Chapter 10 Family Showdown

"Why-what?" Britney stammered, her voice quivering as her gaze darted around the room, searching for an escape. Panic crept into her wide eyes, but Beth-Beth, her ever-protective mother-wasn't looking at her with sympathy anymore. Instead, her expression twisted from guilt to raw defiance.

"She most certainly will NOT!" Beth snapped, her chair scraping against the floor as she shot up to her feet, hands clenched into fists.

"Oh, yes, she will," Wyatt countered, his voice laced with amusement as he leaned back, arms folded. "And we're not talking about just any school. Military school should teach her how to be a decent human being."

Britney's face contorted, her lips trembling, then-just like that-her emotions switched. The tears vanished. Her expression darkened into something almost... inhuman. A smirk twitched at the corners of her mouth before twisting into a snarl.

"NO!" she shrieked, stamping her foot like a petulant child before her voice dipped into something more venomous. "I didn't do anything to deserve this! You should send your stupid sons to military school, not me!"

Upstairs, Matt and Sean, who had been listening in with shit-eating grins, suddenly tensed.

"My sons," Wyatt's voice remained calm, almost too calm, "have done nothing to harm this family, Missy. We are talking about you and your acts of unkindness." His arms remained folded, his stance unshaken.

"Oh yeah?" Britney shot back, her voice dripping with spite. "Well, I know that your precious sons did-"

"Enough." Wyatt's voice sliced through the air like a blade, sharp and final. "It's time for you to face the consequences for your actions. I have seen the footage from the security cameras, Britney. Every single disgusting thing you've done. I cant even bare to think of things you have done off camera."

Anastasia, who had been half-asleep in her room, was jolted awake by the escalating argument. Rushing to the staircase, she found Matt and Sean gripping the railing so tightly their knuckles were white.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

Matt didn't even glance at her as he murmured, "Britney is finally getting what she deserves."

Anastasia blinked. "What do you mean? You two have worshipped the ground she walks on since day one."

That got their attention. Both boys snapped their heads toward her, their expressions suddenly unreadable.

"What?" she frowned.

"We did like her at first," Sean muttered darkly, "but then we realized what she was doing to you."

Anastasia inhaled sharply. "You knew?"

"Of course, we knew," Matt scoffed. "We're not blind or deaf."

Anastasia's stomach twisted. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

Sean's jaw tightened. "We tried. But she's always lurking, listening. Every time we got close to warning you, she'd threaten to spill our secrets."

Matt's expression darkened. "That's how we found out she's a sneaky little eavesdropper. She caught us talking about her in our rooms and started blackmailing us."

Anastasia stared at them, her mind racing. "What kind of secrets are we talking about?"

Sean smirked. "We'll discuss that after we see Britney's world burn."

Back in the living room, Wyatt's patience was running thin. "I will give you one last chance to confess everything, Britney. If you do, you'll go to military school for two years. If not, you're going for a long, long time. That means no high school or college experience, no friends, no freedom. Social Suicide I believe they call it."

Britney's lips parted, but Beth interrupted before she could respond. "Wyatt, she is my daughter. You cannot just make decisions like that! I will not allow it!"

Wyatt's gaze snapped to his wife. "Beth, when we married, she became my daughter as well. And considering you took part in this, you are in no position to allow anything right now."

Beth's mouth opened, but Wyatt wasn't finished. "If you dare say one more word, so help me, I will divorce you so fast your head will spin."

The entire house went still.

Anastasia, Matt, and Sean exchanged stunned glances, trying to process the fact that Wyatt-calm, controlled, lawyer Wyatt-had just threatened their stepmother with divorce.

Beth collapsed back into her seat, her face paling. She knew he wasn't bluffing.

Britney, however, had no such self-preservation instincts. "FINE!" she shrieked. "I did it all, okay?! I made Anastasia's life miserable! I enjoyed every second of it!"

Wyatt exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples. "That's... unfortunate, Britney." He met her gaze, something like disappointment flickering in his eyes. "Maybe military school can help you rethink that. Especially since one of your actions may have resulted in tragedy."

Britney's cocky smirk faltered but found her footing again. "Well, I'm not going alone." She turned to Wyatt, eyes glinting with pure malice. "Did you know your sons robbed a liquor store? Did you know they set the basement on fire at school? Oh, and let's not forget the weed-"

Upstairs, Matt's face went pale. "That little-"

Anastasia shoved a hand against his chest, stopping him mid-step. "Wait."

Wyatt's expression didn't change. He simply exhaled through his nose. "I already knew."

Britney blinked. "W-what?"

"I knew about their past mistakes but these was acts of anger from losing their mother which was already punishment enough."

Britney floundered, her mouth opening and closing, grasping for a way out. "But-but-"

"I take it you used their past to keep them from telling me what you were doing to Anastasia?" Wyatt pressed.

Britney's silence was all the confirmation he needed.

"Well, Britney," he sighed, standing taller. "That seals it. You're going to military school until you graduate."

Britney's scream was raw, ugly, full of rage. "YOU TRICKED ME! YOU SAID TWO YEARS!"

Wyatt shrugged. "You conveniently left out the blackmail and you have no remorse in the awful acts you did. Now go upstairs and pack. You leave first thing in the morning."

Beth's voice was hollow. "You haven't even applied to a school."

Wyatt's smile was cold. "One of my clients owns a military school. By the time we arrive, her registration will be done."

Britney let out an ear-piercing wail before bolting upstairs. The moment she reached the landing, she froze.

Matt, Sean, and Anastasia stood in a row, arms crossed, their faces smug.

"Revenge is sweet, isn't it?" Matt murmured.

Britney's lip curled as she stormed past them, slamming her door so hard the walls trembled.

The siblings exchanged grins-until a voice sliced through the tension like a knife.

Low. Menacing. Laced with venom.

"Anastasia, you spoiled, attention-seeking little bitch."