Chapter 90. Stepbrother

Chapter 90: Chapter 90. Stepbrother

Chapter 90. Stepbrother

"I’m sorry, what?" Don asked.

Mrs. Lee folded her arms behind her back and stepped closer, broadening her shoulders in an attempt to look imposing. She deliberately avoided eye contact with his disconcerting eye, which was beginning to unnerve her.

"I said, get out of my house," she snapped. "Donatello—or whatever the fuck your name is—"

Don watched her quietly for a moment. A low chuckle escaped his throat, followed by a light snort. He tipped his head down, staring at the floor between them before meeting her gaze again.

"It’s Don," he said. "Simply Don Diaxu, to be precise."

"For the record, I never asked for your full name." She snapped back. "I want you out of my building!" she stated firmly.

Don scoffed. "May I know the reason for such a disrespectful act?" He raised an inquiring brow.

Mrs. Lee scoffed, gesturing in frustration. "I should be the one questioning your disrespectful act! Stepping into my apartment and completely ignoring me—the main person you came here to see! Treating me like I’m barely worth acknowledging, like I’m only a ten out of a ten-piece of a—"

Don raised both eyebrows at her sudden outburst. Oh wow, so much pride, he thought to himself, studying the fierce indignation on her face. So that’s the reason for her sudden attitude.

He folded his arms across his chest. "I didn’t fail to acknowledge you. I just noticed you now. Is that really so hard to accept?" he asked, his eyes half-closed with casual indifference.

Mrs. Lee snapped. "The fact remains, I don’t care about your excuses, and I don’t care what the fuck you want to do here. So yeah—get out of my building."

Don offered a faint smile and slowly turned his head to look over at Mia.

Mia blinked rapidly, holding her hands up in a sarcastic, bewildered gesture, completely unable to wrap her mind around what was happening. Don shook his head slightly before shifting his stance and keeping his arms folded.

"In any case," Don continued smoothly, "since you’re so eager to see me leave, I’m going to go. But I’m taking Rosa along with me. Is she here?" He glanced around the living room, his eyes scanning the space.

Mrs. Lee’s brow furrowed tightly, her eye twitching with irritation. "How the hell do you know Rosa? And why the hell do you think you can take her with you? She is not your property!"

Don smirked. "Does that make her yours?"

Mrs. Lee’s expression faltered for a fraction of a second before she locked eyes with him in an intense glare. A wicked smirk broke across her face. "Like I said, I don’t know who the fuck you are. I don’t give a fuck what you want or why you’re here. Your presence unsettles me, and I want you out. So get the fuck out of my building!"

Don chuckled and shook his head, completely unfazed. He stepped past her, casually strolling around the center of the living room with his hands tucked into his pockets, carrying himself as if he owned the space.

His eyes narrowed, shifting toward the dining table where Mac stood observing the scene. Mac blinked under the weight of Don’s intense scrutiny and quickly looked away, avoiding eye contact.

Don stared at him for a few minutes, the irritation hitting him square in the chest.

He scoffed.

Then he turned back toward Mrs. Lee, giving a subtle shrug. "Well, this place still looks similar to the way it was before. Even after all this time, nothing here has changed a bit."

Mrs. Lee frowned, her gaze tracking his every movement with growing suspicion.

Don raised an eyebrow and looked at her again. "I understand you’re holding onto this brazen confidence because Rosa is tied to the Lee Foster Foundation. But please—you’re only wasting your time right now. If you were actually competent and focused on your business duties instead of plotting how to ruin an innocent girl’s life, you probably would have recognized the minor changes that have taken place concerning the adopted children of the Lee Foster Foundation."

Mrs. Lee blinked, her forehead creasing as she tried to make sense of his words. "What the fuck are you talking about?" she murmured under her breath, forcing a cold, heavy grin onto her face.

Don tilted his head. "I don’t need to say too much. I’m here to pick up Rosa, and I am taking her with me as her official, formal legal guardian."

The statement dropped into the room like a heavy bomb.

Mia flinched where she stood to the side. Her eyes darted up to Don in sheer shock, her lips trembling with disbelief.

Mrs. Lee’s expression froze. She blinked once, then twice. A quiet scoff escaped her throat before she suddenly threw her head back and burst into a loud, ringing laugh. Her voice echoed off the living room walls—a harsh, mocking sound dripping with condescension.

Don kept his arms folded, his smile remaining neutral and unreadable. Not a single trace of tension showed on his face.

Over by the dining table, Mac’s eyes darted between Don and Mrs. Lee in disbelief. A deeply troubled look settled over his features, his forehead creasing with intense displeasure. He glared at Don with absolute fury burning in his eyes.

