As Jedidiah and Dr. Raymond disappeared into the office to speak privately, the tension downstairs escalated. Aquileia stood frozen, her face pale, when Hayden's voice sliced through the air.
"How could you support him?" he snarled. "Did you forget who he is? That same worthless boy from high school. Now you're standing by his side like he's a savior. Are you leaving me for him? What are you, a gold digger? He's going to take everything and leave us with nothing!"
"Stop it! What's wrong with you—have you lost your mind?" Kennedith barked, stepping between them.
Hayden's fury turned toward him. "You've changed... all because your long-lost son suddenly returns?"
Then Pete added fuel to the fire, directing his words at Kennedith. "You're just trying to win back your son's favor. You're a liar and a deceiver."
"You are the last person who should be calling anyone a liar or betrayer," Kennedith retorted sharply, eyes burning with restrained fury.
Pete and Kennedith locked eyes. Meanwhile, Hayden's yelling at Aquileia intensified, and Kate directed harsh words toward Alice, who remained silent—until she didn't.
"Enough!" Alice roared, silencing the room. Her eyes flared with fury as she glared at Kate. Though tempted to lash out, she restrained herself.
Everyone turned in the direction Alice was looking. At the top of the stairs stood Jedidiah, his expression unreadable. His gaze locked briefly with Kennedith before he descended the stairs, stopping in front of Aquileia.
"Your attention is needed in the office," he said flatly. With that, he left the house. Aquileia followed the order given to her silently, Hayden trailing closely behind.
Alice, her emotions boiling over, stormed out of the house. Pete ran after her, pleading for forgiveness. But she had already made up her mind.
"Don't call me," she snapped, entering her car and driving off.
Pete, enraged and embarrassed, stomped back into the house, prepared to blame Kennedith for Alice's anger. But Kennedith remained calm.
"You didn't defend her when she needed you," he said coolly. "You stayed quiet because you were afraid of being targeted, just like the others. You're weak—and a disgrace to manhood. You couldn't keep Alice, and now what? You think siding with Kate will redeem you? Let me guess—you want her now?"
Pete began to protest, but Kate cut in with venom. "I'd never leave Kennedith for a weak man like you. You couldn't even defend your own girlfriend."
Pete walked out, humiliated.
Meanwhile, in the office upstairs, Aquileia received documents from Dr. Raymond. He instructed her to deliver them to Jedidiah for his signature—documents that would officially put Jedidiah in charge of the engineering team for a new project. Although Hayden would still oversee broader business strategy, this meant Jedidiah would now lead the most critical department.
Unbeknownst to them, Hayden had overheard everything. Rage twisted his thoughts, and he stormed out of the house.
Downstairs, Michelle and Michael were still processing everything. "Did you see how Dad defended Mom?" Michelle whispered.
"Yeah," Michael said. "That's a first. Pete couldn't even raise his voice. What a mess."
Soon, Hayden stomped past them. Michael greeted him with a nervous smile, but Hayden lashed out, throwing insults. Stunned, Michael stood frozen.
"Seems like everyone's losing their minds," Michael muttered.
"It all started when Jedidiah came back," Michelle replied.
Aquileia came down shortly after, exhausted and silent. Michael asked if something had happened, but she ignored him and walked out.