Chapter 2

Cameron had arrived at the hospital, with Katherine right behind him.

Despite being in a wheelchair, his refined and elegant demeanor, cultivated over the years, remained undiminished.

Katherine pushed him in the wheelchair, her linen dress accentuating her gentle and delicate appearance.

Anyone who caught sight of them would agree that they looked like a match made in heaven.

"Cameron!"

As soon as Tina caught sight of Cameron, she cried even harder as if she'd just found an outlet for her emotions. She could barely stand on her feet now.

"Look at the wife you married! Your grandfather just passed away, and she didn't even shed a single tear! She's such a heartless bitch!"

"Grandma, you shouldn't say that," Cameron said, interrupting her. "The most important thing to do now is to let Grandpa rest in peace. Sabrina didn't do it on purpose. If anyone were to blame…"

Cameron looked at Sabrina, who was standing at the side, looking stunned and in a daze. A complex look appeared in his eyes when he saw the bright red handprint on her swollen left cheek.

A flash of pity appeared in his eyes as he felt sorry for her. He then shouldered the blame as he always did.

"If anyone were to blame, it should be me. I was so busy discussing business that I didn't check my phone and missed her calls and text messages.

"Grandma, if you must vent out your anger on someone, then you should hit me instead. I'm the one who let Grandpa down…"

Sabrina looked at Cameron's sincere expression as he maintained his facade as a doting husband.

But if he hadn't pretended to be crippled for all those years, she would never have endured so much abuse from his family.

He was the instigator, yet he was now behaving like a hero.

Tina had never cared about yelling at Sabrina or even hitting her, but when it came to Cameron, she held back. In the end, all she could do was cry loudly.

Katherine hurried up to her and held her in her arms, patting her on the back as a few tears trickled down her face.

"Cam's right, Grandma. Now that Grandpa's not here anymore, the future of the Sterling family depends on you. How can Grandpa rest in peace if you collapsed from grief?"

Katherine was the adopted daughter of Tina's third son, Edmund Sterling. After his death, she continued living with Tina and became the latter's most beloved grandchild.

It was even said that Tina nearly cried her eyes out for a whole day and night after hearing that Katherine was going abroad for her studies six years ago.

Tina glanced lovingly at Katherine before glaring daggers at Sabrina. "Get out! You're a jinx who'll only bring terrible luck to the family! I'm going to kick you out of the Sterling family!"

She continued insulting Sabrina nonstop, and Cameron couldn't bear to hear it anymore.

He wheeled himself over and escorted Sabrina to the elevator, a tangle of emotions rising as he took in her distraught state.

He asked, "Does your cheek still hurt? Let me have a look at it."

When he reached out to her, however, Sabrina instinctively pulled away.

Cameron froze for a second. However, he didn't think much about it, assuming that she was just upset because Abram had passed away and she'd just gotten a scolding from Tina.

He sighed softly and said, "Grandma did go a little overboard, but it was only because she was too upset. Don't take it to heart.

"When you get home later, tell Susan to get you an ice pack. As for Grandma… I'll try talking to her again. Don't worry about it."

"Cameron," Sabrina said, suddenly speaking in a hoarse voice. Her eyes lingered on his knees. "Your legs…"

"Yeah? What about my legs?"

Cameron followed Sabrina's gaze. The crying in the ward still hadn't stopped, and he looked like he had just understood what she meant.

He smiled warmly and reassured her, "Don't worry. I'm fine. I won't overwork myself and aggravate my injuries."

Sabrina went silent.

Now that she knew that he wasn't planning to come clean to her, she gave him a look of disappointment.

The elevator arrived just then, and she stepped inside. As the doors slid shut, it felt as if they were severing her five-year bond with him as well.

After leaving the hospital, Sabrina took a cab back to the villa. She'd only just pushed the door open when a jet of water sprayed in her face.

Sabrina shut her eyes instinctively. Then she heard a child's shrill laughter.

"The evil witch has been defeated! I'm the hero who saved the day!"

"Mrs. Sterling!" Susan Langford exclaimed, hurrying out of the kitchen as she grabbed some paper towels on the way. She was their housekeeper.

She asked, "Are you alright? Here, use these to dry yourself."

Sabrina dried her face and opened her eyes, only to find a boy of five aiming a water gun at her.

She knew who he was.

His name was Dante Johnston, and he was Katherine's son.

She had seen him many times before, back when she was helping Katherine with her divorce case. He had been so sweet then, always calling her "Aunt Sabrina".

The divorce case had only been closed for a little over a month, and yet the adorable boy from back then had already transformed into a tiny devil.

