"What have I been hiding from you?" my brother asked, his brow furrowed with impatience. Whether it was a guilty conscience or not, he refused to et my gaze.
"I don’t know what happened, either! It must have been gangsters..."
I couldn’t believe my brother was still trying to hide things from . I was disappointed beyond asure. I turned to Sebastian Forrest. "Senior Forrest, let’s go."
’I should have just left him alone!’
Sebastian Forrest ca to my side and gently patted my back, as if telling to calm down.
I couldn’t help but take a deep breath and turn my head, refusing to look at my brother any longer.
"Mr. Joyce, you’re aware of who I am, correct?"
Sebastian Forrest dragged a chair over and sat down. He casually crossed his legs and tilted his head to look at my brother.
My brother gulped but still tried to act calm, stiffening his neck. "Of course I know."
’The heir of the Forrest Family.’
’A man who practically ran Kington.’
’I have no idea what kind of dumb luck my sister had to snag a man like him.’
"Since you know, I’ll get straight to the point." Sebastian Forrest paused, his voice exuding an air of languid nobility.
Even though Sebastian was looking up at my brother, who had the physical advantage of standing over him, I could still see the utter embarrassnt on my brother’s face. He was clearly so crushed by Sebastian’s sheer presence that he could barely hold his head up.
"We already know about you and Clara Langley," Sebastian Forrest said coolly.
My brother pursed his lips, seemingly unconcerned. "I know that..."
But before he could finish, Sebastian Forrest cut him off coldly. "What I an is, we also know about you and Clara Langley getting together."
My brother froze, utterly dumbfounded. He clearly hadn’t expected Sebastian Forrest to know about that.
"Those n earlier were sent by Clara Langley’s ex-husband, weren’t they?" Sebastian Forrest asked, raising an eyebrow. A cold smile played on his lips.
My brother imdiately turned to look at . When he saw coldly turn my head away, he finally started to panic. "I... I didn’t know she was married then. She never told ..."
"How did you two et?" Sebastian Forrest asked casually.
Under the pressure, my brother’s defenses completely crumbled. He rushed to explain, "We t online..."
"Did Clara Langley reach out to you first?"
My brother nodded quickly, the words tumbling out of him. "She said she added as a friend by accident. She even said it was fate that brought us together."
"At first, I was just flirting for fun. But then she suddenly suggested we exchange photos. When she claid to be the actress Clara Langley, I didn’t believe her, of course... not until she video-called ..."
Sebastian Forrest and I couldn’t help but exchange a glance.
’Things had developed exactly as we’d initially guessed—Clara Langley had orchestrated the whole thing!’
"We just chatted online at first," he continued. "It was only after she got divorced and ca back to the country that we t for the first ti..."
As my brother rambled on, I couldn’t stop myself from cutting in. "Did you take her to see Mom?"
My brother’s eyes darted away. He pressed his lips together and didn’t answer.
"Speak!" Sebastian Forrest’s brow furrowed with impatience.
My brother shuddered and quickly nodded. "Yes... they t..."
I felt my legs almost give out.
’Of course!’
’My mother knew about Clara Langley!’
’That’s why she fainted the mont she saw the news about Clara Langley and Theodore Grant’s scandal...’
’And why she later coughed up blood from pure rage after recognizing Clara Langley’s voice on the phone with Theodore Grant...’
A firestorm of rage erupted in my chest, threatening to consu .
’Clara Langley killed my mother!’
’She deliberately got close to my mother from the very beginning...’
’She was counting on her very existence to be an emotional trigger for my mother!’
’All to force to divorce Theodore Grant!’
’How could she?’
’How could she dare?!’
My eyes were bloodshot, and my chest heaved with fury. A wave of hatred, more intense than any I had ever felt, washed over , all-consuming and overwhelming.
"Chelsea..."
Seemingly sensing my distress, Sebastian Forrest had co to stand beside at so point.
I instinctively glanced over at him, my eyes eting his concerned gaze.
I shook my head, signaling that I was all right.
I took a deep breath, forcing down the rage that filled my chest. Only then did I turn to my brother. "You knew, didn’t you? You knew Clara Langley was the one who killed Mom."
’So that’s why he called that day after Mom died, screaming at and pinning all the bla for her death on !’
’How ridiculous!’
’Absolutely ridiculous!’
My brother looked away, lowering his head. "I’ve told you so many tis, it had nothing to do with her. Mom’s death was just an accident..."
The implication being that no one was to bla—especially not Clara Langley.
I sneered. "You called before and said I killed Mom. What, now that your precious woman is involved, you’ve changed your story to it being an ’accident’?"
"Why are you being so difficult?" my brother demanded, his brows knitting together. He was trying to pull the ’big brother’ card to shut down, just like he always did. "I was drunk then! I was just saying things out of anger. Why would you take it seriously?"
I laughed, a sound devoid of any humor. "So, in the end, it’s still my fault, is that it?"
I don’t know if my brother genuinely didn’t see the fury I was suppressing, or if he just didn’t care. He pursed his lips and snapped impatiently, "It was your fault to begin with!"
I finally snapped. I raised my hand and—SLAP!—brought it down hard across my brother’s face.
Caught completely off guard, his head snapped to the side from the force of the blow.
Then, clutching his face, he stared back at in utter disbelief. "Chelsea Joyce, are you insane? You dare hit ?"
’Yes!’
’I am insane!’
’Growing up, he was the only one who ever hit . I was just the little shadow who followed him everywhere.’
’If I weren’t insane, how could I have slapped my own brother!’
My face was eerily calm, but tears stread from my eyes. The look I gave my brother was one of pure, undisguised hatred.
"You’re damn right I hit you!" I was trembling uncontrollably. Tears welled up again, but I forced them back. "You and Clara Langley killed my mom! You’re murderers!"
Clutching his face, my brother glared at . "Don’t you act so high and mighty. If you had kept Theodore Grant in line and not let him run off to see another woman on your wedding day, would Mom have been angered to death? Chelsea Joyce, do you really think you’re so innocent and blaless in all this? That you have no responsibility at all?"
My brother spat through gritted teeth, "You’re one of the murderers who killed Mom, too!"
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