Chapter 274. So. All these years, the man he had thought was his father—was never his father? Turned out that his uncle had always been his father. No wonder his uncle loved him so much.Now it made sense—too much fucking sense.Drystan felt the vein in his temple twitch from anger.The pulse throbbed like a warning siren. His hands itched to hurt. To scream. To destroy.“So you had an affair with my mother? Behind my father’s back?” Lina asked, her lips trembling gently.Her voice cracked as if the truth had stabbed her.His lips twitched into a gentle smile. “Yes. Your father had been sick after getting married to your mother. An heir was needed, or your father would die, and the throne would be passed down to another. Your mother came to me, pleading that she needed me to do something. Anything, as long as the Mafia clan would not be taken out of his possession…”Lina swayed slightly. The betrayal sunk deeper.“So you asked for her dignity?” Lina asked, her voice quivering low.Ea
Chapter 273.The word crashed into the room like thunder lightning.The heads of everyone in the room moved, snapping in the direction of Drystan’s uncle, who sat still like doom had suddenly befallen him.The air shifted. Not one soul breathed freely. It was as though the walls themselves were trying to comprehend what they had just heard. Silence didn’t just settle—it suffocated.Lina glared at Stephanie, then back at her uncle, perplexity washing over her expression, lips parted. Her mind reeled, spinning from disbelief to dread. Her chest rose and fell too fast, as if her lungs had forgotten how to breathe normally.Rosealba could barely blink. She just stood frozen, trying to process every motherfucking inch of what had just been said.It was like her body had turned to stone. She couldn’t even lift her hand. The world had cracked beneath her feet, and every second stretched like an eternity.Then there was Drystan.The one who stood still, brows pulled together as he tried to p
Chapter 272.Hazel blinked back, her head spinning. So all these years, she had hated her sister. She had thought her sister ran away because she didn’t want to marry the heir to the throne.The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning, fierce and unforgiving. Her vision blurred slightly—not from tears, but from the crashing waves of disbelief and shame. Her chest tightened, her stomach twisting violently at the bitter truth unraveling before her.Her fingers curled into a fist, clamping so hard they bit into her flesh.She glared at Stephanie, Pain evident in her eyes. “You are so evil!”Stephanie’s lips twitched.“Evil?” she questioned, the smirk on her lips widening.“You think I am evil because I lied to you?”The smile on her face vanished, and then she said:“If I am evil, what are you? You hated your own sister because she didn’t want to marry an heir? Tell me. Have you ever thought about what your sister’s life would have been if she had married as a betrothed? Did you
Chapter 271.Rosealba’s heart skipped a beat, and the entire room seemed to freeze in a still frame of time.Drystan’s eyes darted sharply toward Hazel, the tension in his jaw tightening with every passing second.Betrothal?The word echoed loudly, almost violently, across the room, crashing into the silence like a bomb.Betrothal. That was—Wait.Drystan’s gaze returned to Rosealba, whose stunned eyes were already locked on his. There was confusion written all over her face. But deeper, beneath that, something darker stirred—an ache of betrayal, or maybe disbelief.“What… What are you trying to say? What do you mean?” Her voice cracked as she stared wide-eyed at Hazel. “Drystan and I were betrothed?”She didn’t even look at Drystan now—her entire focus snapped between Hazel and Stephanie, who looked like she was boiling with suppressed fury.Stephanie’s jaw clamped shut, and her fingers curled into tight fists, her knuckles whitening.The plan had been simple—lure Rosealba here, end
. Chapter 270.The air in the room cracked, and a loud tension settled in. A silence so heavy, it felt like the walls themselves were holding their breath. The very molecules in the air paused, and the sudden shift had everyone stiffening, unsure of whether to brace for danger—or revelation.Drystan’s head tilted in the direction of that very familiar voice. Same as every other person.Even the guards froze mid-movement. The sound of her voice was unexpected—like a ghost speaking from the center of the storm. And Drystan… the sharp angle of his jaw twitched ever so slightly.When their gaze met, they were stunned to see Hazel standing there.For a beat too long, no one said anything. No one blinked. How could he not recognize her voice? Eric could have sworn that even with his gun pointing to her head, he didn’t recognize her. Or he just didn’t realize that she was the one.He had stared into her eyes for seconds, maybe minutes—but his brain hadn’t connected the dots. Now, standing
Chapter 268. Rosealba stared at Hazel like she’d just seen a ghost.The word echoed in her head, bouncing off the walls of her mind like it didn’t belong there—“Sister?”Her lips parted, trembling faintly. Her chest rose and fell with shallow, uncertain breaths as she shifted her gaze from Stephanie… to Hazel… and back again.First, it had been Stephanie.Now—Hazel?Her brows pulled together slowly, confusion knitting her expression tight. Her mind reached for meaning, but her body sat frozen, dread pooling beneath her skin.Hazel stepped closer to Stephanie with an almost mocking lightness in her movement. “Look, cousin,” she said with a taunting smile. “She’s surprised.”Their giggles floated together, sharp and cruel like glass breaking softly in the background.Rosealba’s lips trembled again—this time in quiet awe. Not admiration. Not fear. Just a complete inability to process the wicked spiral unfurling around her.She swallowed the lump tightening in her throat. Tried to force