I really can’t stand this man, Mac thought bitterly, his jaw clenching tightly. Who the fuck does he think he is, coming in here and claiming Rosa as some sort of guardian? Isn’t he just the school’s dean and a lecturer? What kind of relationship does he even have with Rosa that I don’t know about?

The image of Don pressing his lips to Rosa’s cheek a few days ago flashed violently in Mac’s mind. His hands curled into tight fists. Every instinct urged him to step forward, to rush up to Don and punch him straight in the face, to ruin whatever scheme was playing out right in front of him. But for some strange reason, he felt completely paralyzed, hesitant to intrude on the adults’ confrontation.

Mrs. Lee’s laughter extended for quite some time. When it finally died down, a heavy silence settled over the room. Everyone stood quiet, watching her.

She closed her eyes briefly, breathing slowly as if trying to compose herself. When she opened them again, the momentary amusement was completely gone. There was nothing left in her eyes but pure madness and hatred as she glared at him.

"Who the hell do you think you are, coming in here like an imposter, trying to undermine and tarnish what I have built?" she demanded, her voice shaking with rage. "What the hell do you even know about the Lee Foster Foundation?"

Don smiled calmly. "Oh, believe me, I know a lot," he murmured. "More than you can imagine."

Mrs. Lee glared at him bitterly. Maya remained frozen on the sidelines, her eyes shifting frantically between Mrs. Lee and Don, desperately waiting for clarity.

"Get out of my mansion!" Mrs. Lee’s voice boomed across the space.

Don frowned slightly. "Like I said, I am not leaving until I have Rosa with me, ready to take home."

Mrs. Lee was violently trembling now, the rage potent in her eyes. She scoffed, trying to clear her tight throat.

Don smiled again, his tone cool and calculated. "I can see clearly that you don’t believe me. It’s understandable. You wouldn’t expect someone to walk in from nowhere and claim one of the kids in your foundation without your direct legal signature. But of course, you have an assistant who stands in the gap for you. You are the one who set it up that way. You stipulated those exact terms. How foolish of you! If you never wanted any of your adopted children escaping your notice, didn’t you actually consider a scenario like this?"

Mrs. Lee stared at him with wide, bloodshot eyes, barely containing her fury.

"I don’t want this to drag out any longer than it should," Don said calmly. "If you don’t believe me, call your assistant right now and ask about the name Don Diaxu. You’ll be informed that I finalized the last of the legal requirements today before heading over here. Yes, I’m here to take Rosa. So where is she, so we can get the fuck out of here?"

Mrs. Lee clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her eyelids fluttered, and her lips shook with rage. She took a sharp step toward him, thrusting a finger upward into his space as her threatening aura flooded the room, trying to exert dominance and put him back in his place.

Don remained completely unflinching. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, looking down at her with a raised eyebrow as she stepped closer.

"I don’t know who the fuck you think you are," she murmured, pointing up at his face, "but you are stepping into the wrong territory. You are playing a dangerous game. Do you know that?"

Don’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her. I should have known this woman was far more malicious and dangerous than I thought, he gritted out internally, his jaw clenching. Oh, poor Rosa... How long did you have to bear such hatred and wickedness?

He let a smirk slip onto his face. "I know exactly what game I’m playing. And my plan is to counter whatever wicked move you’re making before you can achieve whatever silly aim you think you have in mind."

Mrs. Lee’s expression faltered, her eyelids blinking rapidly as she ground her teeth together.

"You are not taking her anywhere!" she snapped. "I am her legal guardian, and there is nothing you could have done to break my tie to her without involving the full consequences of the law. It is going to end very, very tragically for you."

She leaned in closer, her voice filled with venom. "Just so you know, you are directly going against the express will of her parents. They stated clearly that they wanted their daughter watched over by nobody other than the Lee family. So much for whatever authority you think you have."

Don smiled faintly, leaning down slightly toward her. "You see, that is where you get things completely wrong. Because I have every right and every legal responsibility to claim Rosa."

Mrs. Lee’s eyelids fluttered in frustration. "What the fuck are you talking about? Don’t act smart with me!"

Don squinted his eyes slightly, his smirk broadening. "You seem to have forgotten. No problem... I guess I’m going to have to jog your memory."

Mrs. Lee glared at him, her eyes bloodshot and full of hostility.

Don’s gaze locked onto hers. "Have you forgotten my face? Get it clear once and for all: I am Don Diaxu," he repeated his name again. "The stepbrother of Rosa’s father."