The Forgotten Grandson

Chapter 2

“Are you here to embarrass us?”

Beth Alistair’s voice was sharp and full of hate. Damien pushed himself up from the ground. His hands stung from the scrapes.

Courtney’s mother looked at him like he was dirt under her shoe.

“Look at you,” she said. “Must you show everyone how worthless you are? I’m so glad my daughter finally opened her eyes. She’s free of you now. Take your filthy self and get out of my sight.”

Beth had always hated him. To her, he was nothing but a good-looking man with empty pockets. She never understood why her daughter had stayed with him for so long.

Damien ignored the words. “Where is Courtney?”

Andy stepped closer. His face was red. “You deadbeat. She had a work emergency. That’s why she’s not here. As my woman she won’t have to work so hard. I can take care of her the right way. Can’t you see she deserves better than you?”

Alison stood beside Andy with a small smile. She had liked him for years, but he only ever looked at Courtney. Tonight she finally got to watch him put Damien down, and she enjoyed every second of it.

“Listen to him,” Alison said. “That’s what a real man sounds like. You’re just a lazy bum who lived off your wife. Can you even call yourself a man? She’s done with you. Don’t let him inside,” she told the hostess. “He can’t even buy cheap food. There’s no way he belongs here.”

The hostess looked relieved. The rich guests were on her side. That meant she would keep her job.

“I’ve been trying to make him leave,” she said. “Is he with your group?”

Beth’s face twisted. “Look at this church rat. Do we look like we’re with him? Get him out of here before you lose customers.”

Andy nodded. “Throw him out before more people notice. They won’t be as nice as we are.”

Damien understood. They would never tell him anything useful. Only insults. He turned and walked away on his own.

Outside, he saw his old car already hooked to a tow truck. The same valet from earlier stood nearby with a big grin.

“You should have listened,” the man said. “Now you look even more stupid.”

Damien had no money left for a taxi. He had spent the last of it on a small birthday gift for Courtney. So he started the long walk home under the cold night sky.

His feet hurt with every step. The gift bag swung lightly in his hand. He kept thinking about the steak and fries he had cooked. He had set the table carefully. He had waited for her. Now he was walking alone in the dark while her family laughed at him.

It was almost midnight when he finally reached the house. Two cars sat in the driveway. One was Courtney’s BMW. The other was a black Benz. The custom licence plate made his stomach drop. He knew that car too well.

He pushed the front door open. The meal he had cooked earlier was gone. Empty plates sat on the table. The smell of the steak still hung in the air. His blood started to heat up.

Clothes lay scattered on the stairs like a trail. Soft sounds came from upstairs — sounds that made his feet feel heavy.

He climbed the steps slowly. Every step felt harder than the last. When he reached the bedroom door he pushed it open hard.

Courtney screamed. The man on top of her scrambled sideways, eyes wide.

It was Saul Victous. Damien’s godfather.

“What the hell?” Damien’s voice came out rough and low.

Saul recovered fast. He sat up like nothing was wrong. “Oh. It’s just you. You have no respect for your elders. Why barge in like that? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

Damien’s chest felt tight, like something was crushing it from the inside. Saul had taken him in after his parents died. Damien had stayed loyal for years, even when Saul treated him badly and blocked every chance at a better job. This was different. This he could not forgive.

“Courtney… why?” he asked.

She pulled the sheet up over her body, but it was too late. The respect he once had for her was already gone.

Saul spoke for her. “She did it because she needed a real man. You can’t give a woman like her the life she wants. Look at her. She’s beautiful. What could you ever offer someone like that?”

Damien looked at his wife. “So you did it for money?”

Courtney’s voice was cold. “It’s not only about the money, Damien. You never understood me. I want to give my future children the best life. What can you offer them with the little money you make? You can’t even take me on a simple holiday. All my friends live easy lives. Their husbands spoil them. What kind of life can you give me if I quit my job?”

She had loved him once. But the pressure from family and friends had worn her down. Everyone said she deserved better. In the end she believed them.

Damien felt something break inside him. He had stayed loyal to Saul for years. That loyalty had cost him everything.

Saul laughed. “You hear that? A woman like her deserves fine things. It’s your fault she’s with someone who can give them to her.”

Damien’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “So this is the work emergency? You’re cheating on your boyfriend with his own father. That’s low.”

Saul’s face went hard in a second. He had forgotten that Damien knew about Andy.

“Keep your mouth shut,” Saul said in a low, dangerous voice. “My son doesn’t need to know. If he finds out, I will make your life worse than it already is.”

Courtney glared at Damien. “I am not a whore! It’s your fault. You have no dreams. No goals. You’re stuck in the same place forever. I can’t stay with a man like that.”

Damien shook his head. This was not the woman he fell in love with. She had chosen this. He could never look at her the same way again.

She grabbed a folder from the nightstand and threw it at him. “Sign the papers now. I’ll be nice and give you five hundred thousand dollars as a settlement.”

Saul laughed again, loud and ugly. “What a failure. Your own wife has to pity you so you don’t starve on the street. Look at you — dirty and sweaty. I’m sure that junk car of yours broke down again. Hurry up and go buy me more condoms. I’m not finished with your woman.”

Damien picked up the papers. He signed his name without reading them. Then he threw the folder aside.

“Keep your money,” he said.

He turned toward the nightstand next to Saul.

Saul jumped to his feet at once, ready for a fight. He would not let Damien look strong in front of Courtney. Not in this house. Not tonight.