"Come in, Vernon. It's been a while since we had a little family reunion," Vincent said. He pointed at the seat next to him with his head, telling his little brother to sit beside him while they faced the woman who gave birth to them, Dorothea Gray.
Vernon was a little surprised by how well he looked. From what Chloe told him, she struggled so hard that she smashed a vase on his temple.
Other than the small patch on his left temple, he didn't seem seriously injured, unlike Chloe, whose hands were useless for a month or so.
"Vernon? What's with your silence? Come in," Vincent repeated.
Vernon got stiff in an instant, unsure if this was a trap set by his Big bro or just a coincidence.
Nevertheless, he had no way to retreat as he didn't want to rouse any suspicion. He walked in and sat right beside his brother on the sofa.
"Hold on, let me finish reading these first."
Vincent was busy reading some of the documents on the table, letting his mother and little brother converse while he was working.
Vernon and Dorothea stared at each other for a long time, but no word came out of their mouths. Dorothea obviously gave him a condescending gaze, while Vernon responded by giving that old woman a contemptuous look.
Obviously, both were hostile to each other for a reason only known to them.
"Alright, I'm done with the document," Vincent smiled meaningfully. He gave his Little bro a side glance and added, "This document is about you, Little bro."
Vernon acted surprised, though he already knew what was in the document, "About me? What did I do wrong?"
"Well, not exactly wrong," Vernon leaned on the sofa. He crossed his arms while his eyes still focused on the document on the table. "I got a report from that old secretary. It seems you made a deal with one of my business partners who works in distribution."
"Oh, yeah, I made the deal a few days ago. But I was too busy with work, so I forgot to inform you. It was just for distributing my beverage product to the US next year, around July," Vernon informed everything as if he was the most honest man on earth. "Did I offend you Big bro?"
"Not exactly," Vincent shrugged. It wasn't hard for him to dig through Vernon's company secret; he had made it clear from the first time the brothers came in contact.
He didn't really care because he believed Vernon would never try to scheme against him. He was just the same cute Little bro trying to imitate his ever-powerful Big brother.
"I don't really care if you use my business partners. It's just that old hag— Secretary Maria, who insists that I look at this and then question your action," Vincent said. He gave his Mother a quick look and added, "Also our Mom, she also insisted on me reading about this."
Vernon already had an intense dislike for his mother. Now that she was actively trying to push him down to the hell hole, he did not need to act courteously toward her.
"Do we really need her here, Big bro?" Vernon asked sarcastically while looking at Dorothea.
"I should be the one who says that," Dorothea finally opened her mouth. She crossed her leg and scoffed, "Why are you here? Why don't you just stay in London?"
"Because I want to expand my business," Vernon replied without trying to hide anything. "What's wrong with that? I thought the Gray family valued money so much. Why are you trying to reprimand me for doing what our family does best?"
"Because I know it's not just about expansion. I know you're coveting your Big brother's power, that's why you're trying to snatch his business partners, right?"
Dorothea's accusation was actually correct. Vernon was trying to overthrow his Big brother's powerful position in almost all parts of the core business in the US. He had his hands on food and beverage, transportation, furniture, and even groceries.
The only thing he wasn't interested in was the entertainment industry. Thus, by establishing his own advertising firm and branching out to entertainment, Vernon got a solid foothold to survive in New York.
But now he wanted more.
He didn't want to just sit there under the mercy of his Big brother. Vernon wanted to steal everything from him, including Vincent's wife and daughter.
But of course, he had to pretend that Dorothea's accusation was simply a baseless slander.
Vernon chuckled mirthlessly, "You're just being stupidly paranoid. So you mean that I'm not allowed to return to my city? I was born and grew up here," Vernon raised one brow as he taunted his mother, "Come on, Mrs. Dorothea Gray. I know that you're an old widow with mental issues, but can't you even trust your own son? Maybe you should get a better psychiatrist."
Vincent laughed when he heard Vernon taunting their mother. He didn't really care about his pesky, obviously-mentally-ill mother. He didn't toss her to the trash can because Dorothea was a socialite. Despite her age, she was well-known in many elite circles, which meant Vincent had to keep her around to maintain his reputation.
Dorothea got triggered whenever someone talked about her mental illness. She was diagnosed with severe depression ever since she was in her 20s.
Her late husband— Vaughn Gray, created a huge crater in her heart, making her numb and depressed with all of his cheating and abuse. No matter what crazy expensive things she bought, she still couldn't fill that crater in her heart, and Vaughn left her so devastated with the love she didn't even want to trust men anymore.
Even now, she actively sought therapy with Shailene because she was still hurting eleven years after Vaughn's death.
"Say all you want, you treacherous bastard. I know that you're trying to topple your own family. I can sense it," Dorothea said. "You can't fool me."
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