Chapter 243 Past Resentment

Chapter 243: Chapter 243 Past Resentment

By the time Margaret reached the medical sector, she believed that confronting Laurel directly would restore some control, after all she was her aunty-in-law. She entered with Felicia following reluctantly behind, only to find two security officers stationed near the records office.

Margaret’s expression darkened. "Where is Laurel?" she demanded.

One of the officers straightened. "Commander Laurel is attending to the patriarch, Madam."

"Then inform her that I wish to speak with her immediately." She ordered, her voice brimming with authority.

Before the officer could respond, Alexander emerged from the corridor leading to Grandpa Wayne’s ward, with Laurel a short distance behind him.

Margaret’s expression softened when she saw her nephew.

"Alexander," she began, approaching him. "Thank goodness you’re here. Laurel has apparently taken Vera into custody, and nobody will explain why. She is abusing her power as the commander of this fortress. I have said time without numbers that she is not suitable for this position, she is even biting the hands that fed her. You are her husband, keep your wife under control." she said, her voice laced with venom.

Alexander’s gaze darkened slightly. "Aunt Margaret," he said, his voice low, "My wife is doing the best for this fortress, so you don’t need to worry about her. But what I want to know is...did you discuss making Grandpa unconscious so you could take control of the fortress?"

For a brief moment, surprise flashed across her face before she recovered. "What nonsense is this?" she demanded, turning towards Laurel. "Is that what you’ve been telling him? I knew you never liked this family, after using our money to build this fortress, you now think it is time to break the family apart!"

"Vera gave a statement," Laurel replied calmly. "She described the conversation you had with her and Felicia before Grandpa collapsed. And from the look of it, it is not me who wants to break the family apart, but you are the one."

Margaret’s gaze snapped towards Felicia, who immediately lowered her head. "That foolish girl," Margaret muttered. She turned back to lower. "Mind your tone, young lady." Her nose flared.

Alexander heard her word to Felicia. "So the conversation happened," he said.

Margaret turned back towards him. "Alexander, you don’t understand. Your grandfather was refusing to listen to anyone. The fortress needed decisive leadership, and Laurel had left everything in the hands of people who weren’t even part of our family."

"That’s not what I asked," Alexander replied, his expression tightening. "Did you plan to make Grandpa unconscious?"

Margaret’s lips pressed together. She had expected Alexander to defend her, or at least hesitate before questioning her in front of outsiders. Instead, he was looking at her with an unfamiliar coldness.

Even Alexander has turned against me. After everything I’ve done for this family, he dares question me like a criminal.

"I wanted him to rest," she answered finally. "He was overworking himself, and his health was already declining."

Laurel watched her carefully. "Then why did you restrict his treatment after he collapsed?"

Margaret’s expression hardened. "Because I was responsible for making decisions in his absence. And you have no right to question me, Laurel."

"I do. I’m the commander, I don’t need to remind you time without numbers. Besides, medical decisions should have been made according to his condition," Laurel replied. "The records show that necessary procedures were delayed despite the doctors’ concerns."

Margaret opened her mouth to argue, but Alexander spoke first.

"Aunt Margaret, please stop avoiding the questions." The disappointment in his voice unsettled her more than Laurel’s accusations.

Alexander looked towards the ward where his grandfather lay recovering, then back at the woman who had helped raise him after his parents died.

"I trusted you," he said quietly. "When my parents died, you told me that family was all we had left. You said we needed to protect one another, no matter what happened."

Margaret’s expression changed almost imperceptibly. "Alexander..."

"Was Grandpa’s life worth so little to you?" he asked.

For a moment, Margaret seemed unable to answer. Then resentment hardened her features again. "You speak as though I’ve never sacrificed anything," she replied bitterly. "You have no idea what I’ve endured for this family."

Alexander stared at her, troubled by the intensity of her response. "Then explain it," he said. "I’m listening."

Margaret looked from him to Laurel, then towards the security officers standing nearby. She could feel the authority she had once commanded slipping from her grasp, and the humiliation made her chest burn.

"You all think I’m the villain," she said, her voice rising. "But none of you know what it means to spend your entire life being treated as though you were never good enough."

Laurel noticed the sudden change in her expression. Margaret was no longer merely defending her recent actions.

Alexander remained standing before her, his face pale with disappointment. "Whatever happened in the past," he said, "it doesn’t justify what you’ve done to Grandpa."

Margaret gave a bitter laugh, her eyes filling with anger. "Of course you’d say that," she replied. "You were always the one this family expected to inherit everything."

Alexander frowned. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Margaret looked directly into his eyes, her lips trembling with resentment. "It means," she said slowly, "that there are things about this family you’ve never been told."

Margaret’s words left an uncomfortable silence in the corridor. Alexander had expected another attempt to justify her actions, perhaps an accusation against Laurel or a complaint about the authority she had lost. Instead, his aunt was staring at him with an expression he had never seen before, as though years of carefully concealed bitterness had finally found someone to blame.

"What things?" Alexander asked. "If there’s something I should know, then tell me."

Margaret looked at his face, and for one brief moment she saw the little boy who had stood beside his parents’ graves, too stunned to cry. She remembered placing a hand on his shoulder and telling him to be strong. Back then, he had looked at her with complete trust.

The memory should have softened her. Instead, it made her resentful. Even after they died, everything was still about their son. His future, his inheritance, his suffering. Nobody ever asked what I had lost.

"You wouldn’t understand," Margaret replied. "You were born into the position I spent my entire life trying to earn. No matter what you did, Father always believed you would eventually become worthy of it."

Alexander’s brows drew together. "Grandpa was hard on me too. You know that."

"Hard on you?" Margaret gave a sharp laugh. "He was preparing you! Every mistake you made was something to learn from. Every mistake I made was proof that I wasn’t suited to lead."