Marked in Secrets

The dining room suddenly fell silent.Vivian Clarke froze for a moment. Then her eyes quickly turned red. "Maya is still young. She doesn't know any better. Mr. Lincoln only asked me to sit closer because he hurt his back while working on the project today. He wanted me nearby so I could take care of him. I never meant to disrespect Mrs. Lincoln."My dad, Eric Lincoln, put down his wineglass and glared at my mother, Lydia Lincoln. "Lydia, you've spoiled Maya too much. How dare she say something like that in front of her elders!"I blinked and put down my cheese stick. "That’s not what happened."I looked at the words floating above Vivian's head. "Ultimate gold digger."Then I said loudly, "I heard the maids talking behind the rock garden yesterday while I was playing outside. They said Vivian wants to steal you away, Dad. Were you and Vivian locking the door yesterday because you were playing hide-and-seek?"Eric's face instantly darkened.Vivian covered her chest and stood up, tears

Alex looked deeply at Lydia's sleeves. The cuffs had been washed so many times that the color had started to fade."Maya is right."Alex's voice was calm, but his tone carried unquestionable authority. "Lydia has taken good care of your mother and your child these past few years. She has also kept this entire household running. If she didn't make all those sacrifices at home, would you be able to focus on your business without worry?"Cold sweat appeared on Eric's forehead. "Dad, that's not what I meant..."Alex snorted. "I know exactly what you meant. Lydia is your wife, so she deserves what she is entitled to. Tomorrow, have the lawyers come over. Transfer 50 percent of our family's assets and company shares into Lydia's name."The words shocked everyone.Eric shot to his feet. "Dad, how can you do that?"Vivian was so shocked that she nearly fell off the couch.She had worked so hard to get Lydia out of the family.Yet Alex was now planning to give Lydia half of the Lincoln family's

... a huge label glowing with a terrifying black light. "Murderer."Cold sweat instantly soaked my back.When Vivian saw that Lydia still refused to take the soup, her smile became forced.She stepped closer and brought the bowl of chicken noodle soup toward Lydia's mouth. "Mrs. Lincoln, are you still angry with me? It won't taste good once it gets cold. Please, have a few...""Don't eat it!" I screamed and quickly jumped to my feet.Then I threw myself at Vivian with all my strength.Bang!The bowl of steaming-hot soup fell onto the carpet when I crashed into her. The bowl shattered with a sharp crack.The pale yellow soup spilled across the expensive rug. Strangely, white foam began to form on the surface. A sharp smell of bitter almonds filled the room.Vivian stumbled from the impact. Some of the hot soup splashed onto the back of her hand, leaving a large red burn.She screamed. "Maya! Are you crazy?"Eric and Alex had just come out of the upstairs study when they saw what happen

"The photos clearly show everything. How are you still going to deny it?" Eric roared and slapped Lydia across the face.Slap!Lydia stumbled back several steps. Half of her face quickly swelled up, and a thin line of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth."Mom!" I rushed over and stood in front of Lydia. My whole body trembled with anger.Vivian, still kneeling on the floor, began crying even harder. "Mrs. Lincoln, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shown these photos. But you can't try to poison me just because you're afraid your secret will be exposed. You knew I knew about your affair, so you poisoned the chicken soup to kill two birds with one stone..."She was such a good actress that even I almost believed her.Eric's chest rose and fell heavily with rage.He pointed at Lydia and shouted. "Lydia, get out of this house! You're leaving with nothing!"Lydia covered her face and cried. She wanted to explain, but she was too shocked to get the words out.I looked up at the label above V

Five minutes later, the family doctor hurried in with a medical bag.Vivian tried to fight back, but two maids held her arms and legs down.The doctor gave her a quick examination. Then he said without expression, "Mr. Alex, this woman is not pregnant. There are no signs of pregnancy at all. That pregnancy report was most likely forged."The living room became completely silent.Eric's hand, which had been supporting Vivian, slowly dropped away.His eyes grew cold as he looked at her.Vivian completely broke down.She collapsed onto the floor. Her hair was a mess, and her makeup was smeared all over her face.She no longer looked elegant and confident like she had before.Alex looked at her coldly. "Vivian, you've caused trouble for our family again and again. First, you tried to poison and kill someone. Then you forged evidence to frame Lydia. And now you've even forged a pregnancy report to get closer to Eric! Did you really think you could marry Eric that easily?"Vivian suddenly l