Before Sabrina could ask about him, Susan hurriedly explained, "It's, um, Mr. Sterling said that the people at Sterling Manor are very busy with the funeral preparations, and he was worried that there would be nobody to look after Dante.

"So, he brought him back here, asking me to take care of him for a few days."

"That's not it!" Dante exclaimed, tilting his chin up as he rudely interrupted Susan. "Daddy said that I could stay here for however long I wanted!"

"Dante!"

Susan got such a fright that her eyeballs nearly popped out of her sockets. She quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, but she didn't dare to do it too harshly either.

Sweat beaded from her forehead as she said, "Mr. Sterling is your mother's cousin! You should be calling him 'Uncle Cameron' instead!"

Dante bit Susan's hand harshly and glared at her. "Mommy said that Daddy is not her real cousin! And it was Daddy who told me to call him that!"

Sabrina found it quite amusing as she watched Susan grow increasingly anxious and at a loss for what to say next.

Had it not been for Dante's words just now and for seeing Cameron admit his lie with her own eyes, she might have believed every single thing they said.

But now, she wasn't in the mood to think further about it anymore.

Sabrina had been a lawyer for many years, and she knew that once the veil of lies was lifted, whatever was exposed behind it would be the ugliest and most sordid truth.

So, she seamlessly changed the topic.

"Has Berry been fed?"

Susan froze for a second. She soon realized that Sabrina was referring to her bichon frise, and she quickly nodded.

She said, "He's been fed. He's now playing by himself in the pen."

Sabrina nodded and went back into her bedroom.

Abram's death had been too sudden. However, the Sterling family was a noble and well-known family in Lark City, so the funeral procession and arrangements were not to be taken lightly.

Sterling Manor was filled with grieving friends and relatives for the rest of the week. Yet, Sabrina wasn't allowed to set foot inside.

Cameron told her that Tina was still mad and asked her not to go there for the time being. He and Katherine could handle everything on their own, and all Sabrina had to do was take care of Dante at home.

Cameron seemed extremely considerate toward Sabrina, but he was simply marginalizing her.

This had always been the case at family dinners and reunions, too. Cameron would always find an excuse for her to miss each gathering.

Sabrina had been dumb and naive, actually letting herself be deceived by Cameron's gentleness and thoughtfulness for many years.

But now, she didn't care about it anymore.

She just felt a little remorseful that she couldn't see Abram for the last time before his death. After all, he had treated her with kindness when he was still alive.

Cameron never returned home even after the funeral was over.

However, the villa was far from peaceful or quiet. There was constant banging and clattering from downstairs as Dante climbed onto furniture and darted everywhere like a monkey, causing such a ruckus and giving her a massive headache.

Still, Sabrina couldn't be bothered about it. She had more important things to do.

It was dark when her phone woke her up.

Half-asleep, she assumed it was Cameron calling and answered—but Juliana's voice came through instead.

"Rina, I've got the info on Katherine, the one you asked me to investigate."

Juliana was Sabrina's senior at law school. After graduating from college, Juliana became a legal partner at a law firm, and Sabrina had been working at her firm for years.

"Other than the things we already know, I realized that Katherine's reason for going abroad is a little strange. She didn't leave because she was accepted into an overseas college. Rather, it was Mr. Sterling Senior who paid someone to pull some strings to have her enrolled there.

"There's very little information about her before she went abroad. It's almost like someone deliberately tried to cover their tracks."

Over the phone, Juliana could be heard flipping pages. She continued, "However, according to her previous classmates, Katherine had displayed some indecent behavior while she was still in high school. They claimed that she had been entangled with her cousin, but the specifics aren't clear.

"I guess that Mr. Sterling Senior sent her abroad to study for the sake of maintaining their family's reputation.

"Rina, are you suspecting that she and Cameron…"

Juliana had been a lawyer for many years and had always had a keen intuition. She managed to guess the main point at once.

Sabrina didn't plan on hiding her suspicions. She responded, "What do you think?"

Juliana went silent for a while. When she spoke again, she sounded more solemn. "What are you planning to do next?"

"Have you forgotten what I'm best at?" Sabrina asked.

Juliana answered instinctively, "Of course you're the best at court cases—"

She suddenly realized what Sabrina meant and asked in shock, "You're planning to divorce him?"

Sabrina didn't reply, but her silence said everything.

Having worked together for many years, Juliana naturally understood what she meant. Even so, she couldn't help but feel that Sabrina was being a little rash with her decision.

"Rina, it happened six years ago. There's no solid evidence anymore. You shouldn't act on impulse—"

"I'm not being impulsive," Sabrina said calmly. "Julie, Cameron told Katherine's kid to call him 'Daddy'."