Chapter 8
All eyes turned toward us.
Chloe stood there, stunned from the unexpected slap.
She clutched her cheek, her face a mix of shock, humiliation, and simmering anger.
But when she met the man’s cold, stern glare, she bit her lip and reluctantly muttered through gritted teeth, “I’m sorry, sister.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how absurd the entire situation was.
The man stepped forward, his tone smooth and overly polite.
“Ms. Carter, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“I’m Robert Perez from Horizon Group. Chloe was out of line today.”
“I sincerely apologize on her behalf. Please allow me to make it up to you another time.”
“No need, Mr. Perez,” I replied sharply, my smile faint but cutting.
“I suggest you spend less time pretending to apologize and more time teaching your mistress some
manners.”
His face darkened slightly, but he kept his composure.
“You misunderstand, Ms. Carter. Chloe is just my secretary.”
I raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.
Instead, I silently pulled out my phone and contacted his wife.
While managing the fallout of all this, I focused on building up the company.
Mom was proud of how far I’d come.
Seeing my hard work and dedication brought her peace of mind, and her health steadily improved.
But Ethan wasn’t done causing trouble.
At a shareholder meeting, he showed up unannounced.
Family Ties, Family Lies
Chapter S
He accused me of forging Mom’s will and claimed that her mental state had been unstable ever since the
car accident.
He demanded that the will be overturned.
What he didn’t know was that I had prepared for this.
I presented the notarized will and Mom’s psychological evaluation, which proved that she had been fully lucid and acting of her own free will when she made her decisions.
Faced with undeniable evidence, Ethan broke down.
“This isn’t fair,” he muttered, his voice cracking.
“Why… why did it all turn out like this?”
“This is all your doing,” I said coldly.
“You have no one to blame but yourself.”
He looked up at me, his eyes filled with despair.
“I’ve lost everything… there’s nothing left…”
After that, Ethan disappeared from our lives.
The last I heard of him and Chloe came when Chloe made the news–for all the wrong reasons.
Without the protection of the Carter family, Chloe’s life fell apart.
She couldn’t adjust to life outside the comforts of wealth and privilege.
Eventually, she became the mistress of a wealthy older man, Robert Perez.
But when I tipped off his wife, Chloe’s secret life crumbled.
She was attacked in public by Robert’s furious wife, the entire scene captured by the press.
Chloe became the laughingstock of society, and Robert quickly distanced himself from her.
Her so–called friends abandoned her, unwilling to be associated with the scandal.
Desperate to cling to her old lifestyle, Chloe turned to Ethan for help.
But Ethan, now struggling to survive himself, only mocked her.
Chapter 8
“You think I can help you?” he sneered
Look at me. I can’t even save myself.”
Furious, Chloe snapped.
She grabbed a rock from the ground and struck him with it.
Ethan survived, but the injury left him with severe complications.
He developed paranoid delusions, convinced that everyone was out to harm him.
He became too afraid to leave his house, too afraid to even step into the sunlight.
Eventually, Mom arranged for him to be admitted to a mental health facility, where he spent the rest of
his days.
As for Chloe, I visited her in prison once.
She sat across from me, dressed in a prison uniform, her hair unkempt, her once–sharp eyes now hollow
and vacant.
“You here to laugh at me?” she asked bitterly.
“No,” I said simply.
“I just want to know–do you regret what you did?”
She let out a hollow laugh.
“Regret? I regret not taking you down sooner.”
“Why do you get everything handed to you? Why do you deserve it all?”
I looked at her, feeling nothing but emptiness.
“No, Chloe. I’ve worked for everything I have. You’re the one who thought you could cheat your way through life.”
I walked out of the prison that day, leaving her and the past behind me.
In the years that followed, I focused on building a brighter future.
Mom and I worked hard to grow the company, turning it into something we could both be proud of.
We also dedicated ourselves to giving back, funding community programs and supporting charitable
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Chapter 8
causes.
Through it all, I made one promise to myself: the pain and chaos of our family’s past would no longer
define us.
Instead, it would fuel us to create something better.
