Chapter 956 As You Wish

• Xyla’s lips refused to move. A thin, unsteady breath trembled between them, but no sound escaped. She could see it in Howard’s shoulders—stone-hard, immovable. He had nailed his mind to the family code, and nothing she said would pry it loose. Perhaps duty fueled him. Yet something hotter churned beneath the surface: Dominic, that woman’s boy from so many years ago, still a splinter in his pride. Right now, Howard stood on the blazing peak of anger. Any plea Xyla voiced would only hurl more oil onto that fire and turn Raymond’s punishment even crueler.
• “Raymond, please—apologize to your father. Beg him to stop before he strikes again.” Xyla’s words tumbled out in a panicked rush as she clutched her son’s arm.
• “Mom, it’s pointless—I already begged. It changed nothing!” Tears streaked down Raymond’s face. His voice cracked, yet in the crack a raw defiance began to ring. “He never once saw me as his son…” A surge of reckless courage—he had no idea where it came from—thrust his chin up toward Howard. “Go on then! You’ve already broken one leg. Why stop now? Break the other one too—finish the job!”