Chapter 173
Author: Dorchester
last update2026-02-26 20:21:27

Mia’s pulse quickened, each beat thudding hard against her ribs, but she forced her legs to move at a measured pace. She walked toward them slowly, deliberately, aware that six pairs of hardened eyes were tracking her every movement. Their gazes felt like spotlights, heavy and unblinking, analyzing her posture, her expression, even the rhythm of her breathing.

She refused to falter.

Earlier that evening, before leaving Donald’s compound, she had overheard something that now strengthened her res
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  • Chapter 358

    Donald didn’t reply to the message.He didn’t delete it either.He simply locked the screen and kept walking, as though acknowledging it too early would give it more authority than it deserved.But the words stayed with him anyway.Who benefited most from Ivy’s isolation.That question didn’t sound like advice.It sounded like a direction.By the time he reached the quieter wing of the mansion, the celebration was barely audible.Here, the corridors were narrower, the lighting more subdued, and the atmosphere closer to reality than performance.A maid passed him and greeted him softly.He nodded without stopping.He wasn’t going to the guest rooms.Not Evelyn’s wing.Not the nursery.Not even the exit.He was going somewhere more inconvenient.Margaret’s private office.If anyone in this house had been close enough to observe Evelyn without being her subordinate, it would be her mother.And if there were missing pieces, they would not be in the open.They would be in the parts people

  • Chapter 357

    The study was quieter than the rest of the mansion.No music. No guests. No celebration leaking in through the walls.Just shelves, documents, and the controlled silence of a man who liked order more than noise.Edmund looked up from his desk when Donald entered.For a moment, neither of them spoke.Edmund finally gestured to the chair opposite him.“You look like a man who has heard something unpleasant,” he said calmly.Donald didn’t sit.“I’ve heard enough to stop trusting assumptions,” he replied.That answer made Edmund’s expression shift slightly—less relaxed now, more attentive.“Assumptions?” Edmund repeated.Donald stepped closer to the desk.“I received a call,” he said. “From someone involved in the chain of evidence used against Ivy.”A pause.“And indirectly, against my judgment.”Edmund leaned back slowly.“I see.”Donald studied him.“You already know what I’m referring to.”Edmund didn’t deny it immediately.That alone confirmed too much.Finally, Edmund spoke.“I susp

  • Chapter 356

    Donald remained on the balcony long after Ivy’s footsteps faded back into the mansion.The night air was cooler now. The distant sounds from the celebration below had softened into background noise, as if the world was politely continuing without demanding his attention.But his mind was no longer in the present.It was moving backward.Every conversation he had dismissed.Every emotion he had assumed was obvious.Every decision he had made quickly because he thought the facts were already clear.Now none of it felt stable.Not even his certainty about Evelyn.A notification vibrated on his phone.He didn’t answer immediately.He just looked at it.Unknown number.He finally picked it up.“Hello?”A pause.Then a voice he didn’t recognize.Male.Calm.Measured.“You don’t know me,” the voice said.“But I think you should know something before you make any final conclusions.”Donald’s eyes narrowed slightly.“Who is this?”The man ignored the question.“I was the photographer.”That se

  • Chapter 355

    The silence inside the lounge didn’t lift even after Donald left.It settled deeper instead, like something heavy had been poured into the room and left to spread.Evelyn was the first to move.She adjusted her grip on the baby almost mechanically, as though trying to anchor herself to something physical while everything else inside her began to drift.Margaret broke the silence in a voice barely above a whisper.“I didn’t raise you to become this.”Evelyn didn’t respond immediately.Her eyes were still fixed on the door Donald had walked through.Edmund finally spoke, his tone low and controlled.“This is no longer about upbringing.”A pause.“It is about decisions.”Margaret looked at him sharply.“Are you blaming her?”Edmund turned slightly toward his wife.“I am stating facts,” he replied.“And facts are that interference occurred.”Evelyn let out a short, strained breath.“I didn’t think it would destroy everything,” she said again.But this time, her voice sounded less like def

  • Chapter 354

    The room remained frozen in a tense stillness after Evelyn’s confession.No one rushed to speak, and no one dared to interrupt the weight of what had just been admitted.Donald stayed seated, elbows resting on his knees, head slightly bowed as though trying to reorganize thoughts that no longer made clean sense.Ivy stood near the door, her expression no longer angry—only tired. As if a long-standing suspicion had finally been confirmed in words.Margaret looked devastated. Edmund looked controlled, but his jaw was tight enough to suggest restraint, not calm.And Evelyn stood at the center of it all, still holding the baby, but now no longer hiding behind composure.Donald finally lifted his head.His voice was quieter than before.“So all of it…” he said slowly, “was engineered.”Evelyn didn’t answer immediately.That hesitation said enough.Donald continued anyway.“The pictures. The timing. The call. The rumors.”He paused.“You positioned everything.”Evelyn swallowed.“I didn’t f

  • Chapter 353

    The private lounge fell into a heavy silence.No one moved.No one spoke.The only sound in the room was the soft breathing of the baby resting in Evelyn's arms.Donald kept his eyes fixed on Evelyn."Is there anything else I should know?"The question lingered in the air.Evelyn's confidence, which had carried her through countless difficult situations, seemed to waver.For the first time since Ivy had entered the naming ceremony, she looked cornered.Margaret noticed it immediately.A mother always noticed."Evelyn," she said quietly.Evelyn avoided her mother's eyes.That simple action made Margaret's heart sink.Edmund's expression darkened.He had built businesses worth billions by reading people.At that moment, he saw something he did not like.Donald took another step forward."I asked you a question."Evelyn swallowed."What exactly do you want me to say?"Donald stared at her."The truth."Again, silence.Ivy remained near the door.Her hands were clasped together tightly.S

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