Chapter 188: Entering the Main House

Clara Hayes stumbled out of the police station, her mind still in a daze, unable to think clearly.

She had just learned from the police that her fiancé, Flynn Adler, was dead. Just like that!

The police didn’t give her the specific details of Flynn Adler’s death, only questioning her thoroughly about what she knew of The Crestview Hotel.

Clara Hayes didn’t know the first thing about The Crestview Hotel!

Faced with the police’s questioning, she could only confess what she knew.

She told the police that because Melody Summers and Nina Summers had offended her, she had asked Flynn Adler to film an explicit video of them. That was why Flynn Adler had kidnapped them and taken them to The Crestview Hotel. As for anything else, she truly knew nothing!

The police interrogated her repeatedly for a long time and even investigated her phone and other personal devices. Seeing that she truly knew nothing, they finally let her leave.

Clara Hayes walked out of the police station in a daze, wondering how things could have escalated to this point...

Last time, she had sent Hugh Hayes to teach Melody Summers a lesson, and Hugh had disappeared. This time, she had sent Flynn Adler to teach Melody Summers a lesson, and Flynn Adler had died...

’This Melody Summers is a jinx!’

A shiver ran down Clara Hayes’s spine at the thought...

’And... was what Melody Summers said about Sylvia Lancaster true?’

’Is Sylvia Lancaster really my father’s illegitimate daughter?’

’Did Sylvia Lancaster really sleep with Flynn Adler? And was she pregnant with his child?’

The more Clara Hayes thought about it, the more panicked she became. Sylvia Lancaster was still staying at her house for the next couple of days; she had to go home and confront her to get the truth!

******

When Clara Hayes got home, she was about to head upstairs to Sylvia Lancaster’s guest room to confront her. To her surprise, as she stepped through the door, she found the main hall ablaze with light.

Her father, Hector Hayes, was sitting on the sofa in the hall. Flanking him on either side were Sylvia Lancaster and Lily Adler. The scene Clara walked in on was one of them chatting joyfully, looking for all the world like a happy family of three.

Seeing Clara Hayes frozen in the doorway, Lily Adler was the first to speak, a gentle smile on her face. "The young lady is back."

Hector Hayes finally noticed Clara standing in the doorway. He smiled and gestured toward Sylvia Lancaster. "Claire, you’re back just in time. Come here. Let me introduce you to your long-lost sister, Sylvia."

Hector Hayes was usually a stern man who rarely smiled, even at home. Yet now, his face was wreathed in smiles, a clear sign of his inner delight.

Clara Hayes’s eyes flew wide in shock. "What?!" she blurted out.

Clara Hayes found it impossible to believe—what Melody Summers had said was actually true. Sylvia Lancaster was really her father’s illegitimate daughter!

’How could this be?!’

Hector Hayes didn’t notice the ugly look on Clara’s face. He continued smiling to himself, saying, "In a few days, I’ll have her name officially changed to Sylvia Hayes. From now on, she’ll be the second young lady of this family!"

Hector Hayes was lost in the joy of this revelation, unable to contain himself.

He had only learned today that when Lily Adler left without a word all those years ago, it wasn’t because she was abandoning him. It was because she was carrying his child, and she had overcome countless hardships to secretly give birth.

What man could resist such a tale of devoted sacrifice?

Upon learning the truth, Hector Hayes was filled with pity for Lily Adler. And with Sylvia Lancaster having perfectly inherited her mother’s gentle, obedient, and considerate nature, it had only taken her half a day to talk him into a state of absolute delight.

Clara was usually a bit intimidated by Hector and never acted clingy or coddled with him at home. In stark contrast, he found Sylvia to be a real comfort.

Hector Hayes continued, "Claire, I recall you and Sylvia have always been good friends. Now you’ll be true sisters. You must get along from now on, understand?"

Clara Hayes couldn’t believe her ears. Her eyes wide with disbelief, she yelled, "Dad! What is the meaning of this?! How can you let a mistress’s child stay in our home?!"

At her words, the joyful expression on Hector Hayes’s face faded. He snapped at Clara in a low, displeased voice, "Insolence! How dare you speak about your own sister that way?!"

