Revenge Of The Hidden Heir.

Chapter 2: Shattered Innocence.

The next morning, Jonathan woke up to the sounds of shattering glass echoing through the Anderson mansion. Jonathan froze, knowing somehow that this, too, would be his fault.

He rushed towards the source of the noise, his heart pounding fast in his chest. As he rounded the corner into the main living room, he saw Mrs. Anderson standing over what looked like the remains of a very expensive Ming vase.

The vase was a rare kind; only very few people in the country could own such a piece. Mrs. Anderson's facial expression was chilling and terrifying.

Poor Jonathan wished he had pretended to still be sleeping when he heard it. Now he was definitely going to take all the blame. 'Who knows, she might even ask me to pay for it,' he thought. 'This really looks expensive. How do I pay for it? Maybe my yearly savings could get...'

Since Gramps had died a few months ago, they had cut down his salary to a very meager sum, one could barely survive on such an amount. But he had been managing somehow with it, and Sophia wasn't much of a bother, so it made it easier for him.

He decided to tiptoe back into his room when he heard a loud voice.

"You!" Mrs. Anderson shrieked, pointing an accusatory finger at Jonathan. "Look what you've done."

"Ma'am, I just got here. I wasn't even in the room when the vase fell. I just got here now," Jonathan protested weakly, already knowing it was a futile attempt.

"Oh, shut your stinky mouth, Jonathan. This is all your fault. Your presence alone is bad enough aura, so who do you think did this, you fool? Are you trying to say I did it? As you can see, it's just the two of us here, so if it's not you, then who did it?" Mrs. Anderson asked, raising her voice.

"I don't know, ma'am. I really don't. Someone must have placed it wrongly, maybe the cook or cleaner."

"So, are you trying to say I am wrong? What the..." she sighed.

"With all due respect, ma'am, you are," Jonathan said politely.

Hearing this made Mrs. Anderson so furious she walked up to him and gave him a very heavy slap on his face that sent him almost falling.

"You filthy pig, telling me that I am wrong. What insolence! I can see that Sophia has been giving you some wings," she said.

Jonathan stood straight, apologizing. "Ma'am, I am sorry. I didn't mean any form of disrespect."

While he was still apologizing, Mr. Anderson appeared in the doorway.

"What's going on here?" his thick baritone voice echoed through the room.

Jonathan was about to explain when Mrs. Anderson cut in. "Your son-in-law just broke the expensive glass your father got from one of his travels to China. The clumsy idiot probably knocked it off while dusting."

'Dusting! When did that turn into my job? There are cleaners in the house, so why would I dust?' Jonathan was thinking. He couldn't dare blurt out a single word to avoid being hit again.

"What did you just say, honey? Jonathan did what?" Mr. Anderson asked.

For a moment, Jonathan was hoping Mr. Anderson would take his side as he had always done when Gramps was alive, but he quickly recalled what had happened the other day.

He knew that all hope was lost to claim his innocence of this crime he was being accused of. At that moment, he knew he was definitely going to have to replace this vase. 'But how much would this cost?' he kept thinking.

Mrs. Anderson repeated what she had said earlier so Mr. Anderson could hear.

Mr. Anderson walked up to him, held him by the neck, strangling him, saying, "Die, you church rat, die!" After strangling him for a while, he pushed him away. "Do you know how much this vase cost? Your annual salary won't even afford it."

Jonathan was coughing so much as a result of the strangling. Tears were gathered in his eyes, but he couldn't let them drop because if he did, it would give room for more bullying, as they would definitely want to see him shed more tears. He had to hold it in.

"This was one of father's prized possessions. It was more like a souvenir. Now you have destroyed it," Mr. Anderson said.

"Why are you surprised, dear? He's Jonathan Levi, the pauper who has nothing. Destruction goes with him anywhere he goes. He's bad luck to everyone surrounding him. He thinks becoming an Anderson by changing his name would make him one of us," Mrs. Anderson said, laughing wildly.

"I really didn't do it, sir," Jonathan barely muttered; his throat had been severely strangled, and he couldn't even speak well.

"Don't listen to him, Dad. He's a liar and a thief. I saw him lurking around here earlier. He's always snooping around where he doesn't belong," Leo's voice came from behind.

Jonathan turned to look at him. "Leo! What are you talking about? I wasn't even near this room."

"You liar, I saw you sneaking around," Leo repeated.

Sophia rushed in, her eyes widening at the shattered porcelain on the floor. "What happened here?"

"Your husband happened, Soph. Why don't you ask him?" Mrs. Anderson said.

Sophia looked at Jonathan; she saw his face was red as if he had been hit, and she could see signs of strangling on his neck. She rushed to him, urging him to say what had just happened, but Jonathan kept mute. He knew even if he told her, there was nothing she could do that would stop these people from doing what they really wanted to do.

"Why is your neck and face so red? Did any of these monsters hit you?" Sophia said.

"Watch your mouth, daughter. We are your parents," Mr. Anderson said.

"Then behave like parents," Sophia said, raising her voice.

Mrs. Anderson was about to raise her hand to hit her, but Jonathan dragged her away, stepping forward, causing the hand to land on his face instead.

"Mom, what have you just done?" Sophia shouted.

"Hey, don't 'mommy' me, you deranged spoilt brat," Mrs. Anderson shouted. "That serves you right," she said, looking at Jonathan.

"You will have to pay for this. It's either you rot in jail, or you find a way to replace this porcelain," Mr. Anderson said.

"Dad!" Sophia shouted. "How could you say that? You want to put my husband in jail for an ordinary porcelain vase?" She continued.

"That ordinary porcelain vase is worth four thousand dollars, my dear. It's not just any kind of vase. It's a rare vase, so it's either he's paying, or he's rotting in jail."

"But he didn't do it. You all can't just assume he did it," Sophia said.

"I saw him push it," Leo said.

"My decision is final. You should pick from the two options you have. What's your decision, Jonathan?"

Sophia was about to talk, but Jonathan interrupted, "I will pay for it."

Jonathan raised his head and repeated again that he was going to pay for the vase.

Jonathan could see a small, satisfied smirk on Leo's face. In that moment, he knew that this wasn't an accident; he was being set up, but for what purpose? Even if he wanted to prove his innocence, it was going to be fruitless because everyone had concluded he broke the vase.

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