Chapter 126

It had to be said—though Fiona was no longer young, years of comfort and careful upkeep had preserved her well.

She had always possessed a certain charm, and in Patrick’s eyes, she was undeniably alluring.

That night, his face had flushed instantly, leaving him frozen, unsure of what to do.

His awkward reaction only amused her.

Fiona was no novice—she had long since learned how to navigate desire and temptation. Even if she had settled down in recent years, her experience hadn’t faded.

Under her deliberate teasing, Patrick—utterly inexperienced—had quickly lost all defenses.

One willing, the other inviting... and before long, they had crossed the line.

Patrick had never been able to come to terms with it. He had tried to pretend it never happened.

And yet, in front of everyone, Fiona had exposed everything without hesitation.

That woman... she was insane. Completely unafraid that George might kill her if he found out.

"Patrick... I’m really disappointed in you."

Vanessa looked at him, something obsessive and unsettling flickering in her eyes.

The look made Patrick uneasy. He instinctively took a step back.

Vanessa suddenly smiled, lowering her gaze as she gently stroked her abdomen.

"Don’t do something like this again," she said softly.

Her brother froze for a moment, then nodded instinctively.

She continued, her voice calm but chilling, "You’re going to be a father, Patrick. If I ever find out you’ve been unfaithful again... I won’t let you off."

This time, his expression completely stiffened.

He stared at her in shock, his mind going blank.

The weight of her words hit all at once—and made no sense.

A father?

Unfaithful?

Had she lost her mind?

A cold sweat broke out across his back. He stood abruptly, trying to leave.

Vanessa grabbed his arm.

Under the dim light, her pale face looked almost eerie. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"I... I’m going to check on Mom," he said, trying to pull away—but her grip was surprisingly strong.

Her fingers tightened around his arm, nails digging into his skin.

Pain shot through him, but he didn’t dare shake her off.

Something about her was deeply wrong.

Unsettling. Unpredictable.

Almost... unhinged.

"Don’t go," she said suddenly, smiling—a gentle expression that somehow felt deeply disturbing.

She pulled his hand toward her, guiding it to her stomach.

"Stay with our child."

Though the air wasn’t warm, Patrick was drenched in sweat. His body stiffened, his mind racing.

He tried to pull his hand back. "Sis... don’t joke like that. I won’t do it again."

Our child?

Had she really gone mad?

"I’m not joking," Vanessa said quietly. "The child I’m carrying... is yours."

For Patrick, nothing had ever felt more terrifying than this moment.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably, his breathing turning shallow and rapid.

"What child...?" he thought in horror.

She’s completely lost it...

"You don’t believe me?" Vanessa sighed. "It really is yours."

She let out a soft, almost mocking laugh. "Did you really think that useless Tommy was still capable of having children? His body’s already been drained dry—his sperm quality is terrible. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant so easily... or secured my place."

It was precisely because of the pregnancy that she had managed to persuade Tommy to bring the Sanders family into the villa.

Patrick forced a strained smile. "Sis... seriously, stop messing with me."

"I’m not," she said lightly. "Don’t you wonder why you fell asleep so early that night?"

Patrick’s thoughts jolted, memories beginning to surface.

Something clicked in his mind.

His pupils shrank sharply.

That’s right—on that day, Vanessa had suddenly returned after already moving into the Kale household.

And it was that very night he had felt unusually drowsy... falling asleep far earlier than usual.

But what actually happened after that—he had no idea. He had thought it was nothing more than an ordinary early night.

Now, hearing Vanessa’s words, a cold chill crawled up his spine.

Has she gone insane?

They were siblings. What kind of twisted mind would even conceive of something like this?

A wave of nausea surged through him.

He wrenched his arm free from her grip and hurried toward the second floor.

He needed space.

He needed to think.

To breathe.

This is... disgusting.

Meanwhile, Jack had already finished heating the food and brought it to the dining area.

The aroma filled the air, rich and irresistible, stirring hunger deep in the stomach.

Catching the scent, Margaret shut the storage room door and headed for the dining table.

The smell drifted into the storage room as well, brushing faintly past George and Fiona’s noses.

George’s body twitched.

His eyes snapped open.

The moment he realized he was tied up, rage burst out of him in a hoarse curse.

He shifted awkwardly, then kicked Fiona beside him awake.

There was no time to care about her betrayal now.

Survival came first.

As for Tommy, lying off to the side—neither of them spared him a glance.

This was all his fault.

If not for his recklessness, they would never have ended up like this.

The two of them writhed on the floor like worms, struggling to free each other from the ropes.

It was useless.

Through the surveillance feed, Suzy watched everything unfold.

She switched on the microphone and spoke in a cold voice, "Stop struggling. It’s pointless."

The distortion of the speaker blurred her voice.

Inside the storage room, George and Fiona froze.

"Who’s there?" George demanded.

Neither of them recognized her voice.

"Don’t remember me, Dad?" Suzy said, her tone laced with mockery.

George stiffened.

At last, realization dawned—it was his long-missing daughter.

"Su... Suzy?!"

His voice came out dry and trembling, betraying emotions he hadn’t even realized were there.

"Where are you?! How can you see this? The cameras—"

Fiona struggled to lift her head, her face smeared with blood and tears, utterly disheveled.

George’s gaze finally locked onto the small red light blinking in the upper corner.

The voice was coming from there.

"Suzy, did you install these?" he said urgently. "Help us! Those animals from the Sanders family are going to kill us! Call the police—no, think of something, anything!"

"Help you?" Suzy let out a soft laugh. "Are you joking?"

George and Fiona’s faces turned deathly pale.

Suzy continued, her voice cold and cutting:

"Why don’t you ask your precious son Tommy to save you? Wasn’t he always the capable one, the pride of your family?"