Seeing this, Lily Adler quickly moved to placate Hector Hayes. She then turned to Clara, her voice soft. "Young lady, please don’t be angry. If you can’t accept Sylvia... I can take her and we’ll move out."

Sylvia immediately chimed in, "Yes, Father, I can move out... As long as Sister Claire isn’t upset, I don’t mind being put out a little. Please don’t worry about me."

Looking at the mother and daughter, who both appeared on the verge of tears, Hector Hayes snorted coldly at Clara. "She doesn’t get to call the shots in this house! From now on, Sylvia will move into Hugh’s old room!"

Clara trembled. Hugh’s room was the best one in the entire villa. ’And now Father is letting Sylvia Lancaster move in?!’

Clara couldn’t hold back any longer. She screamed, "Dad! Do you have any idea what this mistress’s daughter has done?! She seduced my fiancé, Flynn Adler! She’s just like her mother—a homewrecking bitch!"

Sylvia’s heart skipped a beat, but her face showed only disbelief. Tears welled in her eyes as she said softly, "Sister, how can you accuse me so wrongly? ...Even if you dislike me, you can’t just make things up like this."

Sylvia didn’t know how Clara had found out, but the baby was gone. Clara had no proof, so she absolutely could not admit to anything.

Hector Hayes had already heard the news about the Adler family’s troubles at noon. He was currently busy distancing himself from them and had no intention of recognizing the engagement between Clara and Flynn Adler anymore.

Now, hearing Clara mention Flynn Adler, his brow twitched. He frowned and said, "Enough. Don’t bring up Flynn Adler again. The Adler family is in trouble, and our family needs to keep its distance! I’ll make new arrangements for you and Sylvia’s marriages... In any case, from now on, you two sisters must support one another."

Clara knew her father had made up his mind. Her voice filled with grief, she asked, "Dad! You know Mom was driven to an early grave by Lily Adler! How can you let her child live in my mother’s house?!"

Hector Hayes’s brow furrowed, and he roared, "Shut your mouth!"

In this house, Hector Hayes allowed no one to challenge his authority. He stared grimly at Clara and said in a low voice, "You’ve inherited your mother’s unreasonableness. Why can’t you learn to be gentle and well-behaved like Sylvia?"

Before Clara’s shocked and wounded eyes, Hector continued with a stony expression, "Go to your room right now and think about what you’ve done! You can stay there until you learn to accept your sister. Until then, you don’t eat!"

Clara couldn’t hold back any longer as large tears streamed down her face. She shot a hateful glare at the smug-looking Sylvia Lancaster, then turned and ran off, sobbing.

As she ran up the stairs, she could still hear Sylvia’s voice drifting up from behind her—

"Father, does Sister really dislike me that much? Maybe I should just move out... I don’t mind being inconvenienced, Father. Please don’t fight with Sister over me. I don’t want to see you put in a difficult position..."

Hearing Sylvia’s deceptively innocent words, Clara quickened her pace, ran into her room, and slammed the door shut!

’How could I have been so stupid?’ she thought. ’How did I never realize what a pretentious bitch Sylvia Lancaster was!’

Clara vented her fury in her room, smashing a framed photo of herself with her father and sweeping the ornaments from her desk. Several maids who passed her door didn’t dare approach, giving it a wide berth.

Her rage spent, Clara collapsed onto her bed and broke into muffled sobs.

In the span of a single afternoon, her fiancé was dead and her father had been stolen away by another woman!

’The woman she’d treated like a sister, Sylvia Lancaster, was actually her father’s illegitimate child. The very mistress who had driven her own mother to death had now brazenly moved into their home with that same illegitimate daughter!’

’To think that just a few days ago, she had wished Sylvia Lancaster were her real sister.’ Clara wanted to slap herself.

’I’m such an idiot!’

After letting it all out, Clara finally calmed down. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number for her eldest brother, Raymond Hayes.

’Even though my big brother doesn’t usually get involved in family matters,’ Clara thought, ’he would never stand by and watch a mistress’s child move into our home! He’ll definitely put Sylvia Lancaster and Lily Adler in their place!’