrived. He was wearing a black suit and stood in the middle of the living room, waiting to find out what happened. His presence in the mansion made others nervous and feel short of breath.
"Welcome, Joseph! Have a seat, please!" Leo said. He knew about what had happened between Dora, Kate, and Daisy, but he chose to ignore it. However, when Joseph arrived, he needed to deal with it.
"Sorry to bother you with such tiny things, Joseph." Dora pretended to apologize, lowering her head and cupping her face.
Kate was sitting on the left side of the sofa. She could see Joseph's eyes but did not dare raise her head; the anger coming from him could be felt by everyone.
"What happened, mom?" Joseph asked Dora, but his eyes were focused on Kate all the time.
Dora cast a glance at Kate and whispered, "I…, I just want to talk with Daisy. But Kate…Kate…"
Kate looked up to see when Dora started to speak.
"I… I dare not to say something bad about Lady Kate. She is now your wife and is of decent status. If I offend her, she may seek revenge…" Dora cried, "Anna died so young. Just as they said, I have no one by my side and can only obey them. If not, I will be cast out…"
"You…" Daisy was furious. She explained to Joseph in a hurry, "She is lying. In fact, she…"
"Shut up!" Joseph interrupted her coldly and looked at Kate with a cold expression, "Did you hit her?"
Kate hesitated then asked, "Is it that important?"
Even though she knew Joseph had a hectic day, Kate knew that he would come whenever Dora asked him to. It made it even more apparent as to how important Anna was.
"So, you did hit her?" He asked again with his eyes full of rage.
Suddenly, Joseph stood up, bypassed the tea table, and stood in front of Kate, saying, "You think you don't need to respect anyone just because you are my wife?"
The cold and domineering breath made the atmosphere in the room even tenser.
Leo looked confused; he was unsure of what was going to happen or what he should do. In the last two years, he acquired a new skill, which was keeping himself out of situations by being oblivious to everything. He thought it was the fairest way, and the only way he would not lose Joseph's help.
Dora was extremely happy. She knew that Joseph still loved Anna so she would take advantage of any situation she could to defend herself.
"Dora doesn't respect me at all. Why should I respect her?" Kate refuted, looking directly into Joseph's eyes.
Joseph grabbed her by the collar and said, "It's better to deal with our own affairs at home in private."
Though his words were polite, Kate knew that she would be tortured when they arrived home.
"Well, Joseph, we are all members of the White family, of course, including you. We can just deal with it here. I think Kate beat me just because she couldn't bear my putting Anna's photos in her room. Maybe it's my fault; I shouldn't have put them in there. But I thought since she seldomly comes back…"
Dora sobbed, "Anna died so unexpectedly. I can only remember her when I am looking at the photos. But I just don't know Kate minds it so much…"
Kate had to admit that Dora was using the fact the Joseph loved Anna so much to get him on her.
Joseph commanded the servant, "Go upstairs and pack out all Anna's photos. I will take them home with me. Be careful, don't break them!"
"Yes, sir!" The servant ran upstairs.
Dora was delighted with this result. She sobbed again and finally cried out, "Joseph, I'm so glad that you still love Anna. She truly loved the right man."
Dora's words made Kate's heart ache. She was not disappointed in losing the battle, though, she was sad that Joseph's love for Anna was more profound than even she imagined.
"Go home! We still have to go to the family dinner tonight, and you will see the one you desire to see." Joseph warned, casting a glance at Kate.
Hearing what Joseph said, Kate was confused. She did not think that there was someone she desired to see at a family gathering.
Dora didn't want the argument to be over. She continued, "I really appreciate that you love Anna so much. However, I am worried that someone will destroy the photos if you take them to your home. I am afraid that I will not have a chance to see them anymore…"
"Don't worry. No one will touch these photos without my permission!" Joseph raised his voice and said directly to Kate.
Kate did not say anything to Joseph; the pain she was feeling was too much. She knew that Dora still wanted Joseph to scold and embarrass her, so she argued, "I don't think that I need to compete with a dead person for a man. After all, she is not even alive."
After hearing the comment about her deceased daughter, Dora's rage erupted. She shouted, "What the f**k?"
"I'm just telling the truth. Can you ask Joseph to divorce me and marry your daughter? So funny!"
It was the first time Kate had said something so evil to Dora. She normally would not argue with her because she was the one who had caused the accident two years prior. However, Dora went too far, and she couldn't stand it, and regardless of what she said or did, there would be a punishment waiting for her when she and Joseph returned home. Therefore, she decided to hurt Dora viciously.
Joseph was irritated. He grabbed her collar and said angrily, "I will not divorce you even if you irritate me in this way."
Kate pushed him away and flaunted to Dora, "You hear that? He said he would not divorce me!"
Yes, he would not divorce her unless Anna reappeared, and he needed to help Anna get revenge on her.
"Go home!" he murmured to her and warned, "If you don't care your grandma's life, you can do whatever you want."
Kate shivered to hear his threat. She looked at his angry face, and he mumbled, "Fine! let's go…go home to prepare for… for the family dinner."
Her sudden change in attitude only made Joseph sick.
Joseph turned around to Leo and Dora and said, "Don't worry. I will take care of Anna's photos."
"Okay, good." Hearing this, Leo found that perhaps he made the wrong decision. After Anna's death, he counted on Kate to gain Joseph's favor and help the White Group. But he knew that Joseph did not love Kate at all.
But how can a dead person help him? He thought to himself.
"Joseph, I think Anna will be moved by what you do for her. She will be happy to be at your home." Dora shouted, full of gratitude.
"Kate…" Daisy ran out to call Kate, but Daisy did not dare to say anything else.
Kate did not want her to worry about her, so she smiled at her and said, "Don't worry. I will be fine. Take care of yourself. If you cannot bear Dora, just move to the new house that I bought for you."
"But…" Daisy thought Joseph and Kate got along well all the time, but what Joseph did showed her a different side of their relationship.
After they left, Dora had a smug smile. She turned around to Daisy and said proudly, "You see, this is the result. If you and Kate dare to despise me, I will tell Joseph to teach you a lesson."
"Good and evil will always be rewarded; it is only a question of time. Joseph will find out about the evil things you have done." Daisy shouted, which made Dora very angry.
"How dare you shout at me? You are only an adopted daughter of this family." Dora added, "I guess you are still here because you want to inherit the property."
"Holy s**t! You are talking nonsense."
"Shut up!" Leo interrupted them and asked Daisy to prepare for lunch.
Daisy clearly knew her status in this family. She held her rage and nodded, then went to the kitchen.
- Writer
