Chapter 79

"Mr. Blackwood, it's all my fault! I'm a terrible mother!"

Margaret Sterling rushed forward, her face twisted in remorse. She had decided it was better to take the blame herself rather than let Nathan interrogate them directly. The last thing she wanted was for this scandal to ruin her daughter's chances of marrying into the Blackwood family.

She dropped to her knees before Nathan, her voice trembling. "Our family is in crisis. Investments have dried up, factories are shutting down one after another... When the Kingsleys refused to help, we were desperate. My husband and I sold some valuables to stay afloat. I took Victoria's jewelry—she had no idea! If I'd known that necklace was your token of love for her, I would have starved before selling it!"

Victoria let out a shaky breath, her eyes welling with crocodile tears. "Mother... how could you? That was my favorite piece..."

Nathan's expression remained icy. His voice was low, dangerous. "That's not what I'm asking about."

The necklace meant nothing compared to Victoria framing Evelyn.

Yes, it stung to see his gift discarded so carelessly. But he could understand—if she had done it to save her family.

What he couldn't forgive was her dragging an innocent woman into her schemes.

"Did you cut your own wrist?" His gaze darkened. "Or did Evelyn do it? Did you accidentally break her bracelet—or did you rip it off deliberately?"

"Nathan!" Victoria sobbed dramatically. "Are you calling me a liar? After all these years by your side, am I really worth less than your ex-wife, who deceived you?"

Nathan's jaw tightened. "Eleanor doesn’t lie. She said she never saw Evelyn touch you."

"Eleanor isn’t well," Penelope interjected quickly. "You know she hides in corners—how could she have seen everything clearly?"

Nathan smirked coldly. "Do mothers usually hurt their own daughters in front of others? I wouldn’t know—I never had one."

Penelope paled.

This bastard just insulted me to my face!

"Victoria," Nathan continued, his voice heavy with disappointment, "why do this? I chose you. I won’t go back to Evelyn. So why keep tormenting her?"

His chest ached. The weight of his disillusionment pressed down like chains.

For twenty years, Victoria had been his light—the one good thing in his wretched childhood.

Now, he feared that light was nothing but an illusion.

"I didn’t do anything!" Victoria shrieked, slamming her fists against the hospital bed. Her usually delicate face twisted with rage. "She stole you from me! Now she’s turning you against me! Cassandra told me Evelyn and Eleanor have been close ever since she stayed at Cliffside Manor. They’re conspiring to ruin me! Nathan, do you believe them over me? Have you fallen for her? Do you even want me anymore?"

"I’ve always been yours," Nathan said through gritted teeth. "Even during my marriage to Evelyn, I never touched her. My heart was always with you."

But his mind flashed to Evelyn—how she had taken the blame without hesitation, the red marks on her wrist, the way she had looked at him with tear-filled eyes full of betrayal.

A sharp pain lanced through his skull, blurring his vision. "But Victoria... I don’t recognize you anymore. Are you trying to push me toward her?"

"No! That’s not—"

Before she could finish, Nathan turned and walked out.

Victoria scrambled out of bed, her face white with panic. She lunged for the door—

SLAM.

The heavy door shut in her face, leaving her trembling in the cold draft.

Her scarlet eyes burned with fury. She kicked the door hard—then yelped in pain, hopping on one foot.

"Evelyn Carter!" she snarled. "You’ll regret crossing me. I’ll make sure you suffer!"