Chapter 230: Unwelcome Visitors and Lakehouse Secrets

In the late afternoon, after returning from Miranda’s house, Eric and Emma drove over to Caleb and Avery’s place. Parking in the driveway, they walked onto the porch, and Eric knocked on the door. Moments later, Avery opened it. Eric and Emma could instantly tell she was tense, her face looked drawn and somber, clearly showing she had just been crying, even though she forced a welcoming smile. Emma stepped forward immediately to hug her. After pulling back from the embrace,

"Come on in," Avery invited.

"Is Caleb okay?" Eric asked.

"He’s fine. He’s inside with Abby," Avery answered.

Stepping inside, Eric and Emma slipped off their shoes and walked toward the living room with Avery following behind. They saw Caleb sitting on the sofa, while Abby was fast asleep sprawled out across the cushions. Caleb looked up as Eric and Emma sat down across from him.

"You actually came. I told you not to bother," Caleb said.

"As if I wouldn’t come, my dad got a call from a random number too," Eric countered.

"Figures. He came by here earlier with your mom... see for yourself," Caleb said, grabbing the remote to turn on the TV.

Eric and Emma turned around to look at the screen behind them. The display showed security camera footage from the front porch overlooking the driveway. Two figures were seen approaching the house from the curb. Once they came into clear focus, the two turned out to be David and Vanessa. Caleb’s father, David, looked drastically gaunt, his face hollowed out and looking years older than when Eric had last seen him. Vanessa looked equally grim, her complexion pale and aged.

Life had clearly not been kind to them. On screen, David rang the doorbell, and Avery opened the door. But the moment she realized who was standing there, Avery stepped outside onto the porch to talk. While the audio wasn’t captured, David’s body language was clearly aggressive, while Vanessa tried to hold him back. Avery appeared to respond calmly at first, but as time went on, the confrontation visibly shook her, and she broke down in tears.

Eventually, Vanessa walked away, leaving David, who stubbornly tried to force his way inside, even shoving Avery slightly as she held her ground at the door. Moments later, Caleb’s car pulled into the driveway. He jumped out carrying Abby, sprinted onto the porch, shoved David back, handed Abby off to Avery, and stood firmly in front of his wife and child. A heated argument erupted between David and Caleb until David finally stormed off, leaving an enraged Caleb and a tear-streaked, visibly shaken Avery behind.

Having watched the footage, Eric and Emma turned back to face Caleb. Abby remained fast asleep on the couch, while Avery brought over drinks for everyone before taking a seat beside Caleb.

"What did Uncle David and my mom want here? Are they still together?" Eric asked.

"No... it seems Uncle David dragged Aunt Vanessa along to help him out... Uncle David demanded to move in here. He claimed that since Caleb is his son, he has a right to live here and offered to help watch Abby while we’re both at work," Avery explained.

"Wait... seriously? How can anyone be that shameless?" Eric asked, completely stunned.

"He claimed he’s completely broke and homeless now. He went to Aunt Vanessa’s place and demanded she drive him to this city. He even had suitcases packed in her car... total mess," Avery answered.

"I only stepped out to the supermarket for a quick minute with Abby, and I come back to this total disaster. He actually tried to grab Abby, which is why I pushed him," Caleb added.

"Well, at least he’s gone now," Eric noted.

"On your way over, did you see him lingering by the curb? Because I’ve been keeping an eye out and he was standing out there with his luggage. I took photos and I’m ready to call the cops if he steps foot back here... the nerve of him, yelling at Avery and spouting all kinds of garbage," Caleb said, squeezing Avery’s hand tight.

"It’s alright, babe, just let it go," Avery said gently, patting the back of Caleb’s hand.

Suddenly, "ding," a notification popped up on Caleb’s smartphone. He reached across the coffee table to grab it, his face immediately draining into pure exhaustion as he unlocked the screen. He showed the display to Avery, who gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, before turning the screen toward Eric and Emma. The screen showed a photo sent by Jade via text: David was lounging casually on the living room sofa in Jade’s apartment, watching TV as if he owned the place.

