Morning light streamed through the manor's enormous windows. Adriene stood before the mirror. She cleaned and bandaged her wounds herself. A striking white gauze pad clung to her pale forehead.
She opened the bedroom door and went out. Her face was completely expressionless.
As she reached the top of the grand staircase, she turned the corner and nearly bumped into Dallin. He was coming out of Elaina's bedroom, adjusting his cuffs.
Darlin stopped abruptly. His gaze swept quickly across the white bandage on Adeline's head, then settled on her bloodless face. A faint hint of shock—perhaps a touch of guilt—flickered in his eyes.
But he immediately masked it. He tightened his jaw, raised his chin slightly, and struck his signature arrogant pose. "What kind of morbid self-inflicted injury is this?" he questioned, pointing to her forehead.
Adeline stopped. She didn't look at the ground. She slowly raised her chin and looked directly into his eyes. Her gaze was so cold, so completely detached, as if she were staring at a stranger.
She didn't explain the wound. She let out a soft, mocking laugh.
“So,” Adeline said, her voice steady and cold, “you haven’t decided on an heir yet?”
Darlin's pupils dilated suddenly. His entire body stiffened. He stared at her in shock, completely caught off guard. He hadn't expected her to be at the door last night.
Shock quickly turned into defensive anger. He took a threatening step forward, his shadow looming over her. "Are you spying on me?" he hissed.
Adeline did not back down at all. "You're willing to tarnish the Morales bloodline just to please a widow. It's disgusting."
"Shut up!" Darlin roared, his voice echoing down the corridor. "Elena is pure! She's twice as good as you!"
The bedroom door clicked open. Elena stood in the doorway, wearing an oversized sweater, her eyes already glistening with tears. She was perfectly playing her role.
She staggered forward and grabbed the edge of Darlin's shirt. "Darlin, please," she sobbed, her lower lip trembling, "don't fight with your wife because of me. I'll pack my things. I'll leave."
Darlin immediately stretched out his arm, shielding Elena behind him. He glared at Adeline with pure hatred. "Look at her! Look how selfless she is! And look at your mean, jealous face!"
A strong, physical sense of disgust welled up in Adeline's heart. The urge to reach out and tear off the wigs and extensions from Irene's head was so intense that she couldn't control herself.
She took a step forward, her hands trembling. Darlin immediately lunged at her, his large hands gripping Adeline's wrists with a force capable of crushing bones.
Before Adeline could react, her phone began vibrating violently in her pocket. Once. Twice. Three times.
She took a deep breath, abruptly pulled her wrist away from Darlin's grip, and took out her phone.
An encrypted email from Kaia was displayed on the screen. The subject line read: "The truth you want." The email body read: "I've had my private investigator look into her for weeks since my trip to Aspen, and one of her vengeful exes just dropped a bombshell on me."
Adeline tapped the screen. The attachment opened.
She stared at the high-resolution photos of Elena. The "innocent" woman, dressed in a cheap, revealing bunny girl outfit, sat on the laps of three different men in a squalid underground casino in Las Vegas.
She scrolled down. The background check detailed Elena's chaotic and sordid past: multiple arrests for petty fraud, working as an escort, and a series of ruined lives.
The rage burning in Adeline's chest vanished. It dissipated, replaced by an absolute, intoxicating power.
Adeline laughed.
This wasn't a bitter laugh. It was a genuine, bright, and chilling laugh that echoed loudly in the silent corridor.
Darlin and Elena froze, staring at her as if she were a madwoman.
Adeline slowly looked up from her phone. She looked at Darlin. The anger in her eyes had vanished. In its place, she looked at him with a deep, overwhelming pity. She looked at him as if he were the most foolish creature in the world.
“What’s so funny?” Darlin asked, his brow furrowed in utter confusion.
Adeline locked her phone and slid it back into her pocket. She wasn't going to show it to him. It wasn't the right time. If she showed it to him now, his arrogant mind would only accuse her of photoshopping it.
She turned her gaze to Elena. Adeline's eyes were deep, knowing, and deadly.
Elena gasped. A cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She shrank further behind Darin.
Adeline gracefully smoothed the front of her shirt. "I wish you both, Darlin, a very long and very 'pure' life together," she said, her tone light and casual.
She turned and headed for the stairs. Her high heels clicked crisply on the floor. She didn't look back.
Darlin stood frozen in the corridor. He watched her walk away, his chest tightening. For the first time in his life, a cold, uncontrollable panic began to spread through his heart.
