From Prison To Billion-Dollar Empire

Chapter Five The Divorce

 

The whole family of the Kingston’s sat by the long mahogany table right in the main building, the atmosphere heavy and suffocating, as though the walls themselves were listening. No one spoke at first, yet everyone knew why they were there.

“Please Mr Williams, at least sit down and watch how we are going to deal with this bastard,” Micheal gestured, sitting at the edge of the table, his voice forced into politeness despite the irritation flashing in his eyes.

“Please Mr Williams,” Carter Kingston echoed. His tone was low, calculated. As the eldest child of the Kingstons, he carried himself just like his father. 

Lucas remained standing, his feet tapping aggressively against the ground, each movement revealing the anger boiling inside him. He had no intention of sitting—not yet.

Betty stood just behind him, hesitant, afraid to even touch him. She knew Lucas well enough to understand that when he was this angry, he could do and undo without blinking.

“I won’t sit until you do something about that son of a bitch!” Lucas snapped, his voice slicing through the room.

“You!” Micheal pointed sharply at Liam, who stood quietly at a distance.

“I thought I told you not to come back! What are you doing here?!”

“Your mission is to insult Mr. Williams?” Micheal slammed his hand on the table, the sound echoing loudly.

Carter smirked. 

Ever since Berry brought Liam into their villa, he had always hated him. To him, Liam was competition, someone Berry noticed, someone Berry favored. And that was something Carter never forgave, even after Berry eventually passed.

“Father, grandfather is no longer here,” Carter began calmly, his eyes never leaving Liam. “Why not just send him away for good and let us have peace? He is just a piece of trash whom my sister doesn’t even love. No one will miss him, and finally, my dearest sister can marry Mr Williams, whom she loves with all her heart.”

“I don’t want him just to be sent away,” Lucas interrupted immediately.

“Sending him away just like that does not make me satisfied,” he added coldly.

“I want him to lick my feet. I want him to crawl like a dog. Then discharge him afterwards. If he can’t, then forget that I will help you get into Kingsford Supreme Collective.”

Micheal’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Of course, he will lick your foot like a dog, Mr Williams,” Micheal hurried out, eager, almost desperate.

For decades, Micheal had not only been desperate to form a partnership with Williams House International, but also with the Kingsford Supreme Collective. Lucas was his bridge to both, and he was not about to let that opportunity slip.

“You heard him, Liam,” Micheal said, turning back sharply. “Scurry to the floor and lick his feet, then bark like a dog. If you don’t do it, forget your $400 salary at the end of the month. But if you do, I will not just pay you for one month, I will pay all the months you have been away.”

“C’mon now, do it,” Carter added, leaning back with amusement.

“Think of how much $400 is for every month for the five years you were away.”

“If I were you, this is a life-changing opportunity,” Carter continued. “Scurry down to Mr Williams’ feet and lick his shoes now.”

“NO!” Liam’s voice came out cold, low, yet firm.

“How shameful that I sacrificed a lot for you and this is how you treat me?” Liam snapped.

“Shut the fuck up, loser!” Micheal banged his hand on the table. The coffee on his right spilled to the floor, spreading like a dark stain.

He pushed his chair back and walked out from the table, approaching Liam until they were face to face. Micheal stared right into his eyes.

“You piece of shit, you are nothing to this family than a rag we use to clean our future. Now, if you make me lose this opportunity with Mr Williams, I am going to make sure you regret it.”

“Fetch my phone,” he ordered, stretching his hand toward Carter.

Carter rose immediately, grabbed Micheal’s phone from the table, and placed it into his hand.

“I am going to call the warden,” Micheal continued, his voice dripping with malice. “My word carries more weight than your freedom. It will make you rot in that deep hole forever.”

“Now choose your fate.”

“Father,” Betty interrupted immediately.

Seeing the tension in the room, she already understood what was unfolding. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the perfect moment.

“If he won’t lick Lucas’ shoes, then I am going to divorce him,” she said firmly. “Grandfather is no longer with us, and there is no need to be married to him anymore anyway.”

Saying this, she mustered the confidence to hold Lucas by the hand. This was a win-win situation for them, and the licking of shoes meant nothing compared to what they were about to gain.

“But what are we going to tell the public if they suddenly see that you are getting married again, since they know you are already married to him?” Micheal asked, turning toward Betty, a silent smile already forming on his face.

“That’s easy, father,” Carter said, stepping forward.

“Make that call. Push him back to prison and let him rot. The reason for him going back to prison will be all over the news. Everybody knows the Kingston family is prestigious, and there is no way we would allow a thief to continue being our in-law.”

“I am sure Mr Williams already loves the idea, don’t you, Mr Williams?” Carter added, smirking at Lucas.

Lucas smirked back. “Of course. Brilliant. And if this is really the case, count me in on your successful partnership with Williams House International and Kingsford Supreme Collective. Hahaha.”

“Well then,” Micheal muttered.

His hands moved quickly over his phone as he placed the call.

“Hello, Warden. Why release that son of a bitch? He just came back and stole my expensive watch. I need him re-arrested and never released until his death.”

Liam smirked quietly. He knew it. They expected him to fall to the floor and beg immediately.

“Is that the worst you can do?” he asked calmly.

“Yes, go back to jail and never return. Hahaha,” Carter sneered.

“Is this what you really want, Betty?” Liam asked, turning to her.

She leaned her head on Lucas’ arm.

“Yes. Go to hell for all I care,” she said, then deliberately leaned upward and kissed Lucas on the lips.

“I’ve made my choice.” she hissed.

“So be it.” Liam said then he turned and stepped out of the room, his expression unreadable as the door closed behind him.