Chapter 351

Ethan Caldwell lifted his chin defiantly, his gaze deliberately avoiding hers. He took a slow drag from his cigarette, exhaling a thick plume of smoke that veiled his expression in a hazy shroud.

Vanessa Hart had expected nothing less from him.

Though they had shared lunch at the same table, not a single word had passed between them. With so many eyes around, she couldn’t risk drawing attention by confronting Ethan in public.

Her fingers curled protectively over her stomach as she stepped closer to the sleek black car.

"Ethan."

"Don’t touch me."

He rolled down the window just enough to rest his forearm on the ledge, flicking ash from his cigarette with deliberate indifference. His voice was laced with disdain. "Filthy."

Vanessa froze outside the car, caught in the tension between hesitation and indignation.

Filthy?

Her mind raced. Was he referring to the ash—or was he calling me filthy?

Her shoulders slumped slightly, an invisible weight pressing down on her chest.

Ethan smirked, as if he could hear every unspoken doubt swirling in her mind.

Vanessa staggered slightly, her vision blurring at the edges.

"Ethan…" Her teeth sank into her lower lip, her expression a mix of shock and devastation. "Is this because of the rumors? Because the whole world knows I'm illegitimate now? Do you think I'm beneath you?"

Lately, Cresthaven had been buzzing with whispers about her true parentage.

Anonymous messages flooded her phone, each one more vicious than the last.

Someone had leaked her number online, and the internet had turned into a battlefield of cruelty.

They called her a parasite, a stain on the Hayes name, stealing a life that wasn’t hers to claim.

Vanessa clenched her fists. What did I ever do to deserve this? I was just a child. I had no control over who my parents were.

Once, she had snapped back at one of the faceless trolls—only to be met with a wall of accusations, branding her as ungrateful for daring to defend herself.

She couldn’t shake the suspicion that Evelyn had orchestrated it all, paying people to push her until she cracked—until she lost everything, including the baby.

And now, Ethan’s words—dirty—felt like a knife twisting in the wound of her exposed past.

The scandal had exploded, and of course, he was suffering too. His reputation, his family name—everything was tangled in the mess of her existence.

But then, his expression shifted, his features smoothing into something colder. Detached.

The air between them turned to ice.

Vanessa braced herself.

This wasn’t just about the rumors anymore.

Something far worse was coming.

Ethan’s voice was deceptively calm as he spoke.

"I’ve met Damian."

Vanessa went rigid, her expression freezing for a heartbeat too long.

"Damian? Why would you ever meet that worthless gambler?"

Ethan let out a derisive laugh, stubbing out his cigarette.

He reached out, his fingers brushing lightly against her cheek.

"Didn’t realize you could be so cruel. You’d trash your first lover without hesitation?"

His words sent ice through Vanessa’s veins.

A cold sweat prickled down her spine, her feet suddenly unsteady.

"Ethan, what are you saying? I… I don’t understand."

His gaze locked onto hers, sharp and assessing, as if he were watching a poorly rehearsed play.

"Fine. If you’re confused, let me spell it out for you."

He crushed the cigarette underfoot, his eyes darkening.

"Vanessa, three years ago, you planned Evelyn’s kidnapping, didn’t you? Damian confessed. I heard it myself."

His next words struck like a blade.

"You slept with him. That was your first time, wasn’t it?"

The air between us grew thick with tension.

Ethan Caldwell's lips curled into a cruel smirk as his gaze raked over me.

"So it was all an act," he said, voice dripping with disdain. "You pretended to be pure, when in reality, you were already ruined."

My fingers curled into fists at my sides.

The accusation hung in the air like a blade poised to strike.

Vanessa Hart stood beside him, her eyes gleaming with malicious triumph.

"You must have been terrified we'd find out," she purred. "All this time, playing the victim while hiding your dirty little secret."

Alexander Whitmore stepped forward, his presence a shield between me and their venom.

"Enough," he growled.

But Ethan wasn't finished.

"Did you think we wouldn't discover the truth?" He laughed, the sound harsh and mocking. "Did you really believe you could fool everyone forever?"

The weight of their words pressed down on me, but I refused to crumble.

Because the truth they thought they knew wasn't the whole story.

And when the real secret came to light—

It would destroy them instead.