Chapter 3

Only Julian and I remained in the cavernous living room.

He stood there like a marionette with its strings cut.

The confident posture he once carried had collapsed into pathetic ruins.

"Evelyn... I'm sorry."

Julian’s voice was dry and scratchy, like sandpaper scraping across concrete.

"Sorry?"

I let out a cold laugh, finally looking him in the eye. "The person you owe an apology to isn't me. It’s your dead brother."

I walked toward him step by step, my gaze sharp as a blade.

"Ethan isn't even cold in his grave, and you brought home a gutter-mouthed woman. You let her point at my face, call me shameless, mock my grief, and try to pawn me off like cattle to her sleazy cousin."

"Julian, when your brother put your future in my hands, what did he say? He told me, 'Evelyn, Julian is young and naive. Please look after him for me.' And how did you repay him?"

Every word I spoke landed like a hard slap across his face.

His head dropped lower and lower, his shoulders shaking violently.

"I just... I loved Chloe too much... I..."

"Don't use love as an excuse!"

I cut him off sharply. "I only want to know one thing: why did you let her push this far? Why did you stand by and watch her try to throw me out? What kind of poison did she feed you?"

Cornered by my glare, Julian finally broke. He snapped his head up, eyes bloodshot, and roared:

"She told me... she said why should the Hayes empire fall into the hands of an outsider! She said I’m the only real Hayes man left! The company and the mansion should belong to me!"

So that was it.

It was never about some petty insecurity or a silly misunderstanding. It was a calculated coup to steal my home and my husband's legacy.

The final shred of affection I held for him vanished, crushed to dust.

"You're right,"

I said, nodding calmly. His face flashed with brief confusion at my agreement.

"The Hayes empire shouldn't be wasted on an ungrateful snake."

I pulled out my phone and dialed Arthur right in front of him.

"Arthur, draft an eviction notice. Effective immediately, Julian is banned from Hillcrest Estate.”

“His trust fund allowance will still be wired monthly—not a single cent less. But he is never allowed to set foot on this property again."

With that, I hung up.

I turned around and walked away without sparing him another glance.

Behind me, Julian let out a desperate, broken sob.

"Evelyn—!"