Chapter 349

Evelyn couldn't accept this outcome. Her mind rebelled against the very idea.

No, Alexander must be playing some strategic game!

'He's pretending indifference to make me stop using Evelyn's ashes as leverage.'

The more Victoria dwelled on it, the more plausible this theory became.

Yet when she snapped back to reality, Alexander's car had already disappeared down the driveway.

Victoria's nails dug into her palms. She'd been so close to becoming Mrs. Blackwood, only to have victory snatched away. This wasn't over.

"I'll make you pay, Vivian Prescott," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Eleanor emerged from the house, concern etching lines across her forehead. The sight that greeted her froze her in place.

Her daughter stood rigid, face twisted in an expression Eleanor had never seen before - pure, unadulterated malice.

Eleanor's maternal instincts recoiled. This wasn't the gentle, compassionate Victoria she knew. The girl before her radiated venom.

Vivian's words echoed in Eleanor's mind: 'Victoria Lancaster isn't your real daughter.' Her pulse spiked, then steadied.

"Absurd," Eleanor muttered, shaking her head. "Anyone would be upset after such provocation. That Prescott woman is pure poison."

She wrapped the justification around herself like armor.

———

Alexander returned to an empty Blackwood Estate.

The master bedroom held a single clue - a handwritten note on the nightstand.

His fingers trembled slightly as he picked up the slip of paper. Elegant script danced across its surface: 'Alexander, today was perfect. I'm grateful fate brought us together.'

Simple words that struck his heart like an arrow.

Beneath, three more words completed the message: 'Missing you, Vivian.'

A rare smile touched Alexander's lips as warmth flooded his chest.

———

Evelyn was mid-sentence with Sebastian when Alexander's call interrupted.

The buzzing phone drew her gaze. Without hesitation, she silenced it.

The desperate girl who once waited by the phone was gone. In her place stood a woman who understood power dynamics.

What's easily obtained is rarely valued.

A lesson learned too late.

Three consecutive calls went unanswered. Then came the text: 'I miss you too.'

Evelyn's lips curled into a knowing smirk. The irony wasn't lost on her.

Sebastian glimpsed the message and gave a wry chuckle. "Would things have been different if he'd said that years ago?"

Evelyn's smile held centuries of sorrow. "The past doesn't deal in hypotheticals."

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Amelia's cheerful voice preceded her as she bounded into the room, clutching a colorful flyer.

Evelyn's expression softened instantly as she scooped up her daughter. "What's this, sweetheart?"

Amelia thrust the paper forward proudly. "From school! Everyone gets one!"

Evelyn scanned the announcement. "A family fun day this Saturday."

"Teacher says all mommies and daddies come!" Amelia's wide eyes held hopeful expectation.

Sebastian ruffled her hair affectionately. "We wouldn't miss it."

Amelia squealed with delight, planting a wet kiss on Evelyn's cheek before reaching for Sebastian. "Daddy hug! Kiss for daddy too!"

Sebastian's embrace was natural, his kiss-planting ceremony performed with theatrical solemnity. The love in his eyes was unmistakable.

Watching them, Evelyn felt warmth spread through her chest - followed immediately by the familiar pang of guilt. Sebastian treated Amelia as his own, and while gratitude filled her heart, so did the weight of what she could never give him in return.