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Chapter 5 Even if you beat me to death, I won't recognize her!

As expected, the approach was very direct.

"Do I really need to take off my clothes for the exam?" Alaric stood still, showing no intention of undressing.

"It's not necessary, but it would make the examination easier. Since you prefer not to, we'll skip it."

Galatea reluctantly advanced with the stethoscope in hand, murmuring, "I'm going to reach in now."

As Galatea pressed the stethoscope against his chest through his shirt, Alaric suddenly seized her wrist with a force that made her wince in pain.

"What do you think you're doing?" Galatea glared at him, her eyes filled with anger.

"The question is, what are ‘YOU’ doing?" he retorted, annoyed by her act of feigned innocence. Brainwashing his son and yet playing the victim here?

Galatea was speechless. She'd met many patients, but Alaric was one of a kind in terms of difficulty.

"Since you're so reserved, Mr. Knight, perhaps you'd prefer a male doctor," she suggested. He didn't want her to touch him, yet he specifically asked for her to conduct his physical exam.

"Still pretending, I see." Alaric's expression darkened, "Even after a visit to the police station, you still show no remorse? Are you asking to be locked up?"

‘What? He was the one who called the police?’ Galatea was genuinely shocked.

Disgusted, Galatea set the stethoscope aside, her eyes cooling, "What are you implying? I've just returned to the States; how have I possibly offended you?"

The man was a CEO. Was he also playing the role of a concerned citizen now? She did not believe that it wasn't personal.

"You don't know what you've done?" Alaric huffed disdainfully, "So unrepentant; I shouldn't have bailed you out so easily!"

"This is ridiculous!" Galatea was truly infuriated, "I was just having a meal with my son; how is that any of your business? First, you filed a police report against me, and now, you’re harassing me at my workplace. If you continue this nonsense, I'll be the one calling the police on you!"

"Your son?" Alaric's voice barely contained his fury. "You dare claim he's your son?"

"He is my son! Why wouldn't I say it?" Galatea fired back, her anger flaring. "Mr. Knight, if you're so fond of kids, get yourself a wife and have your own. Coveting someone else's child is just despicable!"

"Say that again!" Alaric's dark eyes blazed with a lethal intensity as he backed her into a corner, their proximity almost suffocating.

Galatea, though taken aback by the threat, was also bewildered. Was this man suffering from schizophrenia and delusions?

"He is my son!" Despite the overwhelming sense of menace, this was a point on which Galatea would not budge.

The room fell into a deathly silence where even the sound of breathing could be heard. Alaric's towering frame seemed poised to engulf her.

"Do you want to strangle me?" As a feeling of asphyxiation grew, Galatea's breath started to quicken.

Then, a ringtone shattered the tension, and Alaric's frown deepened as he took the call.

"Mr. Knight! Caspian is having an episode!"

Alaric tensed up at the news. Caspian hadn't had an episode in nearly a year. He'd been so careful—how could this be happening now?

"We'll settle this later!" With those words, Alaric turned and strode away.

Galatea let out a huge sigh of relief, and couldn't help but silently curse. What a jerk!

Alaric rushed back to the mansion nonstop. As soon as the car pulled into the driveway, a woman in a light dress with sandy, wavy hair and heels ran out hurriedly.

It was Orion, her face etched with fear of reproach, and she called out weakly, "Alaric."

He didn't spare her a glance as he walked past her and directly into the hall, which was in complete disarray, with broken objects strewn all over the floor.

Caspian sat on the ground, leaning against the sofa, his eyes filled with defiance, a stark contrast to his usually compliant and sensible demeanor.

"Caspian." Alaric moved to pick him up, but Caspian shoved him away with a sharp, "Don't touch me! Nobody touches me!"

Caspian's secondary personality surfaced during these episodes, turning him rebellious and irritable, sometimes even leading to self-harm.

Alaric was always gentle with him, but now he had to be even more accommodating.

"Okay, I won't touch you," Alaric stepped back, then demanded of the butler in a stern voice, "What happened?"

"Mr. Knight," Liona glanced nervously at Orion, "Ms. Nash is back. It was just her and Caspian in the lobby; we have no idea what happened, and then moments later, this situation unfolded."

"I didn't do anything, I swear," Orion rushed to explain, bewildered. "I don't know why Caspian’s like this."

"Didn’t I tell you not to return?" Alaric's tone was stern and reprimanding, causing Orion to flinch. Her voice softened, edged with a whimper of injustice, "I just bought Caspian his favorite dessert. I thought it would be nice to bring it to him right away."

"Get out!" Alaric barked at Orion, who felt a mix of anger and defiance, but with Alaric's command, she had no choice but to leave.

"Wait!"

Orion's eyes lit up at the word; was she being asked to stay?

"Call Cormac and tell him to come here immediately!"

Cormac, Orion's brother, was a well-known psychologist and practically Caspian's private doctor. When Caspian first fell ill, Cormac was there nearly every day, but as Caspian's condition stabilized over the past year, his visits had become less frequent.

"Got it," Orion replied reluctantly and exited the lobby to phone Cormac.

"Caspian, she's gone now. Take your medicine." Alaric had just taken the medication from Liona and was about to hand it to Caspian when he violently snatched it away and scattered the pills on the floor before fiercely shoving Alaric.

"You liar!" Caspian's emotions erupted. "You promised if I behaved, you'd let that woman be my mom, but you let Orion come back. I've told you so many times she's not my mom; she isn't!"

Caspian had pushed Alaric, causing him to get cut by the shards on the floor, blood slowly seeping out.

"Mr. Knight!" The sight of an injured Alaric panicked the household staff, combined with his icy glare, and it was apparent he was truly angered and out of patience.

"You don't get to choose who your mother is. No matter how much you like that woman, she's not your mother. And no matter how much you dislike Orion, she is your mother, do you hear me?" Alaric's voice thundered.

"I don't want her!" Trembling, Caspian stood his ground, glaring back at Alaric and shouting defiantly, "I'll choose my own mother. I'll never accept Orion!"

His voice was piercing and shrill.

"Caspian!" Hearing his son's disrespectful outburst, Alaric's anger surged and his hand shot up in a swift motion, but Caspian met his gaze head-on, his young head held high as he declared, "Even if you beat me to death, I won't accept her as my mother!"

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