Chapter 77
Nathan's stormy gaze darkened as it locked onto Victoria's ashen face, his jaw tightening with barely restrained fury.
He released her wrist with deliberate slowness.
Victoria gasped like a shipwreck survivor watching her lifeboat drift away. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her injured wrist, she desperately clung to Nathan's waist. "No, Nathan! Evelyn started it! I swear I didn't provoke her! Eleanor's always been unstable - don't believe her twisted version!"
"Unstable?" Julian Montgomery scoffed, running a hand through his tousled hair. "The only thing unstable here is your story." Though he held back harsher words for Nathan's sake, his disdain was palpable.
Even the usually carefree Julian couldn't hide his contempt for Victoria's manipulations, while Nathan remained blindly devoted to this scheming woman.
"Did Evelyn hurt you?" Nathan's voice came out strained, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
Under Eleanor's watchful gaze, Victoria couldn't maintain her lies. Cold sweat dotted her forehead as she stammered, "So you falsely accused Evelyn?"
Nathan felt like a thousand knives had pierced his heart simultaneously.
"No, that's not what-"
Victoria's entire body trembled violently before her eyes rolled back. The combination of blood loss and overwhelming panic sent her collapsing into unconsciousness.
The dramatic scene ended abruptly with Victoria being stretchered into a waiting ambulance.
When Theodore arrived breathlessly at the scene, Evelyn was already walking toward the underground parking garage with Lillian.
"Ms. Carter! I'm so sorry I wasn't here when this happened." Theodore's eyes widened at the bloodstained handkerchief clutched in Evelyn's hand. "You're hurt? Who did this? I'll skin them alive!"
"It's nothing, Theo," Evelyn reassured him with a tired smile. "I know you were handling Monarch Group affairs. Just a minor incident."
She turned gratefully to Lillian. "Aunt Lillian helped resolve everything."
"I barely did anything," Lillian demurred, though her eyes burned with residual anger. "As family, I should have protected you better."
Remembering how the Blackwoods had ganged up on Evelyn, Lillian's hands clenched into fists. "Evelyn, why didn't you reveal your true identity? Make them regret ever crossing a Kingsley!"
Evelyn shook her head gently. "Aunt Lillian, I've left that life behind. Whatever filth, cruelty, or hatred exists in Evelyn Carter's past, it stays buried. I'm Evelyn Kingsley now - Nathan and his family have no place in my world."
Theodore's jaw dropped as he realized Lillian knew about Evelyn's previous marriage.
"Exactly. There's no point dwelling on the past," Lillian agreed, though her lips pressed into a thin line. "Thank heavens Sophia wasn't here today. That woman would have started World War III over this."
"Aunt Sophia does have rather... explosive reactions," Evelyn conceded with a faint smile.
The two Kingsley women shared a quiet laugh before Lillian suddenly pulled Evelyn into a fierce embrace, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.
"It's not fair," Lillian whispered hoarsely. "After everything you endured..."
"I'm alright," Evelyn murmured, blinking back her own tears as she comforted her stepmother. "With all of you standing beside me, I don't feel wronged at all."