Chapter 340: Fury and accusation
Haris stepped in quickly, urgency lacing in his steps. His eyes darted over Denis. "You okay?" he asked with worry. "If you feel even a little discomfort, I’ll call the doctor right away."
"Don’t try to hide anything from me," Denis hissed, his gaze blazing with fury. "I know everything already. Why didn’t you tell me Augustine has taken over the company? That bastard..." His whole body radiated hostility.
"Please calm down," Haris said carefully. "It’s not what you think. He is—"
"I don’t care," Denis cut him off, his voice turning harsher with every word. "He struck when we were weak, took advantage of our crisis to crush us. I’ll never forgive this." His nostrils flared as fury consumed him. "I want out of here. Now. Get the doctor and sign me out."
"But—"
"Now," he roared, the walls seeming to reverberate with the force of his anger.
For a long moment, Haris didn’t move. He remained still in his place, locking his eyes with Denis. Then he sighed and said slowly, "Grandpa Dimitri is in the hospital. He had a heart attack. He is still in the operating room."
The words struck Denis like a thunderclap. His anger crumbled in an instant, leaving him hollow. His stomach lurched.
"What?"
The image of his grandfather fighting for his life on the operating table flashed in his mind, wrapping him with dread.
He dragged in a shaky breath. "Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Take me there. Now."
Haris gave a grave nod. "Come with me."
Together, they strode out of the room.
When they neared the operating room, they noticed Augustine sitting rigidly in the waiting area, Anne by his side, the butler pacing around, their faces drawn with worry.
Denis paused at the sight of Augustine. Rage surged through him like a wildfire, burning away every trace of fear he had felt moments earlier. At that instant, all he wanted was to tear Augustine apart.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Denis’s voice roared down the hall, startling everyone. Before anyone could react, he stormed forward, closing the distance in heavy strides.
In one swift, unrestrained motion, Denis seized Augustine by the collar, yanking him up with brute force. He growled through clenched teeth, "How dare you show your face here after everything?"
His fist shot forward, connecting with Augustine’s jaw in a sickening crack.
The blow sent Augustine stumbling backward. He caught himself on the wall, his hand pressing against his aching face. A metallic tang of blood filled his mouth. Slowly, he turned his head to meet Denis’s glare.
"Augustine!" Anne rushed to his side. Her hands trembled as she cupped his face. "Are you okay?" Her worry was etched deeply across her features.
Augustine didn’t answer her. His gaze stayed locked on Denis, unblinking. The sheer fury burning in Denis’s eyes was like a mirror of what he once felt.
Once, he too had despised Denis with equal venom. But now, everything had changed. The shocking truth he had recently learned erased all the hatred he had once harbored against this man.
However, Denis’s anger only intensified. "Because of you, Grandpa suffered a heart attack. You don’t deserve to be here."
Augustine’s heart clenched, the words sinking into him like cold steel. The accusation left him reeling from disbelief. "What nonsense? Are you even listening to yourself?"
"That’s enough, Denis." Anne stepped forward, standing in front of Augustine as if to shield him with her form. "Stop accusing him. Grandpa is in this condition because—"
"Anne, wake up," Denis’s voice boomed. The veins on his neck stood out. He jabbed a finger past her, his glare locked on Augustine. "This man is dangerous, deceitful. An opportunist."
His chest heaved as he hurled the words. "You’ve been waiting for this moment, haven’t you? To snatch everything from us. And now—now that our family is broken and bleeding—you strike."
Augustine stood silent behind Anne, his eyes unreadable. But Denis’s rage was yet to subside. His face flushed red as he advanced a step.
"Are you happy now? You took revenge on us, took over the family business, and threw Dad out of the company. And now Grandpa is like this. What else do you want? Are you planning to kick me out of the family next? To crush me, too? Huh?"
Anne wished she could slap him and shove some reasons into his head, but before she could speak again, the butler stepped forward.
"You have misunderstood him. Please, calm down and listen to me." He reached for Denis’s arm, trying to restrain him.
But Denis wrenched free with a furious shove. His eyes blazed as he rounded on the butler. "You want me to calm down? Are you blind? Can’t you see what he did?" He gestured toward Augustine. "He turned everyone in the company against my father, forced him to resign, and then stole his position. It’s a calculated move."
He swung back to face Augustine, his expression twisted with hatred. "You did this to take revenge for the past, for how we pushed you away. Admit it... You want to destroy us. But hear me, Augustine..." He took another step closer "As long as I’m alive, you will never get what you want."
