Chapter 282: It is your fate...
After dinner, Lady Matilda motioned for everyone to remain seated. The clinking of cutlery ceased, and murmured conversations died down.
"Before we disperse," she began with commanding calmness, "I believe it is time Jessica is properly introduced to the family. She should understand the Santiago family tree."
What followed was a deliberate rundown of names and relations. Uncles, aunts, cousins—everyone took their turn, and Lady Matilda clarified the bloodlines as though each connection carried weight.
Jessica listened attentively. Her mind filtered through the names and titles, but it was one revelation that struck her most.
Lady Matilda had only two children—her mother, Nora, and a younger son, Donald. Jessica’s heart skipped. Her mother had been the eldest. The firstborn.
So that was it.
The secret tension in the air. The barely concealed hostility. It all made sense now.
Her presence had disrupted more than routines—it had threatened the silent ambitions that had festered in this house for years. Her arrival had shaken old plots from their slumber and forced hidden motives into motion.
She cast a quick glance around the table. Her eyes lingered on each face. Some wore false warmth, their smiles too tight, their eyes too shifty. Others barely concealed their disdain. A few—just a handful—looked sincere, though even their sincerity felt cautious.
Donald, her uncle, looked strangely alone despite being surrounded by his own blood. A sheep among wolves, she thought. No wonder Lady Matilda had retained control even at her age—there was no one else strong enough to hold the house together.
Subtly, Jessica reached for her phone under the table and typed out a message to Ethan.