"Be quiet, Nick! No one asked for your opinion!" Richard snapped, his hand trembling as it clenched at his side, his pulse visibly thudding against his neck.
"Why do you think I was invited here if it’s not to give my opinion?" Nicholas asked, his tone tinged with heavy mockery as he smoothed his designer suit jacket. "My family has asked me to step in and fix this—"
"You are not a member of this family as far as I am concerned!" Richard cut in sharply, stepping forward. "So stay completely out of this!"
"Don’t speak to your brother like that, Richard," Margaret said, her voice sharp as broken glass.
"Don’t do that, Margaret," Henry interjected quietly, his deep tone calm but firm as he shifted in his chair. "You are causing a deep divide between the boys."
"Mother is not doing anything, Nick is solely responsible for it," Richard said, turning his harsh gaze onto his brother. "But Mother has chosen to remain completely blind to what he is actually doing behind her back."
"Stop it right now, Richard."
"No, Mother," Richard cut in, refusing to yield. "Do you really think Nick considers any of us his family?"
"Don’t speak for me, Richard," Nicholas said, his nostrils flaring suddenly as if Richard’s pointed words had struck a raw nerve.
"Enough of this endless argument. Let’s focus on why we are here," Henry said, raising a hand to restore order. "We will deal with Nicholas and his business dealings after this meeting."
Roxanne exhaled a weary breath and shook her head. The air in the living room was suffocating. "I don’t want to interrupt your family meeting any longer, so I will excuse myself," she said smoothly, straightening her posture.
"You’re leaving already?" Cara spoke up, her high-pitched voice piercing through the room. "Won’t you even look at the proof I brought with me first?"
Roxanne turned her head and looked at her, giving a quiet shake of her head. "There will be no need for that. I trust Richard," she said firmly.
Richard looked down at her, his dark eyes filling with intense gratitude. Despite how everyone in the room was trying to drill a hole through his character, his woman was standing firmly by his side.
"And what if I prove that this man you claim to trust so blindly is really the father of my child?" Cara asked, her lips twisting into a confident sneer.
Roxanne narrowed her eyes, her gaze locking onto Cara, but she said nothing in response. Beside her, Richard remained completely silent as well, his jaw set hard. They simply stood together, watching Cara’s dramatic performance unfold.
When neither of them took her bait, Cara turned her attention to her purse resting on the side table. She unzipped it with a sharp slide, dipped her hand inside, and pulled out two thick white envelopes. Standing up, she stepped across the polished floor and stretched them out toward them.
"These are certified DNA test results from two independent medical facilities. Both confirm the same thing. That Richard is the biological father of my child," Cara said, her tone so filled with absolute conviction that, for a brief, terrifying second, a seed of doubt flickered through the room.
Cara reached back into her purse and pulled out another crisp sheet of paper. "And this is my pregnancy test result from the laboratory."
Richard and Roxanne exchanged a brief glance, and then Richard shook his head in pure disgust.
He stepped toward Cara, casually pushing the offered papers aside without taking them. "This entire test is nothing but a desperate sham!" he declared loudly. "How on earth could I be the father of your child when I haven’t had anything to do with you in years?"
Cara shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked up at him. "Why are you doing this to me, Richard? Is it because she is here?" she asked, her voice cracking before she whirled around to face Roxanne.
"Whether you want to believe it or not, Richard and I never stopped seeing each other. Just a few weeks ago, we attended the investors’ gala together, though I had to leave earlier that night because of a family emergency."
The memory hit Roxanne like a speeding freight train. The room seemed to tilt for a second.
That was the exact night. The very first night she and Richard had had sex, right there in the Ladies’ room.
Before Roxanne could fully process the sickening wave of realization, Cara reached into her bag once more and whipped out her smartphone. "If you think I am making all of this up, look at these pictures from that night," she said, thrusting the bright screen directly into Roxanne’s face.
It was indeed the night of the gala. Richard was pictured talking to Cara at the entrance of the gala hall.
Roxanne’s brows furrowed as she stared at the glass, but she deliberately kept her posture still and did not turn to look at Richard. A single photo proved very little when dealing with someone like Cara.
"Have you even bothered to ask yourself why I consistently call Richard my fiancé?" Cara scoffed, shaking her head as if pitying Roxanne’s ignorance.
"Do you think I am starved of affluent men? The only reason is that Richard and I have been sleeping together in secret, and now, looking at you, I completely understand why he suddenly requested that our relationship become casual," she added, her voice laced with venom. "It’s because you came into the picture."
"Let me see those papers," Roxanne said, her voice dropping into a measured pitch.
Richard’s broad shoulders slumped, a look of defeat washing over his face. "It’s not true, Roxanne. She’s lying to you."
Roxanne reached out and took the papers from Cara’s hands. She scanned the DNA report, the gala photograph on the phone screen, the formal pregnancy report, and the ultrasound scan image from earlier.
Her mind worked over time, analyzing every single detail printed across the letterheads.
Cara watched her closely, a triumphant glint in her eyes. She clearly believed she had finally broken Roxanne’s resolve and shattered her trust in Richard. But she had no idea that Roxanne was examining the documents for a completely different reason.
Pregnancy report—The Saints Medical Laboratory.
Ultrasound Scan—Queen Mary’s Hospital.
DNA test results—Crowther Clinic. The Cardinal Hospital.
Perfect. Now she had the exact names and locations she needed to tear this lie apart from the inside out.
Roxanne lifted her calm gaze, handed the stack of papers back to Cara, and offered a faint smile. "Thank you for showing me these."
"Roxanne, please listen to me," Richard pleaded, stepping in front of her and grabbing both of her hands. His dark eyes were wide with desperation. "Look at me. She is lying. You have to believe me."
"Are the pictures lying too?" Cara shot back, shaking her head at him with a victorious grin.
"You are twisting the true picture!" Richard snapped, his voice tight with desperation as his grip on Roxanne’s hands tightened. "I can explain everything that happened that night, Roxanne."
Roxanne looked up into Richard’s panicked eyes. I trust you completely, she thought to herself. But if I reveal that to them right now, I’ll never be able to quietly track down these clinics and catch Cara in her own trap. She maintained a neutral expression, letting the silence linger.
Seeing her silence, Nicholas let out a low chuckle from his armchair. "Oh, dear brother. You really should have accepted my generous offer," he mocked, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "Now everything is completely ruined, and I highly doubt even I can save your reputation now."
Roxanne said nothing. She simply looked down at the documents in Cara’s hands. They had just handed her everything she needed.
And none of them had realized it.
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