James Horne saw from afar his older brother's two bodyguards dragging his mother out of the villa, and at that moment, his heart lurched, then sank heavily.

He knew his older brother had little regard for his mother. However, out of consideration for him, and for the deep love his stepmother, Mila Anderson, still held for their father, his brother had always restrained himself. He had never lashed out at his mother or father. Now, witnessing this scene, he knew his mother must have caused a major disaster to compel his brother to throw her out.

As early as when his mother called him, saying she wanted to come back to the Horne Family with him for the Little New Year's dinner, he had a bad premonition. That was why he had returned early today, even before his workday ended. Unfortunately, he was still a step too late; his mother had come by herself.

James was deeply dissatisfied and exasperated by Pheobe Rogers's 'disobedience'.

Wasn't his mother aware of the kind of life he led in the Horne Family? If his older brother hadn't valued their fraternal bond, he would have been treated worse than a servant, let alone achieve what he had today. Yet his mother herself had clearly signed an agreement with his stepmother, Mila Anderson, years ago, voluntarily renouncing, on his behalf, all rights to inherit the Horne family fortune. Now, nearly thirty years later, she had come back to renege on that agreement. Doing so would only further diminish the little maternal bond that remained between them.

Sometimes, he would rather deal with his aloof stepmother, Mila Anderson. Although she paid him little attention, at least she wouldn't bother him or try to use him like his biological mother did.

SQUEAK.

James's red Audi came to a stop.

At that moment, right in front of him, the two bodyguards threw Pheobe Rogers onto the ground. She cried out in pain. Seeing James had returned, she deliberately screamed very loudly. Although not as well-maintained as Mila Anderson, her face, still possessing a certain charm, was now etched with grievance as she lay on the ground. She didn't immediately get up. She intended for James to help her up, wanting to use the opportunity to show him how Glades Horne had bullied her and thereby drive a wedge between the brothers.

James opened the car door. His black leather shoes landed heavily on the ground as he emerged. His deep black eyes quickly scanned the villa, its main gate flung open. In the courtyard, he saw the old matriarch and others seated, their faces etched with displeasure and an unwelcoming air towards Pheobe Rogers. His father, older brother, and sister-in-law stood on the path not far from the villa's main entrance. His older brother, like him, was dressed in a black suit. His similarly handsome face was masked by a gloomy expression; his sword-like brows were sharply angled, and a chilling aura emanated from him unintentionally. His lips were tightly pursed, a characteristic habit of his brother's. However, James had sensitively noted that since his brother married, he rarely pursed his lips when Julia was present.

His father looked furious; he was probably trying to plead for his mother but wasn't being accepted by his older brother.

And Julia Bluen, the woman he cherished most, wore a coolly indifferent expression on her pretty, oval face. She wasn't a cold person; if she showed indifference, it meant she was angry and didn't want to engage with anyone.

A few swift glances were enough for James to clearly read the expressions of every family member in the courtyard.

His heavy footsteps carried him forward until he stood before Pheobe Rogers. She was sprawled on the ground, wailing and shrieking, her usual image gone, resembling more of a shrew.

James stood over his mother, looking down at her with a profound, scrutinizing gaze. He knew his mother's origins were humble, far from the affluence of his stepmother, Mila Anderson. Yet, in his memory, his mother had possessed a certain elegance. He had never seen her in such a state; she seemed so unfamiliar, as if he didn't recognize her at all.

"Mom," he called out softly and heavily, a hint of heartache in his voice.

As a son, seeing his mother in such a state still inevitably pierced his heart with pain.

From his mother's perspective, she was indeed a pitiable figure. She had fallen in love with a married man, couldn't bring herself to leave him, and thus made a mistake that defined her life. She even had him, but mother and son were separated from an early age. His mother had sent him to be acknowledged by the Horne clan, hoping he would have a better life; of course, she also hoped to use him to fulfill her own desire to marry his father. Now in her fifties, more than half her life over, she was still branded as 'the other woman.' Unable to secure a proper status for herself or achieve her heart's desires, her resentment was understandable.

From his stepmother's perspective, however, his mother was an utterly detestable woman. Knowing full well that his father was already married and had a son, she still rushed in like a moth to a flame. Never mind that his father had also been swayed; it takes two to tango, after all. If his mother hadn't barged in, would his father have strayed? A third party meddling in another's marriage and family, a homewrecker—regardless of her justifications, her actions were shameful. No matter how much perceived injustice or unfair treatment she endured, she would receive no sympathy.

The path was her own choosing; she had to bear the consequences herself.

No matter how discordant other people's marriages and families were, that was never an excuse for interference.

If his mother hadn't coveted the Horne family's wealth, hadn't vainly hoped to replace his stepmother's position in the Horne Family, she should have left thirty years ago, found a good man, and remarried.

But... at the end of the day, she was still his mother. She had carried him for ten months and lived with him for a time. Even after he was sent to the Horne Family, he still saw her regularly.

Caught in the middle, he was the most innocent, the one who suffered the most.

If only his mother had a shred of self-awareness, perhaps he wouldn't be living a life of being overlooked in the Horne Family.

Yet, his mother couldn't stop stirring up trouble.

In the past, when his father was younger and held the family's financial power, his mother had indeed lived a more carefree and comfortable life than his stepmother, Mila Anderson, during those dozen or so years. But now, everything was in his older brother's hands.

How could his older brother—who had accompanied his own mother, Mila Anderson, through those long years, witnessing their father's infidelity from a young age, watching her wait in an empty marriage bed, hoping for her husband's return until dawn—truly not hate James's mother? Why did his mother still come to provoke his older brother? Had she ever spared a thought for him, her son?

"James, James, look! Your most respected older brother, the one you value more than your own mother—this is how he treats your biological mother! At my age, he actually had people drag me out and throw me onto this cold, hard ground..." Pheobe Rogers immediately started sobbing, pouring out her grievances to her son.