"Mom, it’s ."
"Olivia! Your phone finally works — where have you been? Why was it off this whole ti? Do you know how worried I’ve been? You have NO idea what kind of life I’m living here! Your father — he’s planning to leave everything to Sophia! If you don’t co back soon, you’ll lose everything! I can’t control him anymore, I... I don’t even know what he’s thinking anymore..."
Susan’s voice trembled. Her eyes reddened, resentnt burning behind them.
Was she wrong?
No — all she ever wanted was to protect her family.
Aurora had co out of nowhere like a storm, ripping their ho apart.
Why should she, the legal wife, swallow humiliation and pretend nothing happened?
Why should the interloper’s daughter take everything?
"Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be back very soon," Olivia’s voice promised — unusually low, strangely cold.
"No one will ever bully us again."
Then the call ended.
...
Overseas.
Olivia’s face was wrapped in layers of surgical gauze.
Beside her stood Ethan, eyes dark and dangerous.
"Ethan," she whispered, touching his cheeks gently, "now I finally know you truly love . Otherwise you wouldn’t have... used your own rib to fix my nose."
Ethan’s fists clenched, knuckles whitening — yet he smiled softly.
"I told you, I’ll give you everything you want."
...
One week later.
Andrew was discharged.
Sophia crouched beside the hospital bed, staring at the slippers underneath.
A bedridden man... shouldn’t need slippers.
Unless...
"Sophia, paperwork’s done. You leaving or not?"
Susan stood at the door, pretending she didn’t care — though she’d been running around for Andrew the entire ti.
Sophia followed her outside. Andrew sat in a wheelchair, waiting.
A Maybach pulled up. Lucas stepped out.
"Sophia."
"You’re here?" she asked softly.
"Harper’s at ho."
Sophia noticed the tension in his voice — sothing urgent.
Andrew looked up at her.
"Sophia, co ho with Dad. Your room’s exactly the way you left it."
Susan opened her mouth to throw a sarcastic jab — then stopped. She was oddly quiet... watching.
"I’m not going. You go ahead."
"Sophia... you still won’t forgive ?" Andrew pleaded.
"Forgive you?" Her tone chilled. "Just because you said a few nice words? When you got hurt, I paused my plans. That’s all. I saved the ga — now I’ll continue playing when you’re better. Understand?"
She’d never promised forgiveness — only delayed revenge.
Andrew was helped into the car — his legs, clearly useless.
Once they drove off, Sophia turned to Lucas. "I have sothing to tell you."
"I do too," he said. "You first."
"I found a pair of slippers under Andrew’s bed."
Lucas’s brows lifted slightly. "Harper ca to the house earlier. She brought your missing clothes."
Sophia tensed. "She took my blood-stained clothes?"
"Yes. Let’s go."
...
Blackstone Manor.
Harper had been waiting all day.
Billy had told her to send the test results — and to keep quiet.
Just one day. Let Sophia be fooled for one day.
But then Harper learned Sophia was considering letting things go.
Absolutely not.
"Aunt Harper, please — don’t slip up. If Mommy finds out now, she’ll be suspicious."
"Yeah, Aunt Harper! We love you, but your lying skills are... tragic," another added solemnly.
A line of tiny faces stared up at her, begging.
"Don’t worry," Harper insisted, puffing up proudly. "I’m reliable."
Billy didn’t look convinced at ALL.
Aunt Harper was amazing — just... a huge chatterbox who couldn’t keep a secret to save her life.
It didn’t take long before the front door opened.
Harper shot up instantly, clutching the file envelope like it was evidence in a cri drama.
"Sophia, you’re back! I—uh—I ca because Billy gave your clothes. The blood on them?"
She leaned in dramatically.
"It wasn’t human blood. At all."
Billy’s little face stiffened. He knew she’d spill.
Sophia slowly turned to look at her little son’s back, voice calm but sharp.
"Really?"
"Of course," Harper said proudly. "Honestly, I thought you’d at least notice sothing off. Guess I overestimated you. Looks like when it cos to Andrew, you don’t hate him as deeply as you think."
Sophia tore open the envelope, eyes scanning the report.
Combined with the slippers she found under Andrew’s bed, the truth hit her like a slap.
He had planned everything.
He played her.
"He dared to lie to ."
Her voice dropped, icy and lethal.
All this ti—staying at the hospital, worrying, ignoring Marcus’s calls—and he was fooling her like she was so blind idiot?
Harper crossed her arms. "Also, side note — my friend in Country B told Olivia flies ho next week."
Sophia pinched the bridge of her nose.
She’d forgotten about Olivia lately.
She’d been too busy being played.
"So he lied just to drag back into that house?"
Lucas snorted. "You’re not dumb, you just sotis refuse to use your brain. He already knows you’re YL’s heir. And right now, the Morgan Group? One snap from you and it collapses. Rember — after I pulled my funds, they were hanging by a thread."
Lucas had been waiting — waiting for her to see it herself.
But even brilliant won stumble when their guard is down.
Sophia clenched the file in her hand, breath deep and steady.
"He tricked . For days. No wonder Susan quieted down lately — she must’ve found out his plan halfway through."
She crushed the file into a ball and tossed it into the trash.
"Fine. He wants to play? Then we’ll play."
Her eyes glittered, vicious and calm.
"Let’s see who wins."
She grabbed her phone and dialed the number she’d been rejecting for days.
"Uncle Gordon? ...I’m in City A. It’s ti."
Marcus had wanted to return to help her.
She’d refused, convinced she could handle everything alone.
But today — she realized one truth:
Even queens call in their generals when war begins.
...
Morgan Estate
The car pulled in and Susan stepped out first, reaching for the wheelchair handles—only for Andrew to wave her off.
"She’s not here. No need to keep pretending."
He stood up smoothly.
The man who’d been "too weak to walk" now moved like nothing ever happened.
"I think you should be more careful," Susan whispered nervously. "She’s not an ordinary girl. If she figures this out—everything collapses."
Andrew glanced around, paranoid, before huffing, "See? This is what hiding things does to you. In the hospital you were terrified she’d catch you lying. Now we’re ho and you still jump at shadows."
He stepped into the house, relaxed and smug.
"Face it, Sophia is already prey. She won’t escape my hand."
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