My Billionaire's Last Secret: A Love Forged in Lies

Chapter 12

I went to the private club where I was to meet Arthur Thorne. The old mansion was exceptionally quiet. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary private residence, but inside, flowers and trees flourished, and winding paths led to secluded corners.

Arthur Thorne and Alex didn’t look very alike. He was dressed in casual, comfortable attire, appearing every bit the benevolent gentleman, without any hint of sharpness. He was quite polite to me, instructing someone to bring me fresh pomegranate juice.

He showed no emotion, yet I found him unfathomable. Few people knew I liked pomegranate juice, as it was rarely served in restaurants. Alex knew because when he occasionally cooked at home, I’d always buy boxes of pomegranates to juice. Why did Arthur Thorne know? Perhaps he had investigated me thoroughly. After all, I was almost his son’s wife.

Arthur Thorne drank white tea, accompanied by delicate pastries. "Ms. Vance, would you like to try some?" he offered.

I told myself to remain calm, but I couldn't manage a smile. "Mr. Thorne, why did you want to see me?"

"Ms. Vance’s situation, I confess, was not handled well on my end," he began. "Alex, like myself when I was younger, tends to be impulsive, which leads to mistakes. He is my son, and as his father, I bear responsibility for any oversights. I say this to apologize to Ms. Vance. I am sincere in my desire to buy your house. Whether Ms. Vance sells it to someone else or me, it's the same. The highest bidder gets it. In business, we are all about business."

I hadn’t expected him to apologize first, and with such sincerity. "It's nothing," I said. "It's in the past." After a brief pause, I added, "I won't sell the house to you. Because I don't want any more ties to your family."

"Ms. Vance says she wants no ties to our family," Arthur Thorne said, his gaze fixed on me. "Yet Ms. Vance is eight and a half weeks pregnant, and it seems she intends to carry this child to term… How can this be unrelated to the Thorne family?"

I shot to my feet, intending to leave. Just then, the door burst open. Alex Thorne suddenly entered. He looked like he’d rushed from somewhere, his steps hurried, his forehead glistening with sweat. Seeing him, my heart ached. I hadn't seen him since that night, but it felt like a decade had passed in mere days.

The ancients said, "A day apart feels like three autumns." I didn't know what others thought, but for me, every minute, every second away from the one I loved, stretched on forever.

Arthur Thorne was surprised by Alex's sudden entry. Alex grabbed my hand. "Let's go."

"Don't touch me!" I snapped.

Alex froze, slowly releasing my hand. I didn't think he was pleased either; his hand clenched into a fist, then slowly lowered to his side. I said to Arthur Thorne, "I don't want the money. I will have this child. You don't need to worry."

Arthur Thorne, however, seemed to relax. He turned to Alex. "You're here. Perfect. Persuade Ms. Vance. I'll go water the orchids."

He stood up, gave us the room, and simply walked away. I felt a deep sadness, struggling to hold back tears, but they fell anyway.

Alex walked to the window, not looking at me. "Get rid of the baby. Take the money."

My heart clenched. After everything, it still came back to this.

"I won't take your money," I said. "This child has nothing to do with you either."

Alex was silent for a long time. I felt utterly exhausted. He finally said, "Why are you so stubborn?"

"That's my business," I replied.

"If you don't want money, there are other things," he said. "I know your mother is in the hospital. You hate the perpetrator. He wasn't just drunk driving; he was on drugs when he hit your mother. But he's the sole heir of a powerful family. His parents will stop at nothing to protect him. You can't fight them."

This was the first I'd heard of it. I was shocked.

"Abort the child," Alex continued. "I promise the perpetrator will spend the rest of his life in prison. He'll never get out."

I stared at him for a long time. Finally, I said, "You sicken me."

I walked out of the building. No one stopped me. Justice was a joke. Fate, too, was a joke. I found myself laughing, a bitter, self-mocking laugh as I walked. Passersby stared at me like I was insane. Maybe I was.

I re-listed the house, but this time, there were no inquiries. My mother’s beauty salon finally closed down; I couldn't even pay the staff. The good technicians had already left for other salons. I guess I was never cut out for business.

One day, leaving the hospital, I was robbed. It wasn't even dark yet. I'd just exited the main hospital doors when a motorcycle sped up behind me. The engine sound gave me an odd feeling, and I instinctively moved to the inner side of the sidewalk, where a row of large trees grew. Those trees saved my life. The motorcyclist suddenly yanked my bag from behind. My first reaction was to let go of the bag and protect my belly. This instinctive action also saved me. The motorcyclist, after snatching the bag, swung it hard, hitting my belly. My hand went numb. The motorcycle then turned around and drove straight at me, intending to hit me. I instinctively dodged. The motorcycle crashed into a tree, then quickly reversed, accelerating again, charging at me as if to hit me a second time. Just then, a security guard happened to pass by, yelling, "Robbery!" and ran towards us. The motorcyclist hesitated, then sped off.

My face and hands burned. A kind security guard took me back to the hospital. My face was scraped by tree bark, and my hand was bruised purple from the bag’s metal studs. The surgeon who examined me said I was incredibly lucky. But I knew something was wrong. If it were just a robbery, the thief would have taken the bag and left. He wouldn't have turned back to hit me, and then tried a second time.

I gave my statement at the police station. They also thought something was off, repeatedly asking if I had any enemies. I told them my mother was in the hospital, and perhaps only the perpetrator wished me dead.

