Chapter 10: The Uncle's Claim

For a long moment, the grand ballroom was completely silent. Every guest seemed to be holding their breath.

All eyes turned toward the source of that commanding voice. Roman walked calmly through the crowd, his presence commanding immediate attention. Nathan began trembling visibly.

"U-Uncle?" Nathan stammered, his voice shaking with fear.

Roman's gaze was ice-cold as he looked at Nathan's raised hand, still frozen in the air. "Tell me," he said, his voice dangerously low, "were you about to strike your aunt?"

Nathan's hand dropped to his side like he'd been burned. The crowd buzzed with confusion and shock. Alexander looked completely bewildered. Evelyn's mind was reeling. Uncle? This was Nathan's feared uncle? Nathan had actually sent her to his own uncle's bed? And what did he mean about being pregnant?

Roberts, Nathan's father, finally found his voice. "Roman, perhaps you could explain yourself? Do you understand what you're implying? She is your nephew's fiancée."

Roman let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Ah, so now he remembers he has a fiancée? Your son is quite something." Nathan immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Alexander slammed his walking stick on the marble floor. "Explain yourself! Now!"

Roman ignored the frantic stares around him. He slowly pulled out a cigarette, lit it with deliberate calm, and took a long drag. The smoke curled around his face as he surveyed the room. No one dared to rush him—they all knew his reputation.

When he finally spoke, his voice cut through the silence. "Evelyn is pregnant with my child. That automatically makes her your aunt, Nathan."

Nathan's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Alexander looked like he might have a heart attack from shock. Maya and Claire trembled with disbelief. Even Evelyn was as confused as hell. The crowd was frozen, not wanting to miss a single word.

Nathan turned to Evelyn, his face twisted with rage and confusion. "You! You've been sleeping with my uncle, and you had the nerve to accuse me of cheating?"

Robert stepped forward angrily. "Roman, you slept with your nephew's bride-to-be?"

Alexander's fury exploded. He swung his walking stick and struck Roman hard on the head. A loud ‘PAH’ sounded in the hall, shocking everyone. Blood immediately trickled down Roman's temple, drawing gasps around. It was the first time anyone had seen the patriarch strike his favorite son so violently.

Roman didn't even flinch. He calmly took a handkerchief from one of his men and wiped away the blood. "Nathan, you have it completely wrong," he said steadily. "She didn't betray you. Unlike you, who cheated with her stepsister and got her pregnant, I took advantage of Evelyn when she was vulnerable. She didn't even know who I was that night. Now I'm stepping up to take responsibility for my actions."

The crowd was stunned into an even deeper silence.

He turned to his furious father. "Since your grandson is incapable of treasuring what he has, I'll do it for him."

Alexander, seeing the complete seriousness in his son's eyes, felt doubt creeping in. "Are you saying what Evelyn claimed earlier is true?"

Roman looked directly at Evelyn. "Evelyn, come here."

Though confused and hesitant, Evelyn slowly walked toward him. Every eye in the room followed her movement.

Roman spoke gently to her. "That USB drive couldn't have been your only copy. Where's the real evidence?"

Evelyn nodded and pulled out her phone. Roman looked at her with a mixture of anger and concern. "Foolish girl. You had this proof all along and let them humiliate you?"

"I was afraid they'd destroy it," she whispered softly.

Seeing her vulnerable state, Roman felt something tighten in his chest. He took the phone from her. "For the sake of this family's reputation, I won't show this to the entire room. But Father, you need to see the truth."

He played the video for Alexander. Immediately, passionate sounds filled the air—Nathan and Maya's voices clearly audible as they called each other's names in the throes of passion.

The crowd erupted into barely controlled chaos, everyone straining to see what was being played. Alexander's face went pale, then red with rage as he pointed a trembling finger at Nathan.

"NATHAN! What is the meaning of this? You slept with your fiancée's stepsister?"

Nathan fell to his knees on the cold marble, knowing his life was over. Maya, wishing the earth would swallow her whole, dropped down beside him, both of them shaking with fear.

The crowd's reaction was immediate and brutal.

"Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!"

"How could they be so shameless?"

"Sleeping with your fiancée's sister? How low can you sink?"

"And she's pregnant! What a scandal!"

“What a bastard and a bitch!!”

The harsh judgment drove Maya to desperation. She decided to play the victim one last time. She clung to Nathan, tears streaming down her face. "Grandfather, please understand! We truly love each other! The family engagement forced us to hide our feelings! We didn't know what else to do!"

Seeing her performance, Nathan suddenly felt a surge of misguided righteousness. He decided to double down on their story. "It's all my fault! I couldn't help myself! She tried to stay away from me to protect Evelyn, she even wanted to end the pregnancy, but I begged her not to!"

They put on quite the show, acting like tragic lovers kept apart by cruel fate. While most guests looked on with disgust, a few romantic souls actually sighed at their "tragic love story" and began to see Evelyn as the obstacle to true love.

But Alexander wasn't buying any of it. In a fit of pure rage, he grabbed the expensive painting Maya had given him and smashed it over Nathan's head.

CRACK!

The ornate frame splintered into pieces. Nathan collapsed, dazed and bleeding.

Isabella shrieked and rushed to her son's side. "Father! How could you be so violent? He's your own grandson!"

The old man's voice shook with fury. "A grandson? I have others who know how to behave with honor. From this day forward, he is no grandson of mine!"

Isabella, crying and enraged, pointed an accusatory finger at Roman. "If you're disowning Nathan for his affair, then you must also disown your son! He slept with his nephew's fiancée! He's just as guilty!"

Alexander slammed his fist down. "Are you all trying to destroy this family completely?"

Marcus tried to intervene and calm the situation. "Father, perhaps we should discuss this privately—"

He was completely ignored, as if he were invisible. His siblings watched with a mixture of pity and relief that they weren't involved in the scandal.

Alexander turned his blazing gaze to Maya, who was still sobbing on the floor. "Girl! How long have you been pregnant? Tell me the truth!"

Maya trembled under his intense stare. "Th-three months," she stammered, not daring to lie to his face.

He snorted in complete disgust and turned to Richard and Claire. "And you two! What fine parents you are, raising such a daughter!" The couple shifted uncomfortably, drowning in shame but unable to say a word in their defense.

Finally, Alexander beckoned to Evelyn. She approached cautiously, her heart pounding.

"How long have you known about their betrayal?" he asked, his voice slightly gentler than before.

Roman smoothly stepped forward to answer. "Father, Evelyn is a good girl who didn't want to disappoint you. She discovered their affair three months ago but suffered in silence. I met her when she was devastated and trying to drink away her pain. I was also under the influence and took advantage of her vulnerability. When I learned she was pregnant with my child, I knew I had to take responsibility. That's the real reason she was so determined to end the engagement tonight."

Although annoyed that his son had spoken without permission, Alexander looked to Evelyn for confirmation. Roman subtly pinched her waist, making her eyes water with pain that looked like tears of heartbreak. She nodded, the tears making her appear utterly broken and sympathetic.

Seeing her apparent anguish, Alexander's heart softened with guilt. Both his son and grandson had wronged this innocent young woman terribly.

The crowd's sympathy now swung completely to Evelyn's side.

"That poor girl!"

"Three months of knowing and saying nothing? How she must have suffered!"

"To be betrayed by her own stepsister... it's unthinkable!"

"Nathan and Maya are absolute monsters!"

“This is outrageous!”

Alexander looked at Evelyn with deep regret in his eyes. "Child," he said heavily, "what would you have me do to them? Tell me your wish, and I will grant it."