All the doubts from her past life came crashing back into Evelyn’s mind like a violent storm.
There had always been something wrong.
Richard Vale had treated Claire and William with the same affection he had shown Evelyn and Ethan—or at least, that was what she had believed when she was younger.
But after everything went wrong in her previous life, Richard had visited her only once.
Once.
He had stood before her like a stranger, offered a few empty words, and then disappeared from her life.
He had never come back.
And now that Evelyn thought about it carefully, another question began to torment her.
What about Ethan’s death?
Could Richard truly have known nothing about it?
Or…
Had he been involved?
Evelyn’s fingers slowly curled into fists.
In her previous life, Richard had always been strangely cold toward Ethan.
He openly favored William, giving him whatever he wanted and turning a blind eye whenever William bullied Ethan.
No matter how badly William treated Ethan, Richard had never stepped in.
Back then, Evelyn had simply assumed it was because Ethan was different.
Because he was sick.
Because he had been born with complications that left him physically and mentally weaker than other children.
But now…
She wasn’t so sure.
A terrifying possibility surfaced in her mind.
Could Richard have known what would happen to Ethan?
Could he have even helped make it happen?
Evelyn’s eyes gradually turned cold.
She needed answers.
She would investigate everything herself.
If her suspicions proved true, then Richard Vale would become another name on her list of enemies.
Even if he was her father.
Anyone responsible for Ethan’s death was her sworn enemy.
No exceptions.
And there was something even more frightening.
What if Richard had betrayed my mother?
What if her mother’s suffering all those years ago had never been an accident?
The thought made Evelyn’s heart tighten.
She forced herself to suppress the questions for now.
There would be time to uncover the truth.
But one thing was certain.
She would never again trust someone simply because they shared her blood.
Evelyn turned her attention back to the immediate problem.
She grabbed the electric fan from William’s room.
Yet taking the fan back wasn’t enough to satisfy her anger.
She glanced down at William’s sleeping figure.
Then she kicked him hard in the backside.
“Get up!”
William rolled across the floor with a startled grunt.
“What the—?”
He jerked awake, his face twisting in irritation as he opened his mouth to curse.
Before he could say anything, Evelyn kicked him again.
“If you ever take Ethan’s fan again, I’ll throw you out of this house myself!” she snapped.
“You can sleep on the streets if you don’t know how to respect other people’s things!”
William stared at her in shock.
He was tall, broad, and considerably stronger than Evelyn.
But he was afraid of her.
Everyone in the Vale household knew Evelyn was the family’s precious daughter.
She had been spoiled since childhood.
No one dared to make her unhappy because the moment she complained, Richard would make sure whoever offended her paid the price.
William clenched his teeth.
His hatred for Evelyn burned beneath the surface.
But he didn’t dare show it.
“Second Sister…” he muttered reluctantly.
“I won’t do it again.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Evelyn’s expression hardened.
“I only have one brother, and that’s Ethan.”
She pointed toward the door.
“If you bully Ethan again, get out immediately.
This is my home.
Don’t forget that.”
William lowered his head.
“I understand.
I won’t do it again.”
His voice sounded obedient.
His eyes told a completely different story.
Evelyn didn’t care.
She looked at him with open disdain.
Even if her suspicions about Richard turned out to be wrong, she still wouldn’t accept William as her brother.
To her, Ethan was the only person she recognized as family among them.
William was just as cruel and despicable as Claire’s other daughter, Evelyn’s so-called sister.
They could enjoy themselves while they still had the chance.
Because their comfortable lives were coming to an end.
One by one, Evelyn would make them pay.
Across the room, Claire watched everything with her teeth clenched.
That tone.
That arrogant, commanding tone.
It was exactly what Claire hated most about Evelyn.
Evelyn had always been treated like royalty despite being nothing more than a beautiful fool in Claire’s eyes.
She didn’t possess the intelligence to understand what was happening around her, yet their parents had always protected her as if she were some priceless treasure.
Everyone had to accommodate her.
Everyone had to give way to her.
Claire had always hated it.
She wished she could watch Evelyn lose everything.
Her family.
Her wealth.
Her reputation.
Her future.
She wanted to see the day when everyone who once bowed to Evelyn would turn around and laugh at her.
A faint, chilling look passed through Claire’s gentle expression.
But she wasn’t worried.
Not yet.
That day would come soon.
Very soon.
All Evelyn had to do was go to the Blackwood estate, break off her engagement with Alexander, and marry Damien.
Once that happened…
Everything Evelyn possessed would eventually belong to Claire.
“Evie—”
Claire quickly softened her expression.
“William doesn’t know any better.
I’ll make sure to scold him properly later.
Don’t be angry with him.”
As she spoke, she secretly gave William a warning glance.
William immediately understood.
He lowered his head and muttered reluctantly, “I won’t do it again.”
Evelyn gave a cold little scoff.
She didn’t bother arguing with either of them.
She simply turned around and walked out of the room with the fan.
William’s bedroom had been positioned in such a way that the afternoon sunlight barely entered through the windows.
Without proper ventilation, the room felt hot and suffocating.
Like a sealed box.
Evelyn had no intention of staying there another second.
She carried the fan back to Ethan’s room.
The moment she entered, her expression softened.
Ethan was still lying quietly on the bed.
Evelyn plugged in the fan and turned it to its lowest setting.
Then she placed it beside the bed, carefully adjusting its direction so the cool air flowed toward Ethan’s lower body.
His body was fragile.
If she pointed the fan directly at his head, he could easily catch a cold.
She remembered every little detail now.
Every weakness.
Every habit.
Every small thing she had once ignored.
A faint breeze brushed across Ethan’s body.
His eyelashes trembled.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
He looked peaceful.
There was a slight resemblance between him and Evelyn, especially around the eyes and the shape of their faces.
But Ethan’s temperament was completely different.
He was quiet and withdrawn, carrying a stillness far beyond his years.
Looking at him, Evelyn felt as though she were staring at a delicate painting hanging in a silent gallery.
Beautiful.
Fragile.
Too easy to destroy.
Her chest tightened.
She would never let that happen again.
Never.
Evelyn quietly left Ethan’s room.
As soon as she stepped into the hallway, she noticed Claire lingering nearby.
Claire immediately smiled at her.
Evelyn lowered her gaze.
A faint, mocking smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
So that’s how it was.
Claire and Damien had already planned everything.
They wanted her to break off her engagement with Alexander.
They wanted her to marry Damien.
They believed that once she gave up Alexander, everything she possessed would eventually fall into their hands.
Fine.
If they wanted a performance…
She would give them one.
After all, she couldn’t refuse to play her part.
Besides, there was another reason.
Evelyn wanted to see Alexander.
Her fiancé.
The man she had once abandoned when he needed her most.
The man whose heart she had broken.
The man she had spent an entire lifetime regretting.
Alexander Blackwood.
Right now, he was still her fiancé.
And in the future…
He would become her husband.
Evelyn’s fingers slowly tightened at her sides.
That was the one thing she refused to change.
Not in this life.
Not ever again.
Alexander Blackwood would be her husband.
For the rest of her life.