Beneath the image was a caption typed by Jade: "Caleb... what do I do... Dad won’t leave. Mike isn’t home, he’s working late tonight... I’m terrified being here alone... he just threw a fit demanding food, so I’m hiding in the kitchen." Eric and Emma looked up from the screen to gaze at Caleb.

"Oh man... Jade actually let him in," Emma gasped softly.

"Unbelievable... so what’s the play, bro? Are we heading over?" Eric asked.

"We have to. Mike doesn’t know the first thing about my dad, give him five minutes of talking and he’ll let him crash there permanently, and eventually my dad will end up kicking Mike and Jade out of their own place... Just you and me, let me handle this," Caleb answered, getting to his feet.

"Got it... Emma, wait for me here, okay?" Eric said, standing up as well.

"Sure, babe, I’ll stay here and play with Abby if she wakes up," Emma replied with a reassuring smile.

"Be careful, and don’t push things too far," Avery cautioned.

"Got it... don’t worry," Eric reassured her.

"I’ll be right back," Caleb said, planting a gentle kiss on Avery’s forehead before signaling to Eric. The two stepped out of the house and walked over to Caleb’s car. Once they were out on the road, Eric turned to look at Caleb at the wheel,

"Bro, what did he actually say to make Avery cry like that?" Eric asked quietly.

Caleb went silent for a moment. "Sigh," he let out a heavy breath, his face etched with pure exhaustion, before fixing his eyes back on the road.

"He said he refuses to give us his blessing because Avery’s just a nurse from some low-class blue-collar family. He demanded Avery move out and let him move in... insane, right? Avery’s pregnant again, she can’t be dealing with this kind of stress, and his words were vicious. He’s a real piece of work," Caleb answered, his voice deep and raspy.

"Hmm... I see. But what actually happened? Why did he come back to this city in the first place?" Eric asked.

"He claimed your dad sold off all his assets, the company and his personal properties... so he got kicked out of your dad’s lakehouse, the one we used to go to for summer vacations when we were kids. He kept insisting the lakehouse was family property and that Martin had no right to sell it. But of course, the legal papers said otherwise, and Uncle Martin had every legal right to sell it," Caleb explained.

"Oh, right. My dad did sell off all his assets, but I initially thought it was just company stuff. Turns out he cleared out his personal property too," Eric mused, thinking back.

"Yeah... he probably intended to just sell the company assets at first, but he put the lakehouse on the market and the deal closed just two days ago. Word is the buyer is someone from this city... at least according to my dad," Caleb added.

"Huh," Eric was taken aback. He stared at the road ahead as his brain pieced the puzzle together. Suddenly, he recalled the casual exchange between Martin and Miranda over dessert back at the dining table. Miranda had mentioned starting renovations on their lakeside "project," because Miranda’s "client" had already sent over the requested blueprints, and the two were planning to head out to the "project" site in three days.

Connecting the dots, a wide grin spread across Eric’s face, and "hahaha," he burst into loud laughter, making Caleb turn to stare at him before snapping his eyes back to the road.

"What are you laughing about?" Caleb asked, confused.

"Nothing... so your dad was squatting at the lakehouse and got evicted... no wonder he was blowing up my dad’s phone earlier, haha," Eric answered, shaking his head.

"What are you even talking about?" Caleb asked.

"It’s nothing... let’s just step on it. Poor Jade is out there on her own," Eric said.

"Man... you’re something else. Fine, I’ll speed it up," Caleb replied.

Caleb’s car kept speeding across the city, heading toward the apartment complex where Jade and Mike lived. Eric kept smiling, remembering clearly that Martin and Miranda’s conversation earlier today was indeed about Martin’s lakehouse, which Miranda had obviously bought. They were even planning to take a vacation there together with the family. From smiling, Eric suddenly got a slight chill, then fell silent and turned to look out the window. "Whatever, who cares," he thought to himself.