I Came Home From A Business Trip Late At Night And Found My Son Washing Clothes By Hand In Complete Darkness. “They Went On Vacation,”

The air in the kitchen froze.

Evelyn stepped forward, her voice sharp and condescending. "Now see here, Gabriel! Lucas is a teenager who needs discipline! He’s lazy, he steals, and Candice has been working herself to the bone trying to raise that boy while you’re out galavanting on the highway!"

Gabriel didn't even look at Evelyn. He kept his eyes locked on Candice.

"Lucas, go upstairs to your room," Gabriel commanded gently.

"No! He stays right here!" Candice snapped, her sweet facade dropping completely, revealing the venom underneath. "This is my house too, Gabriel! You don't get to come in here after three days and interrogate me! I’m the one who holds this family together!"

"Is that so?" Gabriel reached into his jacket pocket.

He pulled out an object wrapped in a white silk handkerchief and placed it gently on the table between them.

He unwrapped it.

It was Clara’s silver cup—the precious keepsake Lucas’s mother had left for him before she died.

Candice went pale as snow. Her breath caught in her throat.

"I found this in your nightstand, Candice," Gabriel said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Right next to the pawn shop receipts for Clara’s wedding ring."

"I... I was holding it for safekeeping!" Candice stammered, stepping back. "Lucas loses everything! He’s careless!"

"Wyatt slapped him across the face last Tuesday," Gabriel continued, his voice utterly devoid of emotion. "You took his phone. You answered his school calls. And you gave his birthday party to your nephew."

Wyatt sneered from behind his mother. "He’s a loser anyway. He didn't deserve a party."

Gabriel turned his head slowly toward Wyatt. The sheer intensity in Gabriel’s gaze made the fourteen-year-old bully step back in terror and hide behind his mother.

"Rita," Gabriel said to Candice's sister. "Take your son and your mother, and get out of my house."

"You can't kick us out!" Rita shouted. "Candice lives here!"

"I said, get out," Gabriel barked. The sheer power of his voice shook the kitchen windows.

Evelyn and Rita grabbed Wyatt, terrified by the cold rage in Gabriel’s eyes, and rushed out the door to the car.

Candice stood alone in the center of the kitchen, her chest heaving, her eyes darting around the room as if looking for an escape route.

"Gabriel... please," she whimpered, changing tactics instantly, tears brimming in her eyes. "I made mistakes... I was overwhelmed. Caring for a troubled boy isn't easy... I did it for us..."