Chapter 270 Cut From the Family

Chapter 270: Chapter 270 Cut From the Family

"Uncle Marcus!"

Serena scrambled to her feet, her voice cracking. "I’m a Winthrop too. You can’t just throw my things out!"

Marcus didn’t flinch.

"Would you prefer I auction them?" he asked coldly. "Or I can buy them from you and put the money toward your judgment. Either way, you’re not getting them back."

Serena’s eyes filled with panic.

"Please. Just let me see Grandpa. One minute. I won’t upset him."

"Not happening. He made it clear he doesn’t want to see you."

"That’s not true." Her voice shook. "He wouldn’t say that."

"I’ll wait," she said, dropping back onto the bench outside the ICU. "I’ll stay right here until he’s willing to see me."

"Suit yourself." Marcus turned toward the secured doors, then stopped. "But this is a hospital. One more scene and security will escort you out. If you actually care about your grandfather, sit down and keep your mouth shut."

The color drained from Serena’s face.

Marcus looked at Robert and Jennifer. "That goes for both of you. Frankly, you’d be doing him a favor by leaving. Hovering outside his room won’t fix what happened."

Neither of them answered.

Through the narrow glass window in the ICU door, Jennifer caught sight of Alpha Victor. His eyes were open, but under the cold hospital lights, the once-powerful Alpha looked painfully frail.

Serena remained on the floor, caught between collapsing and standing.

"Get up," Robert muttered.

His gaze dropped to the red marks on her knees from the tile. Anger still burned in his face, but so did reluctant concern.

"How long do you have to satisfy the judgment?"

Serena pushed herself upright. "Fifteen days after the order becomes enforceable."

"Barely two weeks," Jennifer whispered, twisting her fingers together.

Serena heard everything they weren’t saying. They were furious with her, but they still weren’t walking away.

She couldn’t meet their eyes. Her cheek still stung from Jennifer’s slap, and the shame brought fresh tears to the surface.

Her parents had never had enough money to save her.

Serena’s breathing tightened.

Then she wiped her face and looked back toward the ICU doors.

She would find a way to get the money.

--

Meanwhile, Alpha Sebastian’s phone lit up on the windowsill.

[I’m so sorry. Are you okay?]

Serena.

He stared at the message until the screen dimmed.

Was he okay?

Since leaving the courthouse, Alpha Sebastian had barely kept himself together. The evidence kept replaying in his mind—the transfers, the signatures, the dates. Each one felt like another blow.

The woman he had loved for years had not simply made mistakes.

She had let herself rot from the inside out.

And now he could no longer pretend he hadn’t seen it.

Alpha Sebastian turned the phone facedown without replying.

Beside him, Alpha Roger lowered his voice. "Your mother’s surgery is in two days. Don’t tell her what happened in court. Not her, not Isabella. The last thing either of them needs is more stress."

Alpha Sebastian nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

Alpha Roger studied his son, disgust and frustration hardening his features. He thought of Serena spending Alpha Sebastian’s money on designer gowns, luxury hotels, and other men’s attention.

"What a damn mess," he muttered.

They stepped back into Luna Margaret’s hospital room.

Ethan rose from the visitor’s chair. "Well? How bad was it?"

Luna Margaret pushed herself higher against the pillows. Though pale from illness, her eyes remained sharp.

"Serena lost, didn’t she?" she asked. "How did the court divide the estate?"

Isabella leaned forward. "Yeah, Sebastian. What’s the number?"

Alpha Sebastian looked at his mother, then at his sister.

"Serena lost," he said quietly. "She lost everything."

So did I.

He kept that part to himself.

"How much did you get?" Isabella pressed.

Alpha Sebastian could handle his sister’s reaction. His mother’s surgery was two days away, and the stress could send her blood pressure through the roof.

"Nothing dramatic," he lied. "A couple of million."

Isabella frowned. "A couple? That could mean two million or nine. Which is it?"

Before Alpha Sebastian could answer, Ethan read the room. He clapped a hand on Alpha Sebastian’s shoulder.

"Come on. I need five minutes with you. Work issue. It can’t wait."

They had barely reached the door when Isabella started after them. Alpha Roger caught her wrist.

"That’s your brother’s business. Stay with your mother."

"But—"

"This family is on thin ice," Alpha Roger cut in. "Nobody gets to sit around waiting to be rescued anymore. Use the time. Put together a résumé. Have Sebastian polish it, and I’ll see if I can get you an interview somewhere decent."

Isabella stared at him.

"A job? You want me to get a job?"

When the reality sank in, she burst into loud, messy tears.

--

Out in the hallway, Ethan released Alpha Sebastian.

"The court awarded Eira the marital estate, didn’t it?"

Alpha Sebastian stared through the glass doors. "It was hers. It always was."

He should have understood that the day he started funneling everything to Serena.

"What about your mother’s surgery?" Ethan asked. "That won’t be cheap."

Before Sebastian could answer, Ethan pulled out his phone and transferred $200,000 into his account.

"Emergency fund. Don’t argue."

Alpha Sebastian stared at the transfer notification.

"There’s a mid-level management position opening at my company," Ethan continued. "Once your mom is through surgery, it’s yours if you want it. The pay isn’t glamorous, but it’s steady."

For the first time that day, Alpha Sebastian didn’t refuse help.

"Thank you."

Ethan squeezed his shoulder. "Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for."