Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

The matriarch sat on the edge of the bed, her face tight with anger.

She laid out everything Kayla had done, her sharp gaze never leaving the woman kneeling in the center of the room.

Kayla was pale, but she held herself upright. "Mom, this was all me. If you want to punish someone, punish me. I'm the one who couldn't let it go."

She kept kneeling, bowing her head again and again until blood streaked down her forehead. "I just can't accept it! I have two sons, and neither of them ever got a chance! I can't accept that Ethan died for no reason. I can't accept that all of you know the truth, but you're so scared of Dylan's power that you just pretend not to see. Is everyone in the Ferguson family disposable except for him?"

Dylan's expression barely changed as he leaned back in his chair. "Lincoln tried to kill me more times than I can count over the years. If you really cared about your sons, why didn't you talk him out of it? Or maybe, deep down, you hoped he'd succeed."

Kayla stiffened, her fists clenching. "How do you know it was Ethan?”

Dylan closed his eyes, his voice calm and quiet. "I gave him chance after chance. Aaron too. You say you've done everything for the Ferguson family? For more than ten years you've lived in comfort-designer clothes, gourmet food, a whole staff at your beck and call. What have you really suffered?"

Kayla's face went even paler, her lips trembling. "All of that was from the Ferguson family! What does it have to do with you? Why do you get to take all the credit?"

Dylan let out a soft laugh. "You clearly haven't checked the company's numbers. Since I took over, Ferguson Corporation's value has grown almost tenfold. Have you ever counted how much your own wealth has increased?"noveldrama

Blood ran down Kayla's forehead as she bit her lip so hard she tasted metal.

Her voice shot up, wild and desperate. "I just can't stand it-why does the Ferguson family have to have a Dylan? You make my sons look like jokes! Why do we all have to live in your shadow? If you were gone, the Ferguson family would belong to my sons! Aaron has worked himself to the bone overseas for years, and none of you noticed! Why?! As long as Dylan is here, no one else matters..."

Sometimes, someone else's

brilliance can drive you crazy. When you've tried everything and still can't catch up, you stop wanting to be better-you just want to tear down the person casting that shadow.

That way, you can finally stop trying.

Kayla was dragged out. No one else said a word.

Dylan's words had been a warning to all of them.

Who here hadn't tried to pull something behind his back, secretly hoping Dylan would finally fail? But he was just too strong. No matter how hard they tried, he always came out on top.

The only time he'd ever really gotten hurt was in that car accident with Clara.

Everyone's faces looked sour, and the matriarch took the chance to drive her point home.

"I don't care what you're all thinking. You've seen how much the

Ferguson family has grown these past years. No one but Dylan is right for this job. If anyone tries

something again, don't blame others for fighting back. Some of you have had it easy for so long you've forgotten why. Dylan's been in charge for over a decade and has

never wronged you. And yet you all treat him like the enemy. Who wouldn't feel bitter?”

Her face was flushed with anger. Just thinking about Kayla's twisted expression

made her chest ache.

Dylan had never really had family—just responsibility.

She started to wonder if forcing him and Tara together would finally make him give

up on the Ferguson family for good.

She felt tired, waving her hand. "That's enough. Everyone out."