The Supreme Power Behind a Wheelchair

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Turn

Celeste grabbed Damien's arm firmly, stopping him from turning away.

“Mom, let him in!” she said sharply, her voice laced with determination.

Eleanor, who had been ready to shut the door in Damien’s face, looked at her daughter in shock.

“Celeste, he’s—” Eleanor started to argue, but Celeste cut her off.

Celeste knew if she let Damien leave now, Adrian would probably hire thugs to beat him up. Damien had hit Adrian for her sake. There was no way she could leave him to deal with the fallout on his own.

“He’s my husband, Mom!” Celeste declared, her voice rising.

Those words made Eleanor freeze. She couldn’t believe Celeste was speaking like this. For as long as Eleanor could remember, Celeste had shown nothing but disdain for Damien. She treated their marriage as the biggest mistake of her life. But now, here she was, standing up for him against her own mother.

Feeling defeated, Eleanor sighed and turned to head upstairs. She didn’t say another word, but the heavy stomp of her footsteps and the loud slam of her bedroom door made her feelings perfectly clear.

Celeste took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. After making sure Eleanor was truly gone, she looked at Damien with an unreadable expression.

“Come in,” she said quietly, stepping inside first.

Damien didn’t say a word, rolling his wheelchair after her at a steady pace. For Celeste, this was an incredibly awkward situation. Not long ago, she had asked Damien for a divorce, convinced their relationship wasn’t worth saving. And now here she was, bringing him back into her family’s home like nothing had ever happened.

They entered Celeste’s bedroom—a spacious, elegantly designed room that somehow still felt cold and impersonal. Damien stopped in the center of the room, watching as Celeste busied herself pulling an extra mattress from a large wardrobe in the corner.

She spread the mattress on the floor in a corner far from her bed. Adding a blanket and pillow, she ensured everything was neat before standing up and facing Damien.

“You’ll sleep here from now on,” she said coldly, not even glancing his way.

Damien nodded without protest, though a small pang of hurt pierced his chest. He knew their relationship was far from perfect, and Celeste still hadn’t fully accepted him as her husband.

The room grew silent. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts, neither making an effort to break the tension. The only sound was their breathing, filling the stillness like an unspoken reminder of their shared presence.

Then, Celeste’s phone rang, shattering the quiet. She jumped, startled, as if she hadn’t expected the call. Grabbing the phone from the table, she stared at the name on the screen.

Her face turned pale. With trembling hands, she answered the call, her voice barely above a whisper. “Hello?”

Damien watched her closely, noticing how her expression shifted. Something was clearly wrong.

“Celeste,” the voice on the other end was firm, filled with pressure, “starting today, you don’t need to work at Novatek anymore.”

The words hit Celeste like a brick wall.

She clutched her phone tightly, her eyes wide in disbelief. Her emotions swirled—shock, anger, and confusion all blending into one.

“What do you mean, Adrian?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady, though her heart raced.

Adrian laughed softly on the other end. “Grandma made the decision. You’re out of Novatek. It’s final, Celeste. She used her influence as the majority shareholder of Stratton Enterprises. Novatek is still one of our subsidiaries, you know. You’ve got no power against her.”

Celeste felt her knees weaken. Novatek was her blood, sweat, and tears. She had built that company from scratch, pouring everything she had into its success. And now it was ripped away without warning.

Adrian continued, his tone dripping with mockery. “I didn’t even have to lift a finger. Grandma took care of it all. You and your crippled husband will starve and get thrown out on the streets like stray dogs. Haha!”

Celeste froze. His words cut deeper than any blade. How could her own brother, her flesh and blood, say something so cruel?

“Adrian…” Celeste tried to speak, but her voice cracked.

“Don’t bother begging, sis,” Adrian said coldly. “You’ve lost. You should’ve known by now—there’s no place for someone like you in this family. Grandma just took back what you never deserved.”

Before Celeste could respond, Adrian hung up, his laughter lingering in her ears.

The room fell silent again, save for the sound of Celeste’s shaky breaths. Her body trembled, her hand clutching the phone felt numb. She stared at the dark screen, unable to process what had just happened.

From his spot in the corner, Damien observed her. He didn’t know what Adrian had said, but the anguish on Celeste’s face told him enough.

“Celeste,” Damien called softly, moving closer to her.

Celeste didn’t answer. Her eyes were still fixed on the phone, her mind racing. Adrian’s words echoed in her head.

"Starve… get thrown out like stray dogs…"

The pain she felt wasn’t just from losing Novatek. It was the deep sting of betrayal from her own family. Ever since she was a child, she had felt like the outcast—a second-class member of the family, overlooked simply for being born a girl.

She remembered how she had always struggled to earn their approval, constantly compared to Adrian, who was showered with love and attention. But no matter how much she had endured, she never thought Adrian would stoop this low.

“Celeste, what’s wrong?” Damien asked again, his concern growing.

Celeste shook her head, trying to steady herself. Speaking softly, almost as if to herself, she said, “My company… my hard work… all taken away because I told you to hit him?”

But deep down, she knew this wasn’t just about Damien punching Adrian. Since childhood, that spoiled brat had never faced consequences for anything he did to her.

“Celeste, tell me what happened,” Damien urged, his voice firm now, his eyes filled with worry.

But Celeste didn’t reply. She just stood there, frozen, her thoughts consumed by uncertainty. Losing her job at Novatek—the company she had built from nothing—was a blow she never expected.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and for a moment, it looked like she might break down completely.

Damien frowned as he watched her. Is my brother-in-law really so suicidal? Does one punch not wake him up?