Sydney stepped back twice, yanking her collar out of his grip. The service staff had already cleared the table and disappeared into the kitchen. Only she and Victor remained in the dining room.
Her expression chilled, and she said mockingly, “What now? Planning to flee abroad again?”
“Sydney!” Victor grabbed her throat and clenched his teeth. “So you want to do this the hard way? You think I still care what you want?”
“If you’ve got the guts, choke me,” Sydney said through the pain, staring him down. “If not, let go. Don’t act like a dog that only barks.”
“Tch.” Victor broke into a grin, eyeing her with satisfaction. “Haven’t seen you in years. You’ve gotten bold. Shame I didn’t get you before I left the country. Caleb got off easy.”
He let her go and gave her cheek a patronizing pat. “But hey, being with a married woman has its own kind of flavor-”
Sydney slapped him hard, cutting him off. The sound cracked through the air. Behind the folding screens in the drawing room, others turned their heads, though they couldn’t see what had happened.
Victor’s aunt, Fiona, called out, “What’s going on?”
Victor glared at Sydney and lifted his hand in anger. As the second heir to the family, he wasn’t used to being humiliated,
especially not by a woman.
Sydney met his gaze and whispered, “Go ahead. Didn’t I mention I’ve got plenty of nude photos of you?”
She watched his face twitch and expression break apart in slow motion. Then she smiled faintly. “Your enemies would
love to get their hands on those, wouldn’t they?”
“Victor? Sydney?” Fiona’s voice drew closer, puzzled by their silence. She stepped in. “What are you two doing here?”
Victor backed down, still seething. “Aunt Fiona, I had an itch on my head and asked Sydney to help. She hit me by
accident.”
“Oh dear.” Fiona noticed the bright red handprint on his cheek, turned to Sydney, and scolded her lightly, “Really? You know how delicate Victor is. He just got out of the hospital. If anything happened, your grandmother would be worried
sick.”
“Hospital?” Sydney repeated.
“You didn’t know?” Fiona looked surprised. “After our last family dinner, Victor returned and apparently ran into
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8:41 AM Sun 24 Aug
Chapter 45
someone’s gun. He nearly died right off the plane.‘
78%
+15 BONUS
Sydney stared at him. Victor was cruel, always hiding behind privilege and impunity. But he was a Sterling, and his older
cousin, Julian, held true power.
Seeing nothing more amiss, Fiona turned and went back to the living room.
Victor’s jaw tightened as he faced Sydney again. “When did you take those photos?”
Sydney replied with airy calm, “The night your assault failed. You passed out afterward.”
Victor had been targeting her for years. After Julian cast her off and sent her back to the Sterling estate, Victor only grew
bolder. His harassment never let up, yet she was always the one who paid the price.
By the time she turned 16, Sydney had learned how to avoid him with a well–practiced look of innocence. For two years,
she hid behind a mask of quiet obedience, deceiving everyone around her.
Then came Eloise’s seventieth birthday banquet.
Sydney was 18 then, dressed in a delicate white gown. Victor snapped, dragged her upstairs, and forced her into a guest
room. Just as he tried to force himself on her, he “suddenly” passed out.
Sydney screamed, and guests came running. Her clothes were rumpled, her body trembling with shock. No one questioned what had happened. It was clearly an attempted assault.
And still, Eloise insisted she treated Sydney better than her own granddaughter.
