The Hidden Heiress: A Sweet Taste of Revenge のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

The sudden sound of the door made both Serena and Martin turn at once.The tension in the air shifted sharply, snapping like a drawn wire. Martin straightened, while Serena froze in place, her breath uneven as she tried to steady it."Mr. Serpentine..."William stood at the doorway, tall, composed, a slim folder in his hand. His expression was unreadable, though his gaze flicked briefly toward Serena before settling on Martin."I didn’t expect to see you here," he said calmly. "How have you been?""My condition?" Martin gave a crooked smile before scoffing. "What do you want?""What do I want?"William’s answer came with a quiet, humorless chuckle. He stepped forward, unbothered by the hostility simmering in Martin’s eyes. Each measured footstep seemed to fill the silence, deliberate and unnerving."God, what is he doing here? Why now, of all times?" Serena’s thoughts spun restlessly. She could still feel the earlier tension between her and her father like a bruise that refused to fad

William didn’t respond right away.The café felt smaller somehow. The only sound was the faint ticking of the wall clock, marking every second that passed after the truth had landed in front of him.Selena...She's really alive?William's jaw tightened. For years, he hadn’t thought of her beyond the name carved into a grave that meant nothing to him. He hadn’t grieved her. Not once. Even the day he threw her out of his life had been final."So she really did it," he muttered under his breath, almost laughing sharply, humorless. "She came back?""With a different name and face."Hearing that, William leaned forward slightly. His elbows were resting on the table. His eyes were fixed on the photograph, the woman with a rounded belly."She planned this," he said quietly. "With care and thoroughness. She’s been playing everyone!"William ran a hand through his hair, the faintest tremor in his fingers betraying the calm mask he wore. He exhaled sharply, shaking his head for a moment."For w

"This is the CCTV footage from the past three hours in front of Mr. Caelen’s ward, ma’am. At first glance, nothing looks suspicious, but...""But what?"Serena straightened up, her sharp gaze fixed on one of her children’s bodyguards. After making sure all three of her kids were safe, she’d immediately launched her own investigation. Fortunately, the hospital staff had been cooperative, allowing her to get the supporting data she needed quickly."If you look closer, there’s a time discrepancy at the twenty-fifth minute and eleven seconds, ma’am," the bodyguard said cautiously."It only lasted a few seconds before the timestamp went back to normal, but the screen glitched. It looks like someone deliberately tampered with it, and—""Tried to stop me from finding the bastard who threatened my children?" Serena cut in sharply, her voice hissing through clenched teeth.The bodyguard didn’t dare speak. He simply nodded. Seeing his employer’s tightly clenched fist made his breath hitch. For

Hearing William's words, Serena tried with all her might to hold back her tears. Slowly she released his hand and turned her face away as her eyelids grew damp.She bit her lower lip hard, trying to keep the roaring in her chest from spilling out."God, please...."Really, Serena didn’t know what else to say to William. He’d confused her with all these sudden changes. None of this felt normal, and it left her feelings and thoughts in a tangled mess."I’m not going to force you to admit anything," William said again, his voice still soft."Right now I only want to do what I think I should. And I’m not going to stop you from doing what you think you should do."Serena fell silent again, fighting to keep her body from trembling. She didn’t want William to see her sadness. She didn’t want to look weak. Because the last time she had been weak, the world cruelly crushed her."I don’t have the strength to argue with you anymore, William," she said at last, her voice thin as she looked down.

Cassandra was utterly stunned by what William had just done. Once again, the words she wanted to say failed to escape her lips. Everything felt stuck in her throat, especially when the fake tears she had forced out earlier now flowed freely, completely beyond her control.Her original intention in coming to see William had only been to scare him a little. Cassandra wanted him to stop ignoring her. She wanted the old William back, the William who was always by her side and treated her as his home. She wanted him to always look her way, even though she had always known he wasn’t fond of the idea of marriage in the first place.Yes, that was William. That was why he had once been forced to marry Selena by his mother, especially since his mother had never liked Cassandra at all."This is where our relationship ends, Cassandra. Once again, I’m sorry!"William’s firm declaration snapped her back into reality. When she realized he had taken a step back, Cassandra quickly grabbed his arm, her