- 9.
Julian Thorne glared at Liam Blackwood, his eyes bloodshot. “He’s just an illegitimate son! What can he give you?”
9:10 PM
<
“He can give me something you can never give,” I gently caressed Liam Blackwood’s face. “True love.”
“Get lost,” I pointed towards the dock. “I never want to see you again in this lifetime.”
He stumbled backward, but when he heard the word “hate,” his body convulsed. “No… don’t hate me… I’ll go… I’ll leave now… I won’t actively appear before you again.”
I watched his pathetic retreating figure, a cold smile playing on my lips.
His deliberate emphasis on “not actively” was just a sad escape route for himself.
Like “accidental encounters,” or “coincidences.”
But it didn’t matter anymore.
Liam Blackwood’s warm palm enveloped my fingertips, and the sea breeze finally blew away the last trace of gloom.
A month–long honeymoon left us blissfully happy on the island, until Liam Blackwood’s phone lit up with a message: “Everything is ready.”
The day we returned home happened to be Mr. Blackwood’s fiftieth birthday.
Julian Thorne silently watched me from a corner, not daring to appear before me.
Until Liam Blackwood put his arm around my waist, preparing to introduce me to the guests.
“Brother,” he suddenly appeared and grabbed me, his voice eerily gentle, but his fingers digging into me painfully. “It’s not appropriate to embrace your sister–in–law.”
Then he turned to the crowded room. “This is my wife, Maya Hayes. We had a little misunderstanding recently…”
“Are you insane?” I sharply shook him off.
Julian Thorne chuckled softly, then turned to the trembling Mr. and Mrs. Hayes. “Father–in–law, Mother–in–law, you tell me–is this Maya or Anya?”
Mr. Hayes’s lips quivered, and under Julian Thorne’s sinister gaze, he nodded. “It’s… it’s Maya…”
“See, even your parents recognize her.” He continued to pull at me. “Don’t be stubborn, alright? Come home with me. It’s Father’s big birthday today…”
“Enough!” Liam Blackwood punched him, sending him sprawling. I took the opportunity to break free.
“Have you lost your mind enough?” I shook off his hand, my voice echoing through the entire banquet hall. “I am Anya Hayes, Liam Blackwood’s wife!”
“Yes… I’ve gone mad…” Julian Thorne fell heavily to his knees. “What do I need to do for you to forgive me? You don’t care for anything I have. I… I have money… I’ll give you everything the Blackwood family owns, okay?”
“Rebellious son! I’m not dead yet!” Mr. Blackwood slammed his hand on the table, a teacup clattering to the floor.
I looked down at him with a cold smirk. “You? A bastard who doesn’t even qualify as an illegitimate son?”
C
9.10 PM
<
I looked down at him with a cold smirk. “You? A bastard who doesn’t even qualify as an illegitimate son?”
The entire hall fell silent.
Julian Thorne’s face was paper–white, while Mr. Blackwood stared at me, his expression grim. “What did you say?”
Liam Blackwood pulled me behind him, his phone screen displaying a DNA test report. “Father, perhaps you should look
at this first.”
During my imprisonment in my previous life, I discovered Julian Thorne’s secret behind that oil painting.
On a faded photograph, a young Mrs. Blackwood embraced an unknown man, and that man’s features were identical to
Julian Thorne’s.
His paternity test report with Mr. Blackwood was tucked beneath the photo frame, with a red stamp confirming “Exclusion of Paternity.”
All these years, his frantic suppression of Liam Blackwood, his oversensitivity to the phrase “illegitimate son,” all stemmed from this deep–seated fear.
Those seemingly arrogant airs of an heir were merely a sham, desperately trying to conceal his own precarious position.
This was the deepest secret buried in his heart, because once exposed, he would lose everything.
In my past life, after he discovered I knew the truth, he planned to silence me.
But before he could act, Maya had already pushed me off the rooftop.
Mr. Blackwood looked at the report, still incredulous. When he saw the intimate photo of Mrs. Blackwood and her lover,
his entire face turned ashen.
“Effective immediately, Julian Thorne’s right of inheritance is revoked,” the old man’s voice was hoarse. “Liam Blackwood will take over the Blackwood Corporation.”
Julian Thorne crumpled to the floor as if his spine had been removed, but I squatted down to meet his gaze. “Don’t rush, there’s another surprise.”
He looked up in shock. I said, “Look, the police are here for you.”
The police arrested him on multiple charges including malicious assault and unlawful confinement.
Even the evidence included those very photos he’d brought to the island.
However, by the time the police arrived at the villa, Maya in the basement was already on her last breath.
She died before even reaching the hospital.
- 10.
