Chapter 15

Alexander's unexpected touch sent Evelyn's pulse racing. Heat flooded her cheeks as she struggled to maintain composure.

She glanced up at his striking profile, finding his expression unreadably neutral.

"Grandfather is watching."

Those three icy words shattered her momentary illusion. This was all for show - another performance for Henry Blackwood's benefit.

The realization turned her blood to ice. How ironic that the only time he touched her willingly was for deception.

At the dinner table, only one person didn't belong - Victoria. Yet the old patriarch's kind gaze kept drifting to Evelyn with unsettling familiarity, as if recalling some long-forgotten memory.

What shocked Evelyn most was how thoroughly Alexander played his role. He served her portions, even peeled shrimp with meticulous care - all while flashing rare smiles that never reached his eyes.

Across the table, Victoria's forced grin couldn't mask her seething jealousy.

For one surreal hour, Evelyn allowed herself to pretend. When Alexander took her hand leaving the estate, his warmth seeped into her bones. She wanted to freeze this moment, preserve this fleeting tenderness...

Reality struck like a slap.

At the car, Alexander wrenched his hand away as if burned. "Get lost."

The venom in his voice left her reeling. She watched numbly as he ushered Victoria into the passenger seat with exaggerated care.

The engine roared to life. Tires screeched. Then silence.

Abandoned on the deserted street, autumn winds whipped at Evelyn's dress. The chill penetrated deeper than flesh, freezing the last traces of their charade.

Alexander never came home that night.

While imagining him tangled with Victoria, Evelyn scoured medical sites about her condition. Each click drove the knife deeper.

The tumor's position made surgery perilous. Even terminating the pregnancy might not save her. If these were her final months, she'd risk everything to bring their child into the world.

At dawn, hospital tests confirmed her fate. The results blurred through unshed tears.

"Oh Alexander... I thought I'd have a lifetime to wear you down. How cruel that my time runs short."

Wandering dazed through the city, her phone chimed with an anonymous message. The attached video showed the bracelet incident - clear footage of Victoria planting it in Evelyn's coat.

She didn't question this miracle. A cab brought her straight to Blackwood Enterprises.

However little time remained, she wouldn't let that viper keep deceiving Alexander.

The receptionist's curious stare followed her to the elevators. Whispers trailed behind her like poison. Twitter notifications exploded with yesterday's scandal - #GoldDiggerEvelyn trending with vicious comments about "tacky social climbers."

She burst into Alexander's office as his meeting concluded. His glacial glare cut deeper than any online insult. "Have you no shame showing your face here?"

Wordlessly, Evelyn thrust her phone forward. "Watch carefully. See who the real thief is."