What Happened to Margaux Patio during Half-Moon

Chapter 9

It was already dark out when the Patio family still stayed in the Patio estate, trying to sink in everything that had happened. But of course, there was still chaos present amongst family members.

"I bet Deborah's in on it." Peter III scoffed.

"Seriously?" Jet shook his head, "Did you just talk shit about your cousin?"

"Oh, don't pretend to be so nice, Jet." Peter III mocked, "You don't even have assets from grandma."

"So do you." Jet mocked back, "I don't even give a shit about grandma's assets. That's my sister you're talking about."

"Yeah, your sister who had no choice but to cover up your fucking laziness and being a pussy before you fucking man up after a century and decided to get yourself a job."

"Son of a bitch." Jet mumbled before a punching fight ensued, the rest of the cousins stopping both of them, Ben Everglade succeeding in separating them.

"You must be thanking the heavens, Ben. You're about to marry the head of the Patio family. You gonna use up all the fortunes huh?" Peter III laughed as Ben punched him square in the face, forming a cut on his lip as Amy lifted him up and stopped him from retaliating.

"I worked hard for my fucking company, Peter. My competition is myself." Ben shouted, "Unlike you, you fucking competed against Deborah, yet you lost to her all the time."

"What are you talking about, Ben?" Mary asked.

"I thought you'd tell your mom and dad, Peter." John said, disappointed as he shook his head.

"John?" Peter Jr. and Mary now turned to him, who looked at Diana.

"The cousins knew about it, auntie." Diana began, "Peter III did not graduate uni with highest honors. Deborah did. It's also not true that he is the richest grandchild of grandma. It's Deborah..." Diana trailed off, "Even richer now that additional assets were given to her." She mumbled.

John continued, "She was supposed to share her achievements to the entire Patio family, auntie. But you guys were cheering Peter III on as he took all the credit. Deborah decided to secretly tell everyone except you and uncle."

"Peter?" Peter Jr. looked to Peter III, tears brimming in his eyes over his son's lie.

"So what?" Peter III exclaimed, "It's mom's fault anyway. She always wanted me to outshine the rest of my cousins. I managed to beat Diana's achievements growing up. But you guys hated the fact that Deborah outshone all of us. She wanted me to beat her, but no matter what, I can never reach her bar. It would've been easier mom if you just killed Deborah."

"You knew about this, Mary?" Peter Jr. exclaimed.

"Yes!" Mary shouted, "I know Peter III did not achieve as much as Deborah. So before Deborah can tell everyone, I told Peter III to steal the credit, make it seem that he deserves being the next head of the Patio family."

"You jerk." David gritted his teeth in anger, "You have no idea how my daughter told me to keep my mouth shut just to feed your fucking ego."

"Hey-" Mary shouted at his brother-in-law.

"And you!" David cut him off, "We know you wanted to be better than everyone. But you fucking used your son for that?"

"You have no right to talk." Mary shouted, "Maybe you loved the fact that your daughter gets to have all the riches of mom."

"We're fucking old, Mary. We don't need them." Anne replied, "Perhaps you wanted them so badly. And knowing that you won't get any of them, you decided to take matters into your own hands and kill mom."

Another fight ensued, this time between sister-in-laws and the entire family stopping them.

~~

In a nature reserve far from the city, Deborah sat on the hood of the car while Peter Lee had been pacing around for hours, mumbling "What the fuck" over and over like a broken record.

Eventually, Deborah sighed, "Peter, could you calm down."

"Me?" Peter exclaimed, "Calm the fuck down?" He laughed hysterically, causing Deborah to roll her eyes, "Did you have something to do with it?"

"No!" Deborah exclaimed, "No one knew about grandma's will. I never even knew that I'd be having almost all of her assets. I'm just as shocked as you are."

"Then why did some of it belong to me?"

"Because she trusts you." She sighed as Peter suddenly went silent, "She knew that becoming the head of Patio family, I would need your help. And she's right. I need you more than ever right now."

Peter sighed, "She could've just given it to Ben."

"Ben had his own company to take care of. He has lots on his plate too." Deborah sighed, "I understand if you wish to give it up. Hell, I even wish to give it up. But this is what grandma would've wanted. And I really need your help."

Peter sighed and scratched the back of his head, "Fine. I accept the COO thing." Deborah smiled as she approached him and held his hand, "But what about the firm?"

"I'm not giving up on the firm. It's my baby." Deborah teased, "But you, given the share you'll have, you can now have your own law firm."

Peter smirked, "As much as I want to, but I am loyal to the new head of the Patio family."

"I am so lucky to have you, you know that?" Deborah whispered, smiling in gratitude.