Chapter 251

Richard's hands trembled visibly as the accusation hung in the air.

Claire smirked, her voice dripping with disdain. "Age doesn’t grant wisdom, especially to those who’ve never earned the title they claim. A father? You’ve never acted like one—not for a single day."

Her gaze sharpened. "Mr. Hayes, every time Vanessa sheds a tear, you immediately lash out at Evelyn. Tell me, which one is actually your daughter? Or is Vanessa something more… intimate? The way you coddle her certainly raises questions."

Richard's face twisted in fury. "How dare you—"

Lucas cut him off with a warning glance. "Mind your tone."

Richard swallowed hard, realizing his mistake. These weren’t people he could afford to anger.

Margaret, her patience wearing thin, stepped in. "Enough. Vanessa, stop clinging to your father like a child. You’re a grown woman—act like it. This behavior is inappropriate and invites rumors."

Claire’s words had struck a chord.

Margaret’s thoughts darkened. I may have watched Vanessa grow up, but she shares no blood with Richard.

The tension in the room thickened, the unspoken truth hovering like a storm about to break.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the Hawthorne Estate.

Even a biological daughter naturally grows distant from her father with time—how much more so an adopted one?

Richard's affection for Vanessa had always been excessive. Too tender. Too indulgent.

Margaret had caught them whispering in corners more times than she could count, their hushed voices cutting off the moment she approached.

Once doubt took root, it spread like wildfire through her mind.

Before, she had simply assumed they shared an unusually close bond. Now, every glance, every touch between them seemed laced with something darker.

Vanessa froze, her mind racing. Was it wrong for Richard to wipe my tears?

Her gaze flickered nervously toward Ethan, terrified of what he might think.

But Ethan stood motionless, his expression unreadable, lost in some private turmoil.

Evelyn watched the scene unfold with icy detachment. "Vanessa," she said, her voice sharp as glass, "why would I push you?"

Vanessa's lips trembled as she spun her web of lies, each word carefully crafted to paint Evelyn as the villain.

"You married Alexander," she whispered, voice thick with false hurt, "but you still can't let go of Ethan."

The air grew heavy with tension, thick enough to choke on.

Evelyn's fingers curled into fists at her sides, her patience wearing dangerously thin.

Margaret's eyes darted between them, suspicion hardening into something uglier.

And Ethan—Ethan said nothing at all.

"You believe my presence near Ethan is ruining your schemes. And worse—you think I stole our parents' affection. That's why you want me dead."

The moment Evelyn spoke those words, the air in the room turned icy.

Vanessa's accusations had crossed a line, offending everyone who stood by Evelyn's side.

"Absolute rubbish."

With deliberate calm, Evelyn reached into her pocket and retrieved a sleek black recorder.

Her voice was steady. "I recorded everything that happened yesterday."

Vanessa froze, her gaze locked onto the device.

How did Evelyn even have a recorder on her?

Modern recorders could capture video too. If that were the case, every damning detail of the incident would be preserved.

"Vanessa, you look terrified."

Evelyn's lips curled into a cold smile. "Beg me now, and I might just—"

Before she could finish, Ethan, who had been silent until then, stepped forward and snatched the recorder from her hand.

Alexander's eyes narrowed dangerously, certain Ethan meant to crush the damning evidence beneath his heel.

His fingers twitched, ready to seize the device back—but then Ethan's thumb pressed play instead.

The recorder crackled to life with Vanessa's venomous voice:

"Evelyn, you stole Alexander from me. Now give Ethan back. He was always meant to be mine."

A sharp inhale echoed through the room.

"Why did you have to return from prison? Why ruin everything? Without you, I'd be their only daughter. Ethan would've chosen me."

The recording captured every hissed syllable, every unstable tremor in her tone.

"Evelyn, he belongs to me. Our parents' love was always mine first. You think you've won?" A brittle laugh. "I'll never let you keep what's rightfully mine."

Last night's confrontation in the stairwell unfolded anew through the speakers.

The high-definition footage played simultaneously—Vanessa's calculated glance toward the security camera.

The deliberate way she flung herself backward, screaming as if Evelyn had shoved her.

Except Evelyn's hands never made contact.

The truth unraveled in brutal clarity: Evelyn had actually been reaching to pull Vanessa back when momentum dragged them both down.

Alexander's jaw tightened. The recorder clattered onto the table, its damning testimony echoing in the sudden silence.

Vanessa's breath hitched, her fingers turning ice-cold.

"You vile creature." Claire's voice dripped with venom as she stepped forward, her glare sharp enough to cut glass. "After everything Evelyn did to protect you, this is how you repay her? Spreading filth about the one person who still showed you mercy?" She scoffed, shaking her head in disgust. "You're not just shameless—you're poison."

The weight of the accusation hung thick in the air.

Vanessa opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Claire wasn't finished. "Did you really think no one would find out? That your lies would just disappear?" She pulled out her phone, thumb hovering over the screen. "Guess what? The truth always surfaces."

A cold dread slithered down Vanessa's spine.

What had they uncovered?