Chapter 232
Robert Sinclair struggled to speak. His frail hand trembled as he pointed accusingly at Evelyn.
Victoria Montgomery turned sharply. Her daughter Sophia stood defiantly before Robert, her face twisted in contempt.
Robert gasped for air, his mouth hanging open. But a late-stage lung cancer patient in distress could never catch his breath...
"Enough, Sophia! Get out!" Victoria grabbed her daughter's shoulders, pushing her toward the door. As her back faced Robert, she flashed Sophia a meaningful look and hissed, "Let me handle this. You'll get what you want."
"You can't handle anything!" Sophia spat, shoving her mother away violently.
To Sophia, her mother was nothing but dead weight. She marched back to the hospital bed, looming over the pitiful figure beneath the sheets with a cruel smirk. "You've been rotting in this hospital too long, Uncle Robert. You don't know what's happening outside. You just swallow whatever lies Evelyn feeds you."
She pulled out her phone, displaying a screenshot of a news article. Robert strained to focus his fading vision on the screen.
"See this? Your precious daughter is already married." Sophia lied smoothly. "This man... treats her like a queen. You want Evelyn to be happy, don't you?"
Robert's face remained flushed from coughing, but his eyes locked onto the screen.
Sophia continued sweetly, "Her husband gives her everything - mansions, luxury cars. Tell me, Uncle Robert, why isn't life fair? Evelyn lives in paradise while I have to beg you for that tiny two-bedroom apartment!"
Her shrill voice echoed through the sterile room.
"You don't know what your daughter did five years ago, do you? Should I tell you everything?"
Meanwhile, at the penthouse...
Evelyn woke early to make breakfast, only to find little Isabella clinging to her leg.
"It's too early, sweetheart. Go back to sleep..." Evelyn scooped up the drowsy child. Isabella nuzzled against her neck. "I want to sleep with you..."
"You can, but promise me you'll go to school today." Evelyn worried Isabella's tantrums would provoke her temperamental father at breakfast, leaving the girl in tears.
As predicted, Isabella erupted at the mention of school. "No! No! No!" she screamed.
Evelyn carried the thrashing child back to bed, patiently reasoning with her.
By eight o'clock...
Isabella finally slept. Evelyn slipped out to prepare breakfast - warming milk in the microwave, simmering bone broth on the stove.
Dominic emerged from his study at three in the morning. As Alexander and Isabella's father, Evelyn prayed for his health. But a CEO's responsibilities never ended.
Working through the night was the price he paid for spending days caring for Evelyn and the twins.
That's why she prepared the nourishing broth.
When Dominic rose, the children were already awake. He marveled at how Evelyn had convinced Isabella - now dressed, washed, and packing her flowered backpack.
To Dominic, this was starting to feel like a real family.
In the bathroom...
Alexander hesitated before flushing. Dominic did it for him. "Stop dawdling. Wash your face properly."
Eight words!
Previously, Dominic would bark just three: "Wash your face!"
The boy scrambled to obey. His father handed him a fresh towel.
Though young, Alexander sensed something different about his father today.
"You're my son. Why wouldn't I treat you well?" Dominic said while brushing his teeth. They exited together.
At the breakfast table...
Isabella suddenly jumped up, insisting on helping "Miss Eve" serve. Evelyn wouldn't let her carry anything heavy - just a hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the family of four sat together.
Evelyn silently placed a steaming bowl before Dominic, then poured milk for the children.
Dominic's gaze lingered on Evelyn - tender, intense. She kept her head down, cheeks burning under his silent admiration.
The chattering children missed the adults' exchange.
Dominic drained his bowl quickly. "Another," he said, handing it to Evelyn.
She'd planned to refill it anyway - and pack extra for his office.
As she stood, her phone rang.
"Hello?" She lifted the pot lid.
Dominic lingered at the table, savoring this domestic bliss. Checking his watch, his own phone rang - Sebastian calling.
As he answered, something shattered in the kitchen.
"Mr. Blackwood, Evelyn's father's condition worsened. He's in emergency..."
Simultaneously, in the kitchen...
The hospital's call left Evelyn numb. The pot lid crashed to the floor.