Hugo and Susan exchanged a glance and broke into laughter, which sounded cruel and nacing.
"How could gan be your child," Susan sneered, her tone dripping with disdain, "when I never even slept with you?"
Oliver’s fingers curled into fists as he trembled in rage.
"gan is my daughter with Hugo," she continued with a mocking smile. "She is the sa age as Raya. But we needed her inside the Granet family, legitimized, protected. You wouldn’t marry . You wouldn’t even give a na, and truthfully, I never wanted to marry a man like you. But I did want security for my daughter."
Her expression darkened. "That’s when Hugo and I started planning against Margaret."
Oliver shook his head as if trying to shake away the truth, to deny what he was hearing. "I can’t believe it..." he muttered. His burning gaze snapped to Hugo, hatred radiating from him. "You said you were friends with her. You pitied her. And yet you hurt her more than anyone else. Is that what friendship ans to you? If you wanted revenge, why not co for ? Why drag Margaret into it? Why destroy an innocent girl’s life?"
Hugo’s expression twisted with bitterness. "I did value her friendship," he growled. "I thought we had sothing genuine. She was the only one in the Granet family who ever treated like I mattered. I believed she’d stand up for . But when you threw in jail, frad , she never ca."
Oliver’s gaze drifted into the distance as a mory surfaced. Back then, he had issued a firm warning to Margaret—made her choose. He told her that if she ever maintained contact with Hugo, he would cut all ties with her. Without hesitation, she had agreed and promised never to see Hugo again for the rest of her life.
Hugo’s voice, thick with anger, snapped Oliver back to the present. "She abandoned . Just like the rest of you. I started hating her, and I wanted to punish her."
He took a step forward, face shadowed with fury. "So yes—we planned it. Margaret’s kidnapping back then was a setup. We wanted you to believe that she had been raped. And you believed. Susan fed you the lies, and you swallowed them without a doubt. You never gave Margaret a chance, never listened to her explanations. You chose to believe she was raped."
Oliver’s jaw clenched, his eyes burning with sha.
"I thought you’d leave her," Hugo continued, spitting the words like venom. "But you didn’t. You kept her around. And when she got pregnant again, we watched you spiral. You convinced yourself the child wasn’t yours but one of the kidnappers."
Hugo’s gaze flicked to Susan, pride gleaming in his eyes like a man who had just claid victory on a battlefield he had long waited to conquer.
"You gave us the perfect opening," he continued with triumph. "Thanks to you – you took gan into the Granet family, right where she needed to be."
Susan smirked, resting her hand on Hugo’s chest. "It wasn’t hard at all." Her gaze was full of disdain as she looked down at Oliver. "You were so desperate to get rid of Raya from your life, you didn’t even hesitate. You couldn’t stand the sight of your own daughter. So when I suggested the fake kidnapping... you jumped at the chance."
Her words dripped with mockery as she traced her fingers lazily across Hugo’s chest. "And it all played out so beautifully. You left a three-year-old on an empty road like she was garbage. A father left his own child to die and never looked back. That mont," she said with a twisted smile, "was incredible to watch."
Oliver’s face paled in sha and guilt, but Susan wasn’t done.
"Then ca the fun part," she added, with a playful glint in her eyes. "You gave gan everything—your love, your na, your wealth. anwhile, your real daughter was out there suffering. Her stepmother bullied Raya, pushed her aside by her stepsister, and humiliated her at every turn. She struggled to survive while my daughter was draped in luxury."
She looked up at Hugo, her smile wicked. "gan got half of the Granet fortune. What should’ve been Hugo’s birthright, his daughter took it back for him."
Oliver stared at them, stricken. Their words hit him like hamr blows, one after another. Sha and guilt filled the hollow space of his chest.
He had trusted the wrong woman, raised soone else’s child, and turned his back on his own flesh and blood. Raya had suffered, and Margaret had endured pain he refused to see. The man he once considered beneath him had outwitted him at every step.
His throat tightened, his heart thudding painfully against his chest. Then, from the pit of his chest, a hollow, bitter laugh escaped him.
"You think you have won?" he cried out with rage and sorrow. "You think your sche triumphed?"
He looked up, his eyes suddenly sharp, laced with dark satisfaction. "gan has been sent to jail. She has been arrested for attempted murder."
Oliver continued, voice rising. "Your little princess got caught in her own trap. The police already have her. And your so-called perfect plan?" He sneered. "It’s crumbling right before your eyes."
Oliver started laughing.
Hearing Oliver’s bitter laughter, Hugo’s expression darkened instantly. He lunged forward, grabbing Oliver by the collar and yanking him upright with brute force.
"What murder charge are you talking about?" Hugo growled nacingly. "That woman, Patricia, already took the bla. You really haven’t changed, have you? Still the sa fool. Still so easy to mislead."
He leaned in closer, his breath hot with contempt. "You think we didn’t see this coming? We knew what was going to happen. gan has already gone. We got her out. Far from here. Sowhere, even the police can’t touch her."
Oliver’s heart sank, disbelief flooding his face. ’They rescued gan?’ The information slamd into him, stealing his breath. The one shred of justice he thought had been served... was gone.
"And you?" Hugo continued, sneering, his grip tightening around Oliver’s collar. "Your sins are no longer hidden. Margaret knows the truth. So do your son and daughter. They hate you now. Raya, the daughter you cast aside, will never forgive you. She knows the pain you caused."
He snorted. "And the girl you claid as your own—she never loved you. She used you. Just like we planned. And your son, the one you once paraded around with pride—he wants nothing to do with you. He is ready to cut you out of his life entirely."
Hugo’s voice dropped, colder than before. "You have lost everything, Oliver. Your family. Your legacy. Even your pride."
With that, he shoved Oliver backward with force.
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