Rebirth Swapped Bride; Married to the Ruthless Cursed Billionaire-Chapter 373: Difference between father and FATHER

"A heart condition?"

Grandpa Luther narrowed his eyes at Jonathan, his voice aged and deliberate.

"Is this about Luther Corporation, or the position of the Luther Family head?"

Grandpa cut straight to the point, steering the conversation toward the crux of the matter.

Jonathan had braced himself, but the bluntness of the question still caught him off guard.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one.

The others in the room were so tense they barely dared to breathe.

Silence settled over the room, the atmosphere thickening with an icy weight.

After a long pause, Jonathan finally spoke again, his voice measured.

"Everyone, leave."

"Yes, sir."

The attendants who had guided them in and those standing by bowed their heads and quietly filed out.

Now, only Grandpa Luther, Jonathan, Uncle Carlos, and Goliath remained.

"That’s right."

When Jonathan met his father’s gaze again, his usual timidity was gone, replaced by a chilling resolve.

"All these years, I’ve never understood why you bypassed me and handed the position of Luther Family head to Sinclair?"

This matter had been a knot in his heart, the root cause behind his every calculated move.

"Why?"

Grandpa Luther curved his lips, a hint of rueful amusement flickering across his face.

"Jonathan, I always thought you knew the answer.

It seems I overestimated you in this regard as well."

That tone—it was the one he had detested most over the years.

Jonathan pressed his lips together, his brows knitting tightly.

"Carlos," Grandpa didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Uncle Carlos.

"What do you think?"

"What he thinks?"

Jonathan’s eyes followed, landing on Uncle Carlos with a cold sneer.

"Carlos’s just a servant. What right does Carlos have to weigh in on this?"

For years, his father’s favor toward Carlos had grated him.

But to maintain his façade in front of his father, he had no choice but to endure it.

Now, it was clearly unnecessary.

Grandpa Luther stared at Jonathan, his gaze turning colder, the disappointment in his eyes growing heavier.

Unfazed, Uncle Carlos completely ignored Jonathan’s disdainful glare.

After a brief silence, he spoke slowly. "Arrogant, short-sighted, narrow-minded, and overambitious."

Carlos lifted his head to meet Jonathan’s eyes, his voice deliberate and clear.

"Sir, you are unworthy of leading the Luther Family."

Goliath hadn’t expected Uncle Carlos to actually dare say it.

But he quickly realized that, beyond his shock, he instinctively agreed.

Unlike him, Jonathan was furious.

Carlos’s words were like a series of slaps, striking him right across the face.

"Unworthy?"

Jonathan grabbed the lamp beside him and hurled it violently at Uncle Carlos.

"Who the hell do you think you are, daring to say I’m unworthy?

You must have a death wish!" Uncle Carlos had been prepared for Jonathan’s outburst.

Swiftly dodging the flying lamp, he replied calmly, "No need for anger, sir.

I merely spoke the truth."

Thud.

The lamp flew past Uncle Carlos and struck Goliath squarely on the shoulder before shattering into pieces on the floor.

Goliath sucked in a sharp breath from the pain but dared not utter a word.

Seeing that Uncle Carlos had the audacity to dodge, Jonathan’s rage flared even hotter, his eyes sharp as daggers.

"Goliath!

Take him down to the basement and teach him a lesson he won’t forget!"

The "him," of course, was none other than Uncle Carlos.

"Yes, sir!"

Goliath nodded and stepped forward, but before he could reach Uncle Carlos—

Bang!

Grandpa Luther’s cane struck the ground with a resounding crack.

"Let’s see who dares."

His aged voice, icy and unyielding, carried an overwhelming authority that froze the room.

"Who dares move a step further?!"

Grandpa Luther’s thunderous voice froze Goliath in his tracks.

The man hesitated, casting an uneasy glance at Jonathan for direction.

Jonathan’s face twisted with undisguised resentment as he glared at his father.

"Dad, why do you keep opposing me for some outsider?"

"Carlos has never been an outsider in my eyes," Grandpa retorted with a cold snort, his frail frame radiating unshakable resolve.

"If you want to lay a finger on him, you’ll have to step over my dead body first."

A flicker of emotion crossed Uncle Carlos’s weathered face.

Jonathan’s rage reached boiling point, veins throbbing visibly at his temples and neck.

"Sometimes I seriously wonder—am I really your flesh and blood, or is he?"

The patriarch’s piercing gaze could have cut glass. "Let me make this clear," he bit out each word like shards of ice.

"If you weren’t my biological son, the things you’ve done over the years would’ve gotten you buried long ago!"

Jonathan pressed his lips into a bloodless line, his entire countenance darkening like a gathering storm.

"Before Sinclair came along, I had also groomed you as the rightful heir to the Luther Family legacy," Grandpa Luther’s voice was devoid of inflection, yet it carried an oppressive weight.

"Unfortunately, just as Carlos said, you’re stubborn, arrogant, and utterly inept.

Every task you’ve handled has been a disappointment, forcing me to clean up your messed time and again."

His deep-set eyes narrowed slowly, sharpening like blades.

"If you can’t even handle trivial matters, how do you expect to shoulder the responsibilities of leading the Luther Family?"

Jonathan, pushed to his limit, let out a bitter, shadowed laugh as he met his father’s gaze.

"So what you’re saying is—I’m nothing but a failed product of the Luther bloodline, completely worthless?!"

Though he posed the question, he already knew better than to expect any kindness in his father’s response.

"Of course not,"

Grandpa leaned back against the sofa, his expression a mix of icy detachment and something more complicated.

"Your one and only contribution—your sole purpose—was having Sinclair as a son."

Watching Jonathan’s face darken further, he continued mercilessly.

"Without him, the Luther Family’s main lineage would have been doomed to obscurity."

Sinclair. Always Sinclair. Jonathan sneered coldly.

"Precisely because of the attitude from you and those other old relics of the Luther Family,

I could never bring myself to love that child—no, I’d go as far as to say I resented him," he hissed through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"And it’s exactly why I was so desperate for another son, why that wretched Margaret managed to worm her way in! All of this—it’s your fault!!"

Was it really his fault?

Perhaps.

Grandpa Luther gazed at Jonathan, a flicker of pain flashing in his eyes, but he remained silent.

So, this was his retribution, wasn’t it?

Yet, for the sake of the Luther Family’s main lineage, for the entire Luther clan...

Even if given another chance, he would make the same choice.

Some burdens weren’t meant for everyone to bear.

Uncle Carlos watched grandpa’s bitter expression and sighed deeply in his heart.

What grandpa had sacrificed for Jonathan—

Jonathan would never understand.

After a long silence, Grandpa Luther finally spoke again, his voice weary but firm.

"Jonathan, stop this.

Enough."

His tone shifted from its previous somber sternness to one of gentle warmth, like any ordinary father speaking to his child.

"If you stop now, I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.

I’ll arrange for you to leave San Francisco and live out the rest of your days in comfort and peace."

The words hung heavily in the air, plunging the room into silence once more.

"Dad, I won’t stop—and I can’t stop now," Jonathan replied, his gaze steady as he met his eyes.

Though a flicker of hesitation crossed his face, his resolve quickly hardened again.

"I’ll prove it to you—to the entire Luther Family—that you were wrong.

All of you."

His voice was low but unwavering.

"I’m more suited to lead this family than Sinclair ever was."

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