Chapter 218: Two Birds, One Stone

In the dim light of the underground parking garage, Clara Hayes held up her gown and slowly walked to the spot where she was supposed to meet Ethan Sutton, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Clara glanced at her phone in confusion, murmuring to herself, ’What’s with this Sutton guy... Didn’t we agree to meet here...’

Just as a confused Clara was taking out her phone to call Ethan, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

The TAP TAP of leather-soled shoes on the concrete was exceptionally clear in the quiet parking garage.

Thinking Ethan had arrived, Clara quickly turned around, only to find it wasn’t him, but her own brother, Raymond Hayes.

Seeing Raymond’s grim expression, Clara’s heart sank. She hadn’t expected to see her older brother here.

Clara was about to say something, but Raymond raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

The sharp SMACK echoed loudly in the quiet corner.

Clara instinctively raised a hand to her stinging cheek, a faint taste of blood in her mouth.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Raymond. Just as she was about to demand why, he spoke first.

"Clara, I’ve told you before to get along with Sylvia and to stop bullying her. Why can’t you ever seem to learn?!"

Raymond’s face was dark, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment as he glared at Clara. "How dare you conspire with an outsider to set up your own sister! Do you have any idea how much Sylvia suffered with the Sutton family? And you still brought Ethan Sutton here to humiliate her in public?!"

With her plan exposed, Clara couldn’t be bothered to wonder how Raymond found out. Her mind was consumed by the anger and injustice of being slapped.

Clutching her face, her eyes filled with tears, she defiantly shouted at Raymond, "Why don’t you look at how that mother and daughter set me up? I was starved in the Buddhist hall for three days! I nearly died in there! Where were you then!?"

Whether from anger or a sense of betrayal, Clara’s tears began to stream down her face. "Raymond, are you even my brother anymore?! It’s bad enough you won’t stand up for me, but now you’re hitting me for the daughter of a homewrecker! Have you forgotten that I’m your real sister, from the same mother?!"

Raymond remained unmoved by Clara’s tears. He frowned at her, his tone impatient. "I’ve said it before. You and Sylvia are both my sisters. You are both daughters of the Hayes family, and you should get along with her."

As Clara’s older brother, Raymond knew her personality all too well. He knew she was willful and domineering and had a long history of bullying others. In middle school, for instance, she had driven four classmates to attempt suicide. It was he, her big brother, who had hushed it all up.

But Sylvia Lancaster was different. To Raymond, Sylvia was gentle and timid, so much like his own wife. She was someone who needed to be protected.

That was why, whenever there was a conflict between Clara and Sylvia, Raymond sided with Sylvia without a second thought.

Raymond’s face was grim as he continued to stare at Clara. "Sylvia is so gentle and well-behaved. Why can’t you just accept her? You two were good friends before. Now you’re sisters, which should make you even closer. Isn’t that a good thing? Can’t you just get along with her? Why must you always cause trouble? Are you really that immature?"

Clara looked at him in utter disbelief. She shook her head desperately, crying out, "Brother! What kind of poison has that bitch Sylvia Lancaster fed you to make you protect her like this?! Have you forgotten that it was those homewreckers who drove Mom to her grave? Why are you protecting a homewrecker’s daughter now?!"

Raymond’s jaw tightened. He fell silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, "...I haven’t forgotten. But... Sylvia is innocent, after all. She couldn’t choose who her parents were."

Clara was incredulous. "What nonsense are you talking about? How is she innocent?! Her very existence is an insult to Mom’s memory! She’s living in Mom’s house, enjoying Mom’s fortune! She’s nothing but a shameless beneficiary!"

Clara finished, glaring at Raymond, her voice breaking as she questioned him, "Brother! You were Mom’s favorite child when she was alive! Now you’re defending a mistress’s bastard daughter. Can you even face Mom in her grave?!"

Raymond sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "Don’t keep bringing this up..." he said to Clara. "Everyone has their own destiny. Mother’s death was her fate... None of this has anything to do with Sylvia. You can’t keep making things difficult for her."

At his words, Clara felt as if a bucket of icy water had been dumped over her, chilling her to the bone.

She stood there, stunned, staring at Raymond with wide eyes as if seeing him for the first time.

Clara lowered the hand covering her face. Her cheek was already badly swollen, with a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.

She first let out a strange, sharp laugh. Then, looking at Raymond with pure disgust, she said, enunciating every word, "Raymond Hayes, you make me sick! You’re just like Dad! You’re both completely disgusting!"

Without waiting for Raymond’s reaction, she shoved him aside, hiked up her gown, and ran out.

******

In the banquet hall, Lily Adler and Sylvia Lancaster stood by the window. From their vantage point, they could see Clara Hayes holding up her gown as she ran across the street toward the Oceanus Hotel opposite them.

Lily smiled and swirled the champagne in her glass. Just as she’d predicted, Clara had been put in her place by Raymond and had stormed out of the Nimbus Hotel in a huff. It was highly likely she would subconsciously run to the Oceanus Hotel.

She had prepared another "surprise" for Clara over at the Oceanus Hotel. ’I hope she can handle it...’

Lily Adler pulled her gaze from the window, turning to gently smooth a stray lock of hair on Sylvia’s forehead. "Darling," she whispered, "now you can rest easy."

Ever since Lily had heard Sylvia’s story, she had keenly sensed that Ethan Sutton was a dangerous, ticking time bomb.

Rather than letting that bomb go off at an unexpected time, it was better for Sylvia to lance the boil herself.

That’s why she decided to strike first, having Sylvia proactively bring the matter to Raymond. Since Sylvia’s miscarriage, Ethan Sutton and the Sutton family had already been in the wrong. Lily figured that, given Raymond’s personality, he would most likely be partial to his own family.

Sure enough, Lily’s gamble paid off. Now, Clara could no longer use the situation with Ethan Sutton to her advantage.

Besides, Lily was still fuming about how the Sutton family had tormented Sylvia!

Although Sylvia’s miscarriage had happened because Simon Lancaster pushed her and she lost her balance... the real cause was the torment she had endured from Mr. and Mrs. Sutton beforehand!

Lily couldn’t let the injustice Sylvia suffered at the hands of the Sutton family go. That’s why she had Sylvia lie to Raymond, telling him that the miscarriage had made it difficult for her to get pregnant again. She knew Raymond would never let Ethan Sutton off the hook.

This way, they could prevent Clara from using Ethan Sutton to launch a sudden attack, and they could get revenge on Ethan and the Sutton family for their abuse of Sylvia. It was killing two birds with one stone!

Sylvia happily took a sip of her champagne, feeling as though a great weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.

Not only that, but after all the grievances she had suffered with the Sutton family, she had finally gotten her revenge!

At this thought, Sylvia turned to Lily and cooed sweetly, "Thank you, Mama~"

Lily smiled at the sight and patted Sylvia’s shoulder. "Alright, my darling. Now that the problem is solved, Mama will take you to meet some of the newly rich."

The natural disasters of the past two years had witnessed a changing of the guard among the elite families. While some, like the Sutton and Lancaster families, had gone bankrupt and been cast out, others had naturally risen up, making their fortunes from the chaos and leaping into the top tier.

Many of these newly ascended elites were at the banquet tonight. They were on the rise and were excellent marriage prospects. Lily wanted to choose a lifelong partner for Sylvia from among them.

Sylvia nodded eagerly at her mother’s words. She intimately linked her arm with Lily’s, ready to approach a target Lily had selected.