Chapter 46 Plot Twist

Chapter 46 Plot Twist
Serena

“You can’t throw her in jail,” I said the moment I stepped into the spacious living room.

My voice was quite loud, echoing off the high ceilings. I never knew I could shout this hard.

Mrs. Rivers turned slowly, her expression cold and regal, like a queen who had already passed sentence.

I never realised how really intimidating she looked before now, like Cinderella's wicked stepmother.

“And why not?” she shot back. “I have decided, and that’s final. Detective Gilbert, please take care of the rest.”

Mrs. Hale stood perfectly still in the center of the room, her eyes fixed on me with a quiet, heartbreaking resignation.

She didn’t say a word or try to defend herself. What broke my heart was how she didn't even flinch when the detective stepped forward.

Why wasn’t she fighting? Why was she just… accepting this?

“You can’t take her away from me,” I said, my voice rising. “Saint. Sin. Do something. I’m not letting him take her away from me. Mrs. Hale is innocent!”

Lara snorted from the side of the room. “You’re making a noise, girl. Let the detective do his work.”

“Sin. Saint,” I called out again, desperation creeping into my tone.

“Stop trying to brainwash my sons,” Mrs. Rivers stepped forward, her owl-like eyes pinning me with a hard, venomous glare.

To Detective Gilbert, she turned her long neck and said with icy authority, “Out with her.”

Sin and Saint both moved at the same time, stepping forward, blocking the detective’s path like twin walls of muscle and menace.

“You’re letting her tell you what to do?” Mrs. Rivers hissed. “A common orphan girl?”

Okay, now that one stung.

“With all due respect, Mother,” Sin said, his eyes taking on a dangerous glint that told me he was done dealing with this calmly. “In the absence of Father, the decision-making is left to us.”

Mrs. Rivers’ eyes narrowed. She clenched her fist by her side.

“Gilbert, take her,” she ordered, daring her sons to counter her.

“Dare us,” Saint’s voice was so low it was almost a growl. 

The room went deathly silent. Even Lara who'd opened her mouth to say something closed it.

Detective Gilbert froze mid-step, clearly unsure whose authority carried more weight in this moment.

Mrs. Hale still hadn’t moved but her eyes remained locked on mine. She looked so calm, resigned, and almost… sorry.

I felt my chest tighten. This wasn’t just about a poisoning anymore. This was about power.
About who really controlled this family.

And right now, standing between the two men 
who had claimed me and the woman who had raised them, I figured the real war wasn’t between me and Mrs. Rivers.

It was between the twins and the mother who had spent years trying to control them.

Mrs Hale's lips were moving, but I couldn't make the words out.

“Our decision is final, mother. Mrs Hale is not going anywhere until we change our minds. In fact, the investigation will come to an end. Saint and I will escort Detective Gilbert out.”

“You're both disobeying me, because of her?!”

They ignored her completely. 

Saint and Sin moved as one, flanking Detective Gilbert and beginning to lead him toward the door.

“Wait,” Gilbert blurted out suddenly, startling nearly everyone in the room.

He looked around nervously, as if expecting someone to tell him to shut up.

“Go on,” Saint said, stopping.

“Mrs. Rivers is not your mother.”

The words dropped like a bomb. At first it sounded like a prank.

For the first time since I’d known her, Mrs. Rivers lost her composure completely.

Her perfectly poised mask shattered, her eyes widening to the size of cookies, her face draining of color.

Her hands were trembling at her sides.

“You must leave, Gilbert,” she barked at the detective, her voice sharp and unsteady.

“You must tell them the truth,” the detective pressed. “The DNA confirmed it.”

There had to be some kind of mix-up somewhere. Or Detective Gilbert was not speaking the truth.

“You had no right whatsoever to run a maternity test! Your job was simple, find the culprit.”

Sin. Interrupted her. “Is that true?”

Mrs. Rivers started sweating visibly, her usual icy control slipping further with every second.

“You’re not our mother?” Sin asked again, stepping closer, his presence looming like a storm about to break.

The room went deathly silent. Mrs. Rivers opened her mouth, then closed it. Her face was growing paler with every passing second.

Her eyes darted between her sons, the two men she had raised, controlled, and manipulated for years, and for the first time, she looked… afraid.

“I want to know the truth now!” Saint sounded exactly like he looked, broken, hurt, pissed, disappointed.

Mrs. Rivers lifted her chin, trying to regain control.

“When have I ever lied to you, Sinclair? They are trying to rip us apart. I am your mother.”

Mrs. Hale laughed.

“I watched you raise my sons for years,” she said quietly, loosening the ties of her apron with steady hands.

“What the fuck is going on?” Lara asked, her usual smugness cracking into genuine confusion.

I hated to admit it, but we were on the same page for once.

“Do not say a word, Hale,” Mrs. Rivers commanded, voice sharp as a blade.

“It is too late.”

Mrs. Hale’s smile was small and sad as she reached up and tugged at her hair.

The neat bun came clean off, revealing a skullcap underneath..She ripped that off too.

Long, dark hair tumbled down her back. She touched her eyes next, removing what turned out to be contact lenses.

When she smiled again, the resemblance was unmistakable.

Mrs. Hale wasn’t just a housekeeper. She was their real mother.