"No. You will sit down now, or you will lose your portion of the inheritance. Do you wish to be cut out completely from my will? Because, boy, I will be heard!" He was enraged now. None of them had ever witnessed him so genuinely pissed off as a parent. He slammed his fists down on the desk and leaned forward, then pointed a shaking finger at his son, "You have been given everything you have ever asked for in life but you forget that I worked for every blasted penny I have made, boy. Your luxury rides on the back of MY enterprise, and I will do as I see fit to make sure it is protected. I will not have it.... squandered away by you and your siblings. As it is now, your sister, if she proves herself fit, will be my heiress and young Joseph will be groomed to take over my business when I die. I wouldn't have to worry that he is greedy because he knows what it is like to work for the money... but you... you and your brothers and sisters... What do you do?"

He paused and filled a glass with brandy until it was almost overflowing. "I have a son who is more interested in his dead friend, another son who... for all I know, rips wings off of butterflies just for the sadism of it," he was staring pointedly at Robert... "And your identical brothers, I wonder the same. I could keep going through every single one of you." The man tossed back the drink.

He shuddered and then he threw the glass into the fireplace, the shattering object laying in a glistening pile in the fire. "God damn it all!"