Chapter 3
405words
Suspicious glances surrounded me until Nathaniel Sinclair materialized at my side.
"Sister-in-law, you made it."
With those two words, their expressions transformed.
I produced carefully staged photos with Victor and tearfully recounted intimate moments until all doubts evaporated.
The elder Sinclairs embraced me, their grief seemingly amplified by my presence.
"Iris, dear, we must support each other through this tragedy.
He was so charming, so clearly a Sinclair—we verified it with multiple DNA tests! How could this happen?
Even if he wasn't truly our son, we'd never have driven him to such desperation..."
I nodded through my tears while exchanging a covert glance with Nathaniel.
Later, in Nathaniel's private study, we watched surveillance footage of Victor and his lover bound and abandoned in a remote wilderness.
Their masks of civility had fallen away as they fought savagely over the last drops of water.
I turned to Nathaniel, suddenly curious.
"I'm surprised the Sinclairs genuinely cared about him. No wonder you called him a formidable adversary."
Nathaniel snorted and slid several documents across the desk.
"He's worthless—cut from the same cloth as the rest of those two-faced Sinclairs.
They knew I wasn't their blood, so they kept me at arm's length and denied me any real authority.
Yet they needed me for expansion and appearances, so they trapped me in their golden cage.
They even threatened my real parents' lives.
Now I don't want to leave—I want them to pay for everything!"
I raised my glass with a predatory smile.
"To a mutually beneficial partnership, then."
As we clinked glasses, commotion erupted outside.
Nathaniel's eyes widened as he activated a hidden panel in the wall.
"This leads to the gardens. Go—now."
I slipped into the passage without hesitation.
Through a window, I spotted Sinclair servants approaching with my loan sharks in tow.
"Pay what you owe! Don't think hiding behind the Sinclair name scares us!
We'll burn everything down if we have to—how would that look for the precious Sinclair reputation?"
I curved my lips into a smile and approached them with deliberate calm.
Their rapid arrival was unexpected—someone had talked.
"Iris, perfect timing. Do you know these... individuals?
Do you truly owe them such substantial sums?"
Eleanor Sinclair clutched my arm, her voice carefully controlled.
A sharp-faced woman beside her immediately interjected.
"Sister-in-law? Please! The trash this family keeps dragging in is absolutely revolting!"
