Chapter II

A family elder cleared his throat, attempting to quell the chaotic scene.

"Quiet, all of you!" His deep voice carried an air of undeniable authority.

As the room gradually fell silent, every eye turned toward him.

He looked at Richard. "Richard, why exactly have you summoned everyone here? What is going on?"

Richard took a deep breath, as if gathering his courage—or perhaps rehearsing the next act of his performance.

He wrapped an arm around Monica’s shoulder, affecting a look of deep devotion, as if they were Romeo and Juliet.

"Actually, I have an important announcement to make today." He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room before finally landing on Sophia and me.

I watched him quietly, curious to see just what sort of script he had cobbled together.

"Sophia... she is not Evelyn's biological daughter," Richard said, lowering his voice. Yet, those few words detonated in the living room like a bomb.

Sophia whipped her head around to look at me, her eyes filled with shock.

I gently patted the back of her hand, signaling her to remain calm.

The surrounding relatives began to whisper among themselves, stirring with excitement like a shiver of sharks catching the scent of blood.

"Back when we did IVF..." Richard paused, seemingly finding it difficult to speak. "The doctor said Evelyn's egg quality was poor... Not wanting her to be heartbroken over not becoming a mother, I swapped the eggs for Monica’s..."

The idiot. He actually thought he could package his dirty little scheme as a "white lie" and shift the blame onto me.

Richard’s malicious gaze fell upon me, waiting for me to fly into a rage or lose control.

But I remained perfectly composed, staring him down, daring him to continue his show.

"I called everyone here today to witness..." He looked at Monica with feigned depth of feeling. "Sophia reuniting with her birth mother."

The relatives immediately exploded into chatter.

"Since Sophia isn't Evelyn's daughter, she should certainly return to her ancestral roots and acknowledge her real mother!"

"Exactly! Evelyn has occupied the position of mistress of the Sterling house for too long. It's time she stepped down!"

"Evelyn has been controlling the Sterling Group's assets all these years. Now that the truth is out, she should be ousted from the board!"

Listening to these comments, I couldn't help but sneer internally.

These relatives, harboring their ulterior motives, had long ago been suppressed by me and purged from the company's management. They now survived solely on trust funds and had harbored resentment against me for years.

Now, they were eager for a show, hoping Richard and I would fall out so they could claw their way back into the company for a slice of the pie.

Sophia saw the naked greed in their eyes and gripped my hand tighter.

I spoke up. "Sophia is my child. She can only ever be my child."

My voice was not loud, yet it was firm and powerful, like a judge delivering a verdict.

Monica adopted a helpless expression, choking back sobs. "Sister, how long do you intend to deceive yourself?"