Chapter 280

Chapter 280
Anna’s POV
My eyes locked on Marcus. Something monumental was about to shatter my world—I could feel it in the charged air between us.
Peter Reed emerged from the hallway, a manila folder clutched in his hands. Without a word, Marcus took it and passed it directly to Lester Murphy. The room held its collective breath as papers rustled in the suffocating silence.
"Anna's two children are both Marcus's, without a doubt," Lester announced, his deep voice resonating with legal authority. "This testing facility has contracts with many organizations—they would never falsify results."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I stood frozen, mind struggling to process what I'd just heard. The children are Marcus's?
William's weathered face broke into a triumphant grin. "Well, do you all believe it now?" He laughed heartily, thumping his cane against the floor. "I never doubted the children's parentage for a moment."
His expression hardened as he surveyed the room. "Since we now have the paternity report, I don't want to hear any more gossip about the children's parentage. If anyone dares to spread rumors and I find out about it, I absolutely won't let them off lightly."
He turned his sharp gaze to where Mary had been sitting. "Especially you! Let me make this clear—if you dare to speak nonsense again, if you dare to target Anna again, you won't get a penny when I die!"
The threat hung in the air like a blade, but I barely registered it. My mind was reeling.
Marcus stood, his spine rigid with tension. "Ever since I acquired my private jet, I actually returned several times during that period. However, due to security concerns, I didn't make public appearances when returning to the country. You can verify this at the airport. Also, Joseph Walker knows—I stayed at his place whenever I returned."
Joseph Walker. The name triggered a cascade of memories—the owner of Olympus Club who rarely made appearances. The same man who'd been there that fateful night. My stomach churned as connections formed in my mind.
"Alright, Marcus, you don't need to prove yourself anymore," Phillip interjected, his voice carrying forced cheer. "We all believe the children are yours."
Hector nodded vigorously from his corner. "Right, right. Anna's character is beyond reproach."
Their words washed over me like white noise. I watched Marcus avoid my gaze, and slowly, surely, shock crystallized into rage. Every interaction, every coincidence, every carefully orchestrated moment—it had all been calculated.
"Since everything has been clarified, let's all disperse," Bradley suggested, clearly eager to end this uncomfortable gathering. "Marcus and Anna should go rest—there's still much to do tomorrow."
The Murphy clan began their exodus, offering congratulations and reassurances as they passed. Layla Murphy paused beside me, her manicured hand briefly touching my arm.
"Anna has been wronged tonight, but it's good that everything's cleared up," she said with practiced warmth. "From now on, we're all family—no barriers means better relationships."
"You are right." I forced my lips into what might pass for a smile. "It's good that everything's clear."
As the room emptied, leaving only Marcus and me among the dying embers in the fireplace, the fury I'd been containing finally found its voice.
"The children are yours?" My words came out like shards of ice.
He finally met my eyes, and what I saw there confirmed everything. No surprise. No confusion. Just resignation.
I laughed—a cold, bitter sound that echoed off the crystal chandelier. "Uncle Marcus really went to great lengths, didn't he!"
The memories flooded back now—Joseph's unexpected presence that night, the convenient "emergency" that had called Sean away, my mysterious disappearance from Olympus Club. Logan's obsession suddenly made horrifying sense. He'd known. Of course he'd known.
He met my gaze without flinching. "Indeed, I went to considerable effort."
The casual admission sent shock waves through me. My mind reeled, connecting dots I'd been too blind to see. Logan's cryptic words suddenly made horrifying sense: "Remember what you've said today." He'd known. Of course he'd known.
I laughed—a bitter, broken sound that echoed off the vaulted ceiling. "No wonder Logan kept implying things. He knew all along, didn't he?" My face burned with humiliation. "And I was, telling him I'd never marry a man who deliberately raped me. Everyone must have been laughing at my stupidity."
The urge to claw Marcus's face overwhelmed me. My nails dug into my palms as I fought for control.
"Since when?" I demanded, my voice rising. "How long have you been planning this?"
Marcus's expression softened in a way that made my stomach turn. "Since you became an adult, I've been waiting. I watched you date, get married, have children, get divorced. I waited through it all, biding my time for the right moment."
The confession hit me like a physical blow. All those years of trust, of seeing him as family—it had all been a lie.
"So the moment you returned, your first priority was to sleep with me." My voice dripped with disgust. "Pursuing me openly while fucking me in secret. Quite the dual approach, Mr. Murphy."
He didn't deny it. That infuriated me more than any protest would have.
"I'm curious," I continued, my voice deceptively calm. "All those times I called you Uncle Marcus with such trust in my eyes—what were you thinking?"
His jaw tightened. "Every time you looked at me with those trusting eyes, I had to fight the urge to take you right there."
The shamelessness of it stole my breath. I'd thought Logan was bad, but compared to Marcus, Logan