Billionaire's Regret Finding Her (Caitlin and Sebastian) novel Chapter 10

Willa and Xylia were utterly stunned. They hadn’t expected Caitlin to have recorded a video.

Seeing the footage of their two sons bullying Howard so cruelly, the two women didn’t dare utter another word. Guilt was written all over their faces as they lowered their heads.

Beatrice stood up, leaning on her cane. She struck the ground with it sharply.

*“Bang!”*

The sound reverberated through the hall, startling everyone.

“Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable! Kyle, Quinton—how could you do such a thing to Howard?”

Her heart broke as tears welled in her eyes.

Grace, ever eager to play the role of the dutiful daughter-in-law, stepped forward to console her. “Mother, please don’t upset yourself. It’s not worth harming your health.”

She turned to Howard, feigning concern. “Howard, dear, are you alright? Come to Grandma. Let me see if you’re hurt.”

Howard didn’t move toward Grace. Instead, he shuffled closer to Caitlin, burying himself in her embrace.

Caitlin knelt to hold her son, silently comforting and encouraging him.

Kyle and Quinton, seeing Beatrice’s anger, dared not act up. Instead, they burst into tears.

“Look at you two!” Beatrice scolded. “You bullied your little brother, and he didn’t cry. But now, after being called out, you’re the ones crying first! Are you the ones who’ve been wronged?”

Her scathing rebuke left the two boys seeking refuge in Willa and Xylia’s arms.

Willa, protective of her grandchildren, tried to downplay the situation. “Mother, Kyle and Quinton are just kids. They didn’t know any better; they were just playing around. I’ll have them apologize to Howard right now.”

She turned to her grandsons. “Apologize to your brother.”

But Kyle pouted defiantly. “I won’t! Grandma and Mommy said Howard’s a bastard anyway. We didn’t say anything wrong!”

A simple apology might have smoothed things over, but Kyle’s careless remark exposed the truth.

Caitlin’s cold smile deepened. “Beatrice, you heard him, didn’t you? People always say children don’t lie. Kyle just repeated exactly what he’s been taught.”

Beatrice’s fury mounted. She turned to Willa and Xylia, her face livid. “So this is how you’ve been raising them? You dared to call Howard a bastard? Howard is a Vanderbilt, my blood, and you have the gall to insult him like that?”

Tears of anger streamed down Beatrice’s face.

Willa stammered, “Mother… I… it was just an offhand comment. I never doubted Howard’s lineage—”

Xylia chimed in desperately, “Grandma, it was a joke! We didn’t mean it!”

“An offhand comment? A joke? Teaching children to insult their own brother? And that’s supposed to excuse it?”

Beatrice struck her cane on the ground again.

“Enough! Even if the children didn’t know better, you, as their guardians, should have! You deliberately taught them to behave like this. If I don’t enforce discipline today, I’ll be failing the Vanderbilt name and our ancestors!”

“Mother, please—”

“Grandma, we’re so sorry! Please forgive us!”

The two women clung to Beatrice’s clothes, begging for mercy. But Beatrice’s expression remained icy.

“Marcus!” she commanded. “Fetch the family whip!”

The mention of the family whip sent Willa and Xylia to their knees.

*“Thud!”*

They dropped to the ground, wailing, “Mother, no! Please don’t!”

“Grandma, we’ll never do it again! Please spare us!”

Their pleas fell on deaf ears. Beatrice’s authority was absolute.

Moments later, Marcus returned with the family whip—a black leather lash with the Vanderbilt family’s motto engraved on the handle.

“Beatrice, the family whip is here,” Marcus announced.

“Good. Begin. Fifty lashes each!”

“No! Please, Beatrice—” Willa tried to appeal to Grace. “Sister-in-law, help me! Please speak up for me!”

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