As Anathea stared at Xander, surprise flickered in her eyes.Natalie stumbled and fell to the floor, shaking her head desperately at Eleanor. It was as if she was telling her that she really didn't push Anathea."You're lying!" Eleanor shoved Xander away so hard he nearly fell.Martin caught him just in time, but the sudden movement made Xander burst into tears. "Grandma's so scary! It was Ms. Whitman who pushed Mom—""Shut up!" Eleanor's finger jabbed sharply at Xander's nose, her nails nearly scratching him. "You little liar! Who told you to say that? It must've been Anathea, right?""No one did! I saw it with my own eyes!" Xander rebuked while crying."On that day, Mr. Xander was flying a kite in Ms. Eleanor's yard the whole time. He couldn't have run into Ms. Anathea," Martin said, pulling out a broken kite with its string snapped."The kite snapped and fell, so Mr. Xander went looking for it. That's when he happened to walk into the attic and saw Natalie and Ms. Anathea arg
Eleanor quickly caught on and softened her expression to soothe Xander. "Xander, don't cry. I'm here. Nobody's going to hurt you, okay? You don't have to be scared."Gradually, Xander calmed down and buried his face in Eleanor's embrace.As Anathea watched him behave so well in front of Eleanor, her gaze dropped.Of course. Xander had been raised by Eleanor for five years. Day after day, his loyalty had completely shifted to her. That was why he felt distant from Anathea.This was exactly Eleanor's plan all along. She knew Gregory's flaws. He was never one for fatherly affection. So all she had to do was get rid of Anathea. She wanted Xander to turn against Anathea and side with her and Natalie so she could finally drive Anathea out of the Sinclair family.Anathea turned her head away, refusing to look at Xander.He had sworn he would protect her, but now he had thrown himself into Eleanor's arms like it meant nothing.Promises from kids, just like those from adults, were meanin
"Mom, your argument was impressive," Gregory said flatly. His voice was completely devoid of emotion. "The performance's over. You can go now.""Gregory!"Eleanor's face flushed red with anger. She hadn't expected Gregory would just brush her words off like it was some kind of show when she'd said so much. And on top of that, he had no intention of letting Natalie go."Even if the evidence isn't solid, you're dead set on not letting Nat go, huh?""So what if I am?"Those five words—firm and absolute—completely crushed everything Eleanor had said in Natalie's defense.Eleanor staggered, and Holden caught her just in time."You brat! How dare you talk back to your mother like that!" Holden swung his fist, ready to teach Gregory a lesson.But before he could get within three feet of Gregory, a bodyguard swooped in and pinned his hands behind his back without mercy. Holden yelped in pain."Let me go!" he shouted. "I'm his father! It's my right to discipline my son!""Mr. Gregory
Before Holden could finish yelling, Gregory set his cup down on the table with a sharp clack, cutting Holden off.Just then, a muffled sob rang out. Natalie, her mouth gagged, was dragged out by two burly bodyguards."Nat!" Eleanor's face paled instantly. She tried to rush forward, but two more guards stepped in to block her path."Why the rush? I still have unfinished business." Gregory's tone was cold. "I still need to settle the score with Natalie for what she did."She pushed my wife down the stairs in front of a whole crowd, causing her to lose our child. I'm making her pay for it. If tenfold isn't enough, then I'll make it a hundredfold."Anathea looked at Gregory with a conflicted expression.Natalie shook her head violently.Eleanor quickly snapped back to her senses. "It was chaotic that day. Who could tell who pushed whom? Nat was the one screaming for help first. It was Anathea who tried to push her and ended up falling herself. What does that have to do with Nat?"G
Eleanor stormed in, furious."That was quick," Gregory said with a smirk, then sipped his tea."Cut the nonsense. Hand Nat over." Eleanor's voice was cold and sharp.Natalie, held in the side hall, brightened the moment she saw Eleanor. She knew Eleanor would come for her.All of Gregory's words were lies. She was not abandoned!Gregory didn't answer but instead asked casually, "Mom, you rushed over in such a hurry. But why didn't you bring Dad? Is it because Natalie isn't his daughter?"Eleanor froze, staring daggers at Gregory. A terrible premonition grew inside her. "Nat is our goddaughter. She's our daughter, of course!""Goddaughter?" Gregory chuckled and tossed a document in front of Eleanor. "Is there such a thing as a goddaughter with a 99.8% DNA match?"Eleanor's face instantly drained of color.Before she could respond, Gregory pulled out another document and added flatly, "Oh, the DNA match with Dad was shockingly low. Only—""Enough!" Eleanor cut him off sharply.
Natalie's eyes flew wide open in disbelief.When was that recording made?Behind the decorative screen, Adrian glanced over at Anathea and noticed that her face was completely emotionless.She had pressed the recording pen's button just as Natalie had turned to look at the private chapel.Natalie had been too full of herself, thinking her words would crush Anathea's spirit. Even the two men didn't even bother watching her.What they overlooked was what ultimately destroyed them.What Anathea didn't expect, though, was for that recording pen to end up in Gregory's hands.Through the painted scenery on the decorative screen, she looked toward Gregory, who was seated on the throne chair.His expression was unreadable, like a deep pool with no visible bottom. It gave nothing away. But the chill he gave off crept into the bones."No, this recording is fake! It's edited! It's not my voice!" Natalie shouted, trying to deny it.But Gregory wasn't here to listen to her lies. "Whether