Augustine stood motionless. He said nothing to defend himself. He fixed a blank stare on Denis, absorbing every bitter word hurled at him. It was like watching his own reflection from another time—rage, vengeance, the blind desire to destroy.
He knew it too well.
Not long ago, he had lived and breathed the same poison, plotting to ruin Denis and Gabriel, dreaming of pushing them out of the company and family. If he hadn’t learned the truth, he might have carried it through. He might have shattered Denis’s life beyond repair.
He wasn’t surprised when he faced Denis’s fury. Yet, it shook him all the same. A deep sadness cut through his chest.
This was his twin, the person who should have been his closest ally. Instead, they stood on opposite sides, like rivals sworn to destroy each other.
"One more word, and I’ll slap you," Anne snapped. She pointed at the closed doors. "Grandpa is battling for his life inside. We don’t know if he’ll make it. And you—" she jabbed at Denis, "you are out here, screaming, accusing. If Augustine didn’t care, if we really wanted to harm this family, we wouldn’t even be here."
She leveled his glare, her voice dropping into a snarl. "You’ve always been blind to the truth. Always. You never tried to see what was really happening. You only know how to point fingers, how to accuse. But have you ever once looked at yourself? At your own mistakes?"
Denis stood frozen, the fight drained from him like air escaping a punctured lung. His face had gone pale, the fury that had fueled him moments ago collapsing under the crushing weight of Anne’s words.
His mouth opened soundlessly.
"At this moment, you should have been praying for Grandpa," she said with disappointment. "But you are accusing Augustine."
Before Denis could recover, another voice cut in. "Anne, stop," Augustine finally said, his voice low, his eyes vacant. "If he doesn’t want me here, we’ll leave."
Anne’s head whipped toward him. "Augustine..." She cast him a disbelief look as though she couldn’t accept what she had just heard. She tried to protest, but he held her hand and gently silenced her.
"Let’s go home," he urged. The pain in his eyes told her more than his words ever could.
Anne realized he no longer had the strength to stand there and face Denis. She could see the anguish swimming behind his calm mask, and her heart clenched. She couldn’t bring herself to fight him on this.
Her shoulders slumped. "Alright. Let’s go."
Their fingers intertwined as they turned and walked away together.
The butler shifted uncomfortably. "You shouldn’t have accused him like that, young master. He has nothing to do with the old master’s heart attack."
Denis scowled at him. "Are you supporting him now? He is a traitor."
"Aish..." the butler winced, his hands wringing. "He is not—listen to me. That day, Madam Jeanne came. She quarreled with the old master... and she made demands—serious demands."
He recounted every detail of the argument.
"The old master feared those demands would make your father furious and hurt her," the butler continued. "He asked me to call you and ask you to take Madam away to safety. But..." He shook his head in disappointment. "Our conversation was cut short. I couldn’t explain properly."
Color drained from Denis’s face, leaving him ashen. His stomach churned with cold regret. He had been busy that day and paid no attention to that call, dismissing it as unimportant. Now he realized how severe mistake he had made.
"The old master’s worry for madam Jeanne, the fear, the tension led to a mild heart attack that very night."
Denis’s head snapped toward him, shock slicing through his numbness.
The butler’s eyes dimmed with sorrow. "His condition was stabilized. But the doctor warned another attack would be lethal."
"Why didn’t you tell me?" Denis hissed, regret and frustration tangling into a raw knot in his chest.
The butler dropped his gaze. "Everyone was worried about Madam Jeanne’s sudden disappearance. The old master forbade me from telling anyone about his health. He didn’t want to burden the family further."
His eyes flicked up again. "But today... master Gabriel came and argued with him. He ignored my warning. He kept shouting at the old master, accusing him, blaming him for his downfall."
The words struck Denis like another blow. He didn’t know his father was out of the police station. "The cops released Dad?" He turned to Haris with questions in his eyes.
Haris opened his mouth to speak. Meanwhile, the door creaked open, and the doctor stepped out, forcing him to swallow his words.
The doctor’s face was shadowed with fatigue. Deep worry lines carved across his forehead.
"Doctor..." Denis surged forward, clutching at the man’s hand. "How is Grandpa? Is he okay?"
The doctor said apologetically, "He was already too weak. The attack was severe. I’m sorry. We tried everything."