Sylvia Lancasterâs face was pale, her lips drained of all color.
She lay silently in bed, feeling completely devoid of strength.
With a trembling hand, she unlocked her phone. Flynn Adler still hadnât replied. She closed her eyes in despair as two tears slid from their corners.
When she had woken up from her fainting spell yesterday, she found that Ethan Sutton was gone. Sitting before her hospital bed were Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes, their faces ashen.
Robert Lancaster was watching her coldly, his eyes devoid of any warmth.
Seeing she was awake, Robert immediately demanded she explain the paternity test. He also asked what had happened in the room that day, why she had fallen, and why Holly Rhodes had broken up with Simon Lancaster.
Faced with this barrage of questions, Sylvia Lancaster couldnât say a word. She could only weep silently, looking at her parents with pleading eyes.
But Sylviaâs tears failed to soften Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes. Even Elaine, who had always doted on Sylvia, frowned and asked what was going on with the paternity test and whose baby it really was.
Sylvia didnât dare mention Flynn Adler. She was afraid that if Clara Hayes found out, she would truly have no way out.
She could only bite her lip and cry softly, remaining silent.
Unexpectedly, upon seeing her act this way, Robert Lancaster stood up abruptly.
He yanked Sylvia out of bed and gave her a heavy backhanded slap!
The slap stunned Sylvia.
Sylvia stared at Robert Lancaster in disbeliefâ
Robert and Elaine had doted on her her entire life. She never imagined that Robert, who had always cherished her, would actually strike her!
Seeing Robertâs icy gaze, completely unmoved by her tears, Sylvia could only grit her teeth and quietly tell them that the child she had lost was indeed not Ethan Suttonâs. That she had cheated.
But she still didnât dare mention the baby was Flynn Adlerâs. She could only look at Robert and Elaine with pleading eyes, hoping that for the sake of their twenty-odd years together, they wouldnât blame her.
Upon hearing this, Robertâs face flushed crimson. He glared at Sylvia as if he wanted to devour her.
Sylvia grew frightened seeing him like this and turned her gaze to Elaine Hughes for help.
But to her surprise, Elaine, who had always doted on her, didnât comfort her. Instead, she walked over with a cold expression and slapped her hard across the face as well!
As Sylvia stared, shocked and heartbroken, Elaine furiously cursed her for being a slut who seduced her own brother.
Elaine trembled with rage. The pride she once felt for Sylvia was now matched only by her hatred!
Elaine had thought that Sylvia, the daughter she had raised herself, had learned from her example to be filial, obedient, gentle, and kind.
But now that the truth was exposed, she realized the daughter she was so proud of was this kind of trash. She had even corrupted her own biological son!
Elaine couldnât accept that Sylvia had done something as shameless as cheating. Even less could she accept that the person Sylvia had cheated with was her own son, Simon Lancaster!
It was a complete disregard for all morality!
Meeting Sylviaâs heartbroken and desperate gaze, Robert and Elaine told her that Ethan Sutton had already sent over the divorce papers. He wanted her to leave with nothing and was demanding repayment for every cent he had ever spent on her.
Robert and Elaine also said that since Sylvia had done something as shameful as seducing her brother, she was no longer a daughter of the Lancaster Family. Her life or death had nothing to do with them anymore.
After that, no matter how much Sylvia apologized and begged, Robert and Elaine ignored her, turning and leaving the hospital room decisively.
Before he left, Robert snorted coldly and said to Sylvia, "This must be a problem with your genes. Youâre really not a Lancaster, so of course you couldnât be raised right!"
"If we had known, we should have kicked you, the fake, out the moment Melody returned!"
Sylvia listened to Robertâs words in a daze, feeling her heart shatter. She was too stunned to even cry or beg, just sitting dumbly on the bed...
Sylvia silently watched their departing figures for a long time. Then, the helplessness and sorrow in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by pure resentment and hatred.
Sylvia thought, âWhy...â
âWhy did I have to end up like this...â
Robert Lancaster and Elaine Hughes kept insisting that she was the one who seduced Simon Lancaster, never once mentioning that Simon was interested in her too.
âItâs as if their precious son Simon is some kind of saint who only fell from his pedestal because I tempted him.â
âBut how can feelings be a one-way street?â
Sylvia refused to believe that Robert and Elaine didnât understand this. They were just biased toward their biological son! But when it came to her, their adopted daughter with no blood relation, they had cast her aside without a second thought...
A dark hatred grew in Sylviaâs heart. She hated these parents who claimed to love her, hated Ethan Sutton for abandoning her, and hated Simon Lancaster, who had vanished without a trace after the incident.
Just then, a doctor came to inform Sylvia that the advance payment made by Mr. and Mrs. Sutton had been used up. She needed to pay the fees as soon as possible, or she would have to be discharged today.
Sylvia felt helpless. She was still recovering from her miscarriage. After everything sheâd been through these past few days, the emotional roller coaster had left her body increasingly weak.
She had nowhere else to go, so she could only use what little savings she had left to pay for one more day.
Staring at her dwindling balance, Sylvia had no choice but to message Flynn Adler for help.
But to her dismay, Flynn Adler completely ignored her.
Sylvia waited for a day, but she couldnât wait any longer. This morning, she messaged the only person who might be able to help her nowâher good friend, Clara Hayes.
*
When Clara Hayes arrived, Sylvia was staring blankly at the ceiling in despair.
When her eyes fell upon Sylviaâs paper-white face, Clara couldnât help but be startled.
Sylvia looked exceptionally haggard and weak, as if all her vitality had been drained away. It was a heartbreaking sight.
Clara quickly took a few steps forward and asked with concern, "Sylvia, you... what happened to you?"
Seeing Clara, Sylvia struggled to sit up and began reciting her prepared story. "It was my older brotherâs girlfriend. She got jealous because she saw my brother caring for me, so she pushed me to the ground. I fell, and... I had a miscarriage."
"The Sutton Family blames me for not protecting the baby, so theyâre making Ethan divorce me. Theyâve already hired a lawyer to handle the paperwork."
"My parents blame me for the divorce, saying Iâve shamed them, so theyâve disowned me."
"Claire, I have nowhere to go. Can you let me stay with you for a few days? I promise Iâll move out as soon as I find a job and a place to live. I wonât be any trouble."
Sylvia spoke through her tears, glancing at Claraâs expression from time to time.
Clara was shocked by her words.
Ever since she ran into Melody Summers at the Oceanus Hotel a few days ago, she had been troubled by the matter.
She felt that Melody couldnât be allowed to stay, but she didnât dare ask anyone else to make a move, afraid that Melody would reveal her connection to what happened to her brother.
She never expected that while she was at home trying to figure out a plan, something this major would happen to Sylvia.
After Clara processed all this information, she said with some indignation, "Ethan Sutton and your parents are being too cruel! How can they blame you for this? You just lost your child, and theyâre treating you like this!"
Looking at Sylviaâs pale face, Clara sighed and comforted her, "Why donât you come stay at my place for a while? Youâre still recovering from the miscarriage, and my housekeeper can take better care of you than youâd get at the hospital. Maybe in a few days, your parents will come to their senses and take you back."
Sylvia looked at Clara gratefully and said, "Claire, thank you. Thank you so much. I really donât know what I would have done without you."
Clara smiled and replied, "Donât be a stranger. Weâre best friends, arenât we?"
With that, Clara went to handle Sylviaâs discharge procedures.
Watching Claraâs departing figure, Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what, with Claraâs help, she at least had a place to stay. If she stayed in the hospital, she wouldnât be able to afford the fees.