The color drained from Matthew’s face, his jaw tightening as the na registered in his mind. "Governor Corrick?" he repeated, his voice barely audible, tinged with disbelief. "My godfather?"
"Yes—or your uncle, if that’s what you prefer to call him," Serena replied calmly, her tone carrying a asured coolness even as Matthew was shocked once again. She knew of this connection. For a mont he felt suspicious of what his uncle had told him. That she and Aiden were still together.
"Why do you want him?" he asked, trying to keep his voice steady,though his pulse quickened.
Serena tilted her head slightly, her gaze fixed on him with an unnerving intensity. "Ah, I can see you’re surprised. Shocked, even. You probably expected to na your mother, I an your biological mother, didn’t you? Thought she’d be the target of my ire." Her lips curved into a faint, almost mocking smile as she looked at him and his frown deepened. He had indeed expected that.
Matthew worked hard to keep his expression neutral. He couldn’t afford to betray any reaction, not now. Whatever advantage he held hinged on his composure. But Serena wasn’t paying much attention to his silence; she seed wholly absorbed in her own train of thought.
"Yes," she continued, as if musing aloud, "you’re wondering why I’m turning my sights on your dear uncle. But really, Governor Corrick is the mastermind behind it all. The true architect of the chaos. And when I think about everything we’ve uncovered about him, I can’t help but feel that the punishnt I have in mind is laughably inadequate. He deserves every ounce of tornt he’s inflicted on others—and more."
Matthew flinched inwardly at her words but remained outwardly composed. Still, Serena’s sharp eyes caught a flicker of sothing in his expression. She leaned closer, her voice dripping with a mixture of amusent and cruelty. "Tell , Uncle Matthew," she said, her tone almost sing-song, "has your mother always been like this? Suffering from dentia?"
This ti, Matthew couldn’t hide his reaction. His carefully constructed mask faltered, a montary flash of shock betraying him. She knows. But how? The thought gripped him with icy panic.
Serena’s smile widened, triumphant. "Ah, there it is," she said softly. "You’re wondering how I found out about your mother, aren’t you? Oh, she played the part brilliantly. I never would’ve guessed that she wasn’t entirely... ’all there’ in the head. But I’ve learned not to trust what’s on the surface,Uncle Matthew. I’ve learned to dig deeper."
"What do you know?"
Quite a few things," Serena began, her voice steady and deliberate. "For example, Nvidia wasn’t always like this. She lost her ntal balance after facing a traumatic situation at a very young age. Her parents were quick to act, consulting doctors to find a solution. They prescribed her a regin of strong dications, hoping to stabilize her. But rather than addressing the root cause, they opted for an easier solution—they married her off to Mr. Dawn and bribed him to keep up appearances, to live with her and maintain the family’s facade of normalcy."
Serena paused, her gaze sharp as she watched Matthew’s reaction before continuing. "But then sothing unexpected happened. Nvidia began to fall in love with Edwina. She found comfort and strength in her, and slowly, she stopped relying on the dications that had dulled her mind for so long. It was a shift that frightened her parents."
Matthew’s brow furrowed slightly, but he remained silent, listening intently as Serena went on. "You see, her parents were already ashad of having a daughter they deed ’broken’ due to her ntal instability. But the idea of Nvidia being a lesbian? That was even more shaful in their eyes. They couldn’t tolerate the scandal. So, when they tried to remove Edwina from her life, they expected her to fade away quietly. Instead, they encountered a formidable adversary. Edwina didn’t back down. She ca back stronger, more determined, and ready to fight for what mattered to her."
"But the Corricks weren’t a family that took kindly to being opposed. When they realized they couldn’t outright remove Edwina, they twisted the narrative. Nvidia returned to her family, spreading a carefully constructed lie—that Edwina and Mr. Dawn had betrayed her. She was made to claim that their betrayal had driven her into depression and caused her ntal imbalance. It was a story crafted to protect the family’s reputation and vilify the very people who had tried to support her."
"Her younger brother, however, was affected by this. He saw how his sister had been mistreated and naturally, he vowed revenge. And he followed through. He began grooming Nvidia, using her dications to manipulate her further. To the outside world, it would appear as though she was the one orchestrating a quest for revenge against her ex husband and his mistress, but he was the true puppeteer behind it all."
"He succeeded in his first act of vengeance—getting rid of his ex brother in law. He created misunderstandings, planting seeds of distrust and watching them grow. But as he soon discovered, Edwina was not soone who could be defeated so easily even when she lost her support system. She fought back hard and showed no weakness, even willingly sacrificing everything. But then, greed set in. Corrick realized the extent of what Edwina had done for Nvidia’s company and wanted it for himself."
"That’s when his plans shifted. It wasn’t just about revenge anymore—it was about power and control. To achieve that, he needed leverage, and that’s where you and your brother ca into the picture. You were the perfect pawns for his sches. Edwina treated you well, didn’t she? She was kind to you, protected you, and cared for you. It was because of Nvidia."
"And so he used you well, without worry of repercussions because you were Edwina’s weakness. And later, you helped him create misunderstandings between Edwina and Edward, didn’t you? My father looked up to his older brother and naturally when his brother said how bad Edwina was, Edward started believing it slowly ,until he hated his own mother."
"How am I doing so far, uncle?"
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