Chapter 190

Dominic was caught off guard.

Any rational person could piece together the situation from that heated exchange.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing in there, Evelyn! Listen carefully—I'll be waiting right outside this door! I won't leave until you open it! If you want to escape, you'd better sprout wings and fly out the window!"

His mother’s furious voice cut through the air just as he was tangled up with Evelyn. At that volume, it was impossible to ignore.

He hadn’t stopped what he was doing because he assumed his mother was trying to prevent him from being with his cousin’s wife.

After all, that would be a scandal beyond social acceptance.

But then, the moment Beatrice stepped inside, she had smirked and said, "Not bad. Did you manage to reel in a big fish?"

Dominic knew something was wrong.

He couldn’t pinpoint it yet, but his mother’s intentions were clearly different from what he’d expected.

The argument that followed between Beatrice and Evelyn would’ve been gibberish to an outsider.

"You’re telling me there’s no man here? You’re cheating on my nephew and my son at the crack of dawn! I never thought you’d stoop this low, Evelyn!"

Dominic had cleaned himself up while his mother hurled accusations.

Then—slap!

The sound was sharp, like a blade slicing through the tension. The two women outside—the woman who raised him and the mother of his children—were now physically fighting.

Once Dominic had straightened his appearance, he frowned and moved toward the door. Just as his hand touched the knob, Evelyn’s next words struck him like lightning.

"Haven’t I always been a disgrace in your eyes? You think I seduced your son—my supposed brother. And when that failed, I married your nephew, who you claim shares my blood. Isn’t that what you’ve always said? That I was born to ruin you? So why wait so long to hit me? Why not do it in front of the Blackwoods and the Lockwoods?"

Everything clicked.

Now he understood why she left him. Why she said she couldn’t forget Nathan Kensington. Why she settled for some low-level employee from another company.

He’d thought she was insane when she whispered that it would be nice if he were her older brother.

He’d assumed it was some twisted fantasy.

But there was a reason behind it all—and his mother was the architect.

"Dominic." Beatrice panicked, her hostility vanishing as she forced a gentle smile. "I was just so angry at Evelyn that I wasn’t thinking straight. I thought she was sneaking around with some random man."

Dominic ignored her. He strode to the coffee table, picked up his cigarette case and lighter, and lit one.

Taking a slow drag, he turned to Evelyn. "Pack your things. We leave at nine sharp."

Evelyn’s cheek was swollen from Beatrice’s slap.

Dominic stared at the mark for a long moment before looking away and dragging his mother out of the apartment.

Silence settled over the cramped rental.

Evelyn washed her face at the sink, water dripping from her lashes. She didn’t know if it was from the tap or her own tears.

The moment she’d burned bridges with Beatrice, she knew there was no going back.

Even if a DNA test proved she was Beatrice’s daughter and Dominic wasn’t her brother—it wouldn’t matter.

Their relationship was beyond repair.

Blackwood Manor

At seven, Sebastian arrived to take Alexander and Isabella to school.

Margaret and Julian lived on the west wing, oblivious to the storm brewing on the east side.

Reginald Blackwood was downstairs, watching the gardeners tend to the roses. He barely glanced up when his grandson and daughter-in-law entered and headed upstairs.

But then—raised voices.

Reginald’s ears pricked.

Dominic was assertive, yes, but he never lost control in front of family. He preferred to ignore what he didn’t want to see—unless it crossed moral or legal lines.

So why was he shouting at his mother now?

Upstairs

Dominic hadn’t spoken a word to Beatrice on the drive back.

She knew her son. The quieter he was, the more dangerous.

She couldn’t let this fester. She couldn’t let him believe Evelyn.

"I did this for you," she insisted. "I know you think for yourself, but men have destroyed themselves over women before. Blackwood Corp is leading the industry. Don’t throw it all away for her, Dominic!"

She was weaving the perfect lie.

Dominic stopped at the doorway, turning to face her with a razor-sharp glare.

"Didn’t Father do the same? He abandoned his first wife for you. If I break a few social norms, so what? I’m your son."

Back then, when Edmund Blackwood and Margaret Lockwood’s marriage was official, Beatrice had already been recognized as his second wife.

Two wives—as if they’d forgotten society only allowed one.

"Dominic, Evelyn is Maxwell’s wife! Your grandfather will disown you if he finds out what you two did this morning! You might not care about the Blackwood name, but he does!"

Beatrice played her last card—Reginald’s authority.

"Go tell him then," Dominic snapped, his voice icy. "Tell him right now."

The staff nearby flinched.

Dominic’s gaze was frigid. "If it weren’t for you, Evelyn would never have married Maxwell. And as for how I became her brother—I’ll get answers when I return."