The police found it incredible. I did too. A very dark thought lurked in my mind: perhaps the motorcyclist wasn't trying to kill me, but aiming for my belly. I had this intuition, but I forbade myself from thinking in that darkest direction, because I refused to believe it.

I slept in the hospital observation room, then returned to sleeping on the folding bed outside the ICU. The next day, the doctor told me someone had paid a huge sum for my mother's medical expenses, enough for several months. "Who was it?" I asked. They said they didn’t know, as the payment counter only required the patient's name and hospital number. No one checked who paid.

Perhaps the perpetrator felt guilty and used this method to cover his tracks.

I still managed to find out who paid for my mother, because the payment was made with a cashier's check, and the hospital billing department kept a copy. On it, I saw a graceful signature: "Eleanor Thorne."

I never did it would be her.

But this money was from the Thorne family, and I had no intention of keeping it.

I transferred the beauty salon’s lease, and the refunded rent and transfer fees roughly matched the sum. I arranged to meet Eleanor and returned the check to her.

"You're quite stubborn," she said.

"My mother taught me that even when you're poor, you shouldn't lose your dignity," I replied.

Eleanor said, "I pity your mother. She raised a daughter like you but never got to enjoy her."

"My mother and I don't need anyone's pity," I said. "Especially not my mother."

Eleanor suddenly smiled. "I can't bear to keep it from you any longer. You don't know yet, do you, who your father is."

Suddenly, my ears buzzed. My nervous tinnitus had flared up again. Her voice sounded faint, like the roar of a distant airplane, barely audible, yet every word was chillingly clear. "You are Arthur Thorne's daughter. Alex is your half-brother. That's why the Thorne family is panicking, desperate to cover this up."

I stared at her blankly.

"You absolutely cannot have this child," she continued. "It's incestuous. Abort the baby quickly, take the Thorne family's money, and leave the country."

"My father isn't Arthur Thorne," I said.

"If you don't believe me," she said, "go ask your mother. She worked as a nanny in the Thorne family, and after she left, she gave birth to you. Oh, your mother's in a coma now… I'm sorry, but it's the truth. You don't believe it, but it's true."

"My mother isn't in a coma," I said. "She's brain-dead. She'll never wake up."

She looked at me with deep sympathy, then finally said with pity, "Just take the Thorne family's money and disappear."

"Disappear." Such easy words. But my wings had long been broken. I couldn't fly, and I couldn't leave.

Eleanor seemed worried I wouldn’t believe her. "You still don't know why I detest you so much, do you? Because you are truly detestable. Lucas was infatuated with a woman like you, yet you're utterly beneath him."

I sneered. "You truly love your brother, don't you?"

"No, I don't mind telling you the truth. Lucas isn't my brother at all. He's my son. I gave birth to him when I was eighteen. Arthur Thorne’s first wife was still alive then, so my parents and I had no choice but to say Lucas was my younger brother. Later, even when I married Arthur Thorne, it was too late to change the story. But Alex always hated me. He believed I drove his mother to her death, so he made my life hell. He doesn’t know that the more cruelly he treats me, the more Arthur Thorne feels indebted to me, indebted to Lucas. All these years, even Alex couldn't truly harm me. You think a supposed 'lever' like yours can threaten me? I tell you, it's useless! Alex is Arthur Thorne's son, and Lucas is his son, too. Alex has everything, so Arthur Thorne owes Lucas. He won't do anything to me or Lucas because of you. Don't dream. I encouraged you and Alex to get together just so I could enjoy this show! Back then, I even thought you were a Thorne daughter, so I wanted to break you and Lucas up at all costs. But later I realized, why break up you and Lucas if I can pull you and Alex together? First, Lucas would be thoroughly disappointed in you. Then, when Alex discovers you’re his half-sister, that would be a real show! Hahaha! Look now, didn't he just dump you? Why do you think Alex was interested in you in the first place? Wasn't it because you were Lucas’s girlfriend? He always competes with Lucas, always wants to snatch his things. What’s the point? Let him snatch! Now he’s finally reaping what he sowed, isn’t he?! You think Alex truly liked you? I tell you, stop dreaming! He just habitually snatches Lucas’s things. Now he's obediently returned to Faith's side, while you're still dying for him, still thinking of a reunion. He’s already moved on! Wanting a relationship is easy. Destroying one is even easier. You think anything is unbreakable? You think having a child can tie him down? How naive! Men are just men. You treat love as everything, but he’s already moved on. Just go hide in the darkest corner. Stop dreaming of the impossible."

I stared at her in utter shock. I never imagined the truth could be so vile, so disgustingly nauseating. Her thoughts, her cunning, were chillingly malicious. But what she said about Alex, I didn't believe a word. No, no, I wish I hadn't heard any of it. "I won't hide in a dark corner," I said. "It's people like you who will live in the darkest corners of your whole life, shunned by light, living the most sordid existence!"

She burst into laughter, like a madwoman. "You dare lecture me? Alex lectures me only because he's Arthur Thorne's son. I've endured it, slowly building up until today. He took everything that rightfully belonged to Lucas, everything!" She shrieked hysterically. "I won't let him take anything else that belongs to Lucas! He'll return everything!"

At first, I thought she was just sick. Now, I truly believed she was insane. I quickly left, clutching the three appraisal reports. I decided to find Alex Thorne.