Chapter 276

The morning light spilled through the curtains of Evelyn Sinclair’s penthouse, casting golden streaks across the marble floors. She sat at her vanity, her fingers absently tracing the delicate silver locket around her neck—a gift from Nathan Blackwood, one she hadn’t taken off since the night he’d given it to her.

A sharp knock at the door jolted her from her thoughts.

"Evelyn, we have a problem." Lillian Graves, her ever-efficient assistant, strode in, clutching a tablet. Her usually composed expression was tight with urgency.

Evelyn arched a brow. "What now?"

Lillian swiped the screen and turned it toward her. "Victoria Hayes just leaked a private recording of you and Nathan to the press."

Evelyn’s blood ran cold. She snatched the tablet, her stomach twisting as she saw the headline:

"Evelyn Sinclair’s Secret Affair with Nathan Blackwood—Full Audio Inside."

Her fingers trembled as she pressed play. The recording was from months ago—a heated argument between her and Nathan, one filled with raw emotion and confessions neither of them had meant to make public.

"This is bad," Evelyn muttered, her mind racing. Victoria had always been a thorn in her side, but this? This was outright sabotage.

Lillian hesitated. "There’s more. The media’s already spinning it as proof you manipulated Nathan into leaving his family for you."

Evelyn scoffed. "Of course they are."

She tossed the tablet onto the bed and stood, pacing the length of the room. The timing couldn’t be worse—Nathan was in the middle of finalizing his divorce, and this scandal would only complicate things.

Her phone buzzed. A message from Nathan lit up the screen:

"We need to talk. Now."

Evelyn exhaled sharply. She knew what that meant—damage control. But before she could reply, another notification popped up.

This one from Serena Whitmore, her agent:

"Turn on the news. Now."

Evelyn grabbed the remote and flicked on the wall-mounted TV. The screen flashed to a live press conference—Nathan, standing at a podium, his expression unreadable.

Reporters shouted questions, but his voice cut through the chaos like steel.

"I won’t address baseless rumors," he said, his tone firm. "But I will say this—Evelyn Sinclair is not the villain in this story. If anyone’s reputation should be questioned, it’s the person who recorded and leaked a private conversation."

Evelyn’s breath caught. He was defending her. Publicly.

But then the camera panned to the side—and there stood Victoria, smirking like she’d already won.

Evelyn’s nails dug into her palms.

This wasn’t just a scandal.

It was war.

"Why are you here?" Luna shrieked, her voice cracking with hysteria. She had been the last to see Beatrice and Lucas together, tangled in sheets just moments ago—utterly vulnerable to her schemes. Yet now, mere minutes later, they'd been replaced by these two.

"Where are Beatrice and Lucas?" Caleb demanded, his eyes darting around the room as if expecting them to materialize from the shadows.

Nathan's jaw tightened, his patience evaporating. He saw no point in explanations. Instead, he leveled them with a glacial stare that could freeze hell itself.

The air grew thick with tension, suffocatingly so.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nathan said coolly, his tone so indifferent it left no room for doubt. "If you're so desperate to find someone, why waste time here?"

"This doesn't make sense—did you—" Caleb's outburst was cut short by a sharp crack.

Vivian stepped forward and slapped her son hard across the face. "Enough! You're making a drunken spectacle of yourself in front of our guests."

After scolding him, she turned to Nathan and Evelyn with an apologetic smile. "Forgive us. We've made a terrible mistake. I'll return later to offer a proper apology."

"Mrs. Bennett, that won't be necessary," Evelyn murmured, her voice muffled but firm. "The one who caused this should be the one to apologize."

Vivian's smile deepened, her sharp eyes locking onto Nathan's. A silent understanding passed between them—he had just saved the Winters family from disaster.

She didn't know where those two had vanished to, but leading this mob away was the only logical move.

"Out!" Vivian shoved Caleb toward the door, her patience fraying.

Caleb, still reeling from the public humiliation, clutched his stinging cheek. His glare burned with indignation. "Something's wrong here! Those two—"

"You!" Vivian couldn't believe her own flesh and blood could be so consumed by malice, so willing to destroy lives. Is this really my son?

As mother and son teetered on the brink of open conflict, Richard pushed forward, attempting to mediate. "How did this happen? There must be some misunderstanding."

"Today is your engagement party," Vivian hissed, her voice low and dangerous. "Don't dare ruin it."

The steel in her tone finally struck fear into Caleb, silencing him.

