Sydney knew she couldn’t avoid it. Her fingertips grazed her palm as she spoke in a low, steady voice. “Yes, he’s been very busy lately. He said he’d try to come once he’s done.”
“Hmph!” Eloise, seated across from her, zeroed in with mockery.
“Busy with work, or busy with something else?” she crooned, amused and cruel.
Sydney lowered her gaze. “Grandma-”
“If you can’t keep a man’s heart, so be it,” Eloise cut in. Her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear, and her tone steeped in contempt. “But to go online and defend the mistress? Sydney, do you even know how ugly the gossip is?”
She didn’t. But even Julian–cold as ever–had warned her that night. Thus, it had to be bad.
“Everyone says our family mistreated you. That’s why you cling to the Hamptons and let them walk all over you!” Eloise jabbed a finger toward her face. “Tell me. Who in the Sterling family ever wronged you? You’re making us look disgraceful!”
Sydney didn’t react. She kept her eyes fixed on the marble floor, waiting for it to end.
Then the order came, sharp and immediate. “Get out and kneel!”
No one in the household looked surprised. Snow still drifted outside. A few glanced at Julian. He had raised her, after all. Surely, he would intervene.
He didn’t. He lounged on the sofa, scrolling his phone. He never lifted his eyes. It was as if Sydney were a stranger.
“Grandma.” Victor’s voice carried soft, feigned concern. “It’s still snowing out there. She’ll freeze and get sick.”
If her legs gave out, what fun would she be to torment?
Eloise shot him a look of disgust. “Still fooled by her?”
Sydney had expected nothing. While Victor kept talking, she stepped out onto the gravel path and knelt with ease.
From behind the floor–to–ceiling windows, Eloise watched. Her gaze darkened.
“Stubborn as steel,” she murmured. “Just like her parents.
Julian’s cool and mocking voice rang out from inside. “Still no food?”
He turned his phone lazily. “Do all family banquets now double as public punishments?”
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8:41 AM Sun 24 Aug
Chapter 47
He named no one, but everyone knew who he meant.
Silence fell over the room.
Facing a crowd of younger relatives, Eloise struggled to contain her anger.
“If you don’t want to come back, then don’t!” she snapped.
Julian’s presence at this gathering had already stunned them all. He rarely came to family events.
He chuckled. “If I didn’t, how else would I learn?”
Then, glancing toward Elliot and Peter, who stood nearby, he added, “You two ought to take notes. Your ways of
torment still can’t compare to Grandma’s.”
78%
+15 BONUS
A few around them couldn’t help smirking. Julian inspired fear for a reason. He didn’t tolerate fools. He was ruthless.
Some even whispered he’d once fed a man to sharks in international waters.
Elliot replied with practiced obedience, “Yes, sir.”
Eloise’s chest heaved. “Julian, do you even respect me as your grandmother?”
“Are we still not eating?” he cut in, straightening his collar. “Then I’ll be leaving.”
With that, he walked out with his hands in his pockets. He was indifferent to her heaving chest and wordless fury.
Snow fell hard.
Sydney knelt under a pale lamppost. Minutes crawled by. Frost settled on her lashes. Her knees and shins throbbed, but
she could endure it. Years of training in medicine had toughened her. Without that, her legs might’ve failed her already.
Her phone buzzed inside her coat pocket. An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen. She ignored it. Then came a
WhatsApp notification.
With trembling fingers, she opened it. The moment she saw the message, the phone slipped from her hand.
It read: [Syd, I don’t think I’ll make it in time. I’ll send Jack to pick you up later.]
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