You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 578

A furious voice rang out behind her as Tina stormed in, heels pounding against the floor.

“Really, Patricia? Your Uncle Emerson hasn’t even been convicted yet, and you’re already poking through his stuff?”

Patricia smiled, but there was nothing warm about it. “Aunt Tina, don’t kid yourself. Whether or not Uncle Emerson is found guilty doesn’t change the fact that I’m the new acting CEO of Martin Group.”

She took a step forward, closing the gap between them. “But what about you, Aunt Tina? Shouldn’t you be out there trying to help him instead of picking a fight with me? Or is it true what people are saying? Was all of this your doing from the start?”

Tina’s voice shook with anger. “Patricia, you know exactly who’s behind this. You’re not fooling anyone.”

Patricia let out a cold laugh. “Oh, I know all right. That’s why I’m asking you, Aunt Tina.”

She knew exactly how things had gotten to this point. She knew exactly what kind of people Tina and her family really were.

Tina was trembling now, her finger jabbing accusingly at Patricia. “Patricia, you’re nothing but ruthless and ambitious.”

Patricia’s eyes hardened. “If you want to talk about ruthless, look at your own family. You lived off us, took our money, let us bail you out when you were down and out. And what did you do in return? You cost my parents their lives. We gave you everything. You paid us back with betrayal. Not only that, you’re still trying to tear me down.”

She grabbed Tina by the collar and yanked her close, her words icy and deliberate. “You love taking what’s mine, don’t you? Wasn’t your daughter’s lesson harsh enough? All this talk about taking the best and leaving the rest—sorry, that doesn’t work on me.”

“If you want what I have, you take all of it. That means my ruined leg, and those years I spent wishing I was dead.”

Patricia shoved Tina away. Tina stumbled backward, slamming into the door with a loud bang.

“You plot and scheme, but this is all you’ve got.”

Patricia’s stare was ice cold. “I’ll be waiting for the day you crawl to me and beg—just like Kelly.”

No one who had hurt her would ever get away with it. Not anymore.

***

Patricia was clearly in a hurry to see this case wrapped up. Every time he hit a wall, someone from her camp just happened to show up at the right moment to give him a nudge—like clockwork. Today was no different.

Emerson’s case was stuck. He refused to talk, and without a confession, the charges wouldn’t hold for long. Wilma’s evidence pointed to Emerson hiring a hitman over money problems, but that was all they had.

They could arrest him, but there wasn’t enough for a serious sentence.

Just when Brandon was about to lose hope, Jackson strolled in.

You had to admit—Patricia had a long reach.

Brandon had handled enough murder cases to know how this worked. Most people would have cracked under this kind of pressure long ago.

But this was Jackson—someone who never played by anyone else’s rules.