He placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to calm her down. Right now, emotional support was all he could offer.
'I can't believe things turn out like this,'
Just as her cries began to quiet down, a group of people suddenly came rushing toward them.
Effie stood up. "Tiffany—"
SLAP!
Terrence stood up, to protect her.
"What the hell are you doing?" he asked through clenched teeth.
Tiffany stared, not recognizing who he was.
"Terrence? " Her expression twisted with anger. "You… ungrateful child. I can't believe you did that to my brother. Your uncle!"
"I did the right thing,"
"Shut up! You're nothing but a loser who leeches off your uncle's kindness and your parents' inheritance. And now you put him in this situation? Do you feel proud about yourself?"
He didn't respond. Arguing with someone like her felt beneath him.
"And you?" She turned to Effie.
"He took you in when you had nothing but a pretty face, and you actually threatened to report him? Don't you feel any shame after spending all his money?"
Her hand whipped up again, but Terrence caught her wrist before it could land.
"Watch your mouth, Aunt Tiffany, or Uncle Tyler won't be the only one I deal with tonight."
She didn't believe him at first, but then a female officer spoke up.
"If I were you, I'd listen. Your brother got beaten so badly—we had to put stitches on his face."
Tiffany quickly pulled her hand back.
However, her husband stepped forward and grabbed Terrence's shoulder.
"Watch your tone, kid. That's your aunt you're talking to."
Terrence caught his wrist and squeezed.
"AHHH!" He crumpled to his knees, jaw clenched against the pain.
The female officer looked away. She knew the crime Tyler committed, so she didn't like seeing these people take out their anger on the wrong target.
Trevor, one of his cousins, stepped forward to talk it out.
"Take one more step, and you're next after your father." Terrence looked ready to beat anyone who got too close.
"Cousin, stop this. We're family," Trevor pleaded, trying to use reason.
"Family? You don't get to use that word here, not after how you treated us." He shoved his uncle to the floor.
"If anyone's to blame, it's Uncle Tyler. We just did what was right. He's a criminal who belongs in jail."
A bitter laugh slipped from Tiffany. "Right—beating up your own family? Is that what you call doing the right thing?"
"Hypocrite," he snapped. "You hit Aunt Effie first. So what? She's not family?"
Tiffany clenched her fist. "You could've told us first. We could have handled this privately. Do you know what you did? You didn't just damage his reputation—you ruined our family name!"
Terrence let out a dry laugh. "So in the end, it's all just about your precious reputation."
Her face twisted. "Our reputation was built through generations, something you'll never understand."
Terrence's eyes burned with annoyance as he took a step forward.
"Understand?" His hands shook. "If you really cared about family, you would've disciplined him from the start. "
Everything went quiet for a few seconds.
Then he yelled, "SO DON'T ACT FUCKING SURPRISED NOW!"
No one dared to say a word.
He turned to Effie. "Let's go. No use talking to people who only care about themselves."