Everyone assumed it was just a misunderstanding. Not wanting to stir up trouble, they all quietly decided to leave.

"No, they have to be here somewhere!" Luna was growing increasingly frantic. They had been drugged. Even if they had somehow woken up and tried to escape, they wouldn’t have made it far in their condition.

She threw caution to the wind. "I saw them together with my own eyes! If we keep searching, we’ll find them!"

"This is absurd!" The Blackwood family was livid. "Who let this delusional woman in here? Get her out now!"

The moment Luna was called delusional, chaos erupted. Penelope, who had been standing by in confusion, suddenly snapped. "How dare you speak to my daughter like that?"

Margaret swiftly signaled security, ushering everyone out before the argument could escalate further.

If Beatrice and Lucas didn’t emerge soon, this situation would spiral out of control.

The last to leave were the Blackwoods. They had only come to enjoy the spectacle, but now, they were treated to the rare sight of their son holding his wife close, both grinning like fools. It was a moment so sweet, it almost made the entire fiasco worth it.

Only when the door clicked shut did Nathan finally release Evelyn.

Evelyn’s eyes sparkled with excitement, clearly thrilled by how smoothly they had handled the crisis.

"You were amazing. Everything went exactly as you planned!" she gushed, her praise rare enough to make Nathan’s lips twitch in satisfaction.

"Let’s check on them first. For now, they stay hidden—just in case someone barges in again. I’ll have a private doctor handle them discreetly."

Evelyn nodded, moving toward the wardrobe to check on Beatrice. Good grief, what kind of sleeping pill had they used? Beatrice looked like she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon.

As Nathan stepped closer to inspect, he quickly updated their allies via text, instructing them to bring in a doctor quietly. He also made sure they knew Margaret would assist if needed.

Meanwhile, the group chat was exploding with theories, the outrage reaching a boiling point.

"He actually drugged his own friends? Is he out of his damn mind?"

They assured Nathan they’d keep watch outside and handle any loose ends.

But Margaret barely had time to help—the hall had devolved into shouting matches and accusations.

Nathan caught snippets of Evelyn’s racing thoughts.

Was Luna truly this naive, or was she just a pawn? She refused to back down, insisting she’d seen everything. Now she was spinning wilder lies, hurling accusations left and right—

And all of it was being pinned on Lucas.

The accusations against Lucas were outrageous—as if they intended to paint him as some depraved monster with an unnatural obsession with his own sister-in-law. Was she seriously planning to ruin his reputation even if she couldn’t catch him in the act? She was just as foolish and vindictive as her mother. Despite how absurd Luna’s claims were, she sounded convincing simply because she was his sister. I couldn’t believe she would stoop this low!

Meanwhile, Nathan had been receiving updates from his group chat and family. Though they had tried to counter the rumors, most people were still more inclined to believe the scandalous gossip.

After all, spreading lies was easy. Stopping them? Nearly impossible.

And with both Lucas and Beatrice missing, things only looked worse.

Evelyn thought, No one can stop that lunatic now. Caleb was putting on a grand performance, insisting on searching the entire estate. They knew the drug’s effects hadn’t worn off yet, meaning the situation could spiral out of control at any moment. Wait… that means Beatrice is still suffering, isn’t she? This wasn’t just about fabricating a scandal—this was about destroying Lucas completely. If Beatrice ended up hating him for this, it could sever their relationship entirely. How cruel. They’re pushing him toward absolute ruin.

Outside the bathroom, Nathan stood guard, watching as Lucas lost control of himself. He couldn’t even keep the towel between his teeth, his brows furrowed in agony. If not for the slippery bathtub keeping him trapped, he might have thrashed around even more violently.

Evelyn mused, Mrs. Lydia is sharper than I thought. She knew the two were safely hidden, so she didn’t let her nerves betray her. Instead, she let Caleb and his group continue their ridiculous charade.

Nathan had also received a message. Everyone agreed this was the best approach—it gave them the perfect timing to bring in the doctor.

Now, all they had to do was wait.

Evelyn turned to Nathan, curiosity burning. "How is he?"

Nathan didn’t let her get too close. Instead, he pulled her down to sit beside him, explaining the situation in hushed tones.

Finally, unable to hold back, Evelyn asked, "I can’t believe how far they’re willing to go. Forget the twisted motives—just the sheer audacity of it all… Lucas and Beatrice aren’t going to let this slide, are they? Once the truth comes out, where will these people even run? They can’t possibly think they can talk their way out of this, right? People aren’t that stupid."