I was startled.
I approached to take a closer look, and the woman inside appeared to be around Stella’s age, dressed elegantly and exuding an air of nobility and refinement. There was a resemblance in her features to Stella.
Stella sat in a wheelchair, completely devoid of her former radiance, looking as frail as a pale skeleton. Yet her eyes were cold, staring straight at the woman in front of her, filled with endless hatred.
“You don’t need to look at me like that,” the woman glanced at her, “When you used trickery to steal Ethan away back then, you should have known this day would come!”
Stella’s hands clenched tightly on the wheelchair handles, the veins bulging on her already emaciated hands.
Her voice came out hoarse and fierce, like a final cry of desperation.
I was deeply shocked, watching the scene before me.
The woman approached slowly, bending down, “Your daughter is already dead, and your son… won’t end up well either!”
“No… No!” Stella’s eyes widened, “What are you going to do to Cameron?”
“No, no!” Her emotions surged, and she tumbled from the wheelchair, crawling on the ground, “No… Don’t hurt Cameron, spare him, spare him…”
“Did you spare me back then?” the woman kicked her aside, fierce and malevolent, “When you brought these two bastards, deceived Ethan, and destroyed my family, did you spare me?”
Tears rolled down Stella’s eyes, “But for these past fifteen years… I’ve treated Carter as my own son!”
“Your own son?” the woman sneered, “Wasn’t it for that inheritance? For a better chance of winning?”
“Fortunately, Ethan has slowly come to understand your true nature… I tell you, Stella, my son won’t spare yours. Your whole family… will reunite in hell!”
“Mellisa Halls…”
Stella’s scream was piercing. She viciously grabbed the woman’s arm with her bony hands, but the woman effortlessly lifted her up and threw her aside, leaving Stella writhing on the ground, unable to get up.
I worried that she might have been injured from the fall.
Just as I was about to rush in, someone abruptly grabbed my arm and covered my mouth. I was terrified, thinking I was being attacked here too. But the person just held me, pulling me out without any intention of harming me. He dragged me into the courtyard before finally releasing me.
When I turned around, I was stunned.
“Carter?”
His face was cold and his gaze complex, as if he had a lot to say to me.
“How did you get here?” I asked. “Are you here to see mom? Oh, wait… she’s not your mom, then… the woman inside…”
Suddenly, something flashed through my mind.
“Carter!” I covered my mouth, too shocked to speak. “You, you two…”
“Laura,” he held my hand, asking softly, “Do you have time now? Can we have a talk?”
I agreed.
I had too many things to figure out, too many mysteries that needed unraveling, and I felt he was the one to help me with that.
Carter and I went to a nearby café.
He sat across from me, and we had a deep conversation. He told me everything about The Lynch Family, secrets I had never heard before.
It turned out that the woman named Mellisa was his biological mother, and Stella had stolen Mellisa’s husband. Their grudges and conflicts started long before I joined The Lynch Family.
“After my parents divorced, I was given to my dad… Then I lived with my aunt.”
“Aunt?…”
“Yes,” he looked up, his gaze icy. “Stella is actually my aunt, she and my mom are sisters.”
It was another case of a sister stealing her sister’s husband, a drama not uncommon among the wealthy.
Every woman in the world hoped to marry well, and with only a few exceptional men, they would stop at nothing to compete for them, even if it meant going against morality.
“She was just coveting my grandfather’s wealth,” Carter snorted lightly, taking a sip of coffee, then his gaze locked onto me again. “It’s what I told you about before, the inheritance in the will.”
I felt uneasy, wanting to escape this place.
“Laura,” he reached out his hand, and instinctively, I recoiled.
His hand paused in mid-air, and after a moment of hesitation, he withdrew it.
“I told you these things because I do see you as family,” he looked at me, “You can’t escape, Laura. You’ve lived in The Lynch Family for fifteen years; you’re already part of The Lynch Family.”
Yes, I couldn’t escape.
Cameron had said it before, and now Carter was saying the same thing.
On this point, the brothers were indeed alike, both trying to pressure me.
“You should know these things, and you should make your own judgment and choice,” he said.
“No,” I stood up, looking at him quietly.
Why should I make a choice?
My life was my own, and I didn’t need anyone to decide for me, nor should I be dragged into any power struggles.
Even though I was raised by The Lynch Family for fifteen years, they couldn’t dictate my life!
“Carter, I don’t need to make any choices because I don’t want to get involved in the first place,” I said, “I’ve said it before to Cameron as well. I will write a statement, renouncing any inheritance rights. Whoever marries me, it won’t affect the inheritance… ”
I felt uneasy. In such a big family, there was no room for genuine affection; interests were the only things they pursued.
Perhaps Cameron’s feelings for me were just a bargaining chip in his pursuit of interests?
I took a deep breath and continued, “Carter, I won’t meddle in the rivalry between you and your brother. How you two fight is your business; I just want to live quietly and peacefully.”
“Laura,” he looked at me coldly.
I no longer feared, meeting his gaze.
“Carter, for the past fifteen years, you’ve pretended to be kind, pretended to be weak, pretended to be good to me… It must be exhausting, right?”
“Now, you’re free,” I smiled, “You don’t have to pretend anymore. Use your real abilities to compete with Cameron. If you’re a real man, defeat him with your own strength, instead of targeting me!”
“You…”
“Also,” I paused, “Mom is indeed very pitiful, and I know that Dad still has some feelings for her, otherwise he wouldn’t let me come to see her. I’ll come to accompany her and take care of her whenever I have time, and also… Please tell your mother to be a bit kinder to her.”
“Kind to her?” he chuckled, “After the harm my mother suffered over the past fifteen years, who will compensate her?”
“Stella just coveted Dad’s property. She schemed to have two children, used despicable means to destroy my family. She brought this upon herself!”
“That’s enough!” I just reached the doorway, turned back, glaring at him angrily.
“Carter, stop speaking ill of Mom… She raised you for fifteen years. Even a foster daughter of The Lynch Family knows gratitude, let alone you, her own nephew! You’ve seen how sick she has become, she’s nearing the end of her life, why can’t you let go of?”
“Laura…”
Carter stepped closer to me, his eyes revealing a chilling coldness that made me shudder.
“You’re siding with that woman just because of Cameron.”
He smirked, as if seeing through everything.
“I’m not siding with anyone,” I tried to keep my voice calm, “I don’t want to be dragged into a senseless struggle for interests, and I don’t want to see mom who raised me for fifteen years being bullied at the end of her life. ”
“I won’t let Cameron off the hook!” Carter suddenly roared, glaring at me fiercely.
The image of him in my memory was always pale and gentle, a brother with a warm smile. Back then, he would wear a white shirt and casual pants, even in a wheelchair, he’d take me to fly kites in the yard.
But now, his cheeks were flushed with anger, his stare was icy.
“I won’t let him off the hook,” he repeated coldly, “I will officially declare war on Cameron. Even if he has the support of The Scott family, he’ll end up with nothing!”
The sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine.
Cameron, end up with nothing…
Was this really what I wanted to see?
But if I didn’t want it, what could I do? He has a wife and a family now. Did I want to follow in Stella’s footsteps and destroy a family?
The third party would be condemned and reviled by thousands!
Anyway, I didn’t want to end up like that.
I smirked, glanced at Carter, then turned and left.
I dragged my weary body home, and as soon as I reached the door, I saw Holly sitting outside. I hurried over to give her a warm hug.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Holly patted my back, “Can we go inside first?”
I took out my keys and opened the door.