Chapter 226

Victoria's face drained of color as if all strength had left her body.

Alexander was serious.

"Alexander, how could you?" Eleanor stepped forward, her voice sharp with indignation. "Victoria has been by your side for years. She gave you a son—Ethan is five years old now! For five years, she's endured being called the other woman. And now, because of that wretched Evelyn, you're casting her aside?"

Alexander's jaw tightened, his dark eyes flashing with restrained fury.

He hated hearing Evelyn referred to with such venom.

"Enough!" Henry Blackwood's voice cut through the room like a whip. "Mrs. Kingsley, though Victoria is your long-lost daughter, that doesn't give you the right to speak of Evelyn that way! She was raised by parents too—parents who would be devastated to know the suffering she endured!"

His chest rose with a heavy sigh.

"That poor girl, Evelyn… even in death, she bears the weight of false accusations."

Shaking his head, he turned and slowly made his way upstairs.

Evelyn pressed her lips together, a bitter ache swelling in her chest.

Grandpa…

Thank you for defending me.

But as she glanced at Eleanor and William, their blind devotion to Victoria twisted the knife deeper.

The room fell into silence, broken only by Alexander's icy tone. "I won't fight for Ethan's custody. Given the circumstances, you should reflect on your own mistakes."

Without another word, he turned and walked away. Evelyn watched his retreating figure, struck by the unexpected loneliness in his posture.

"Alexander! Alexander, where are you going?" Victoria chased after him, but moments later, the roar of his car engine echoed through the estate.

Clenching her fists, Victoria stared at the empty driveway, her heart burning with fury.

She had thought tonight would be about setting their wedding date. Instead, it had become their last supper.

No.

She refused to accept this.

She would never surrender her place as the future Mrs. Blackwood.

Not like this.

As soon as Alexander left, Sebastian guided Evelyn out.

Settling into the passenger seat, Evelyn exhaled shakily.

Sebastian reached over, taking her cold hands in his. "You're freezing. Was it what Eleanor and William said?"

Evelyn managed a small smile at his warmth, but the sting in her eyes remained.

"Maybe I was never meant to have parents."

"You don't plan to tell them the truth?"

"It's better this way." She laughed softly, but the bitterness lingered. Even if she never reclaimed her name, she wouldn't let Victoria keep what wasn't hers.

She wouldn't let her pretend to be the Montgomery heiress—not when Evelyn had suffered in her place.

A sigh escaped her as the car stopped at a red light. Glancing out the window, she froze.

Alexander's car was parked nearby.

And there he was—stepping out of a florist's shop, arms laden with a massive bouquet of crimson roses.

"Alexander?"

Sebastian followed her gaze.

Alexander slid back into his car, the roses resting on the passenger seat.

"Why would he buy so many roses?"

Was there another woman? Was that why he'd ended things with Victoria so easily? The thought reignited the embers of hatred in Evelyn's chest.

She had almost believed his guilt over her suffering played a part in his decision.

But now?

"Let's follow him," Sebastian said, pressing the accelerator. "We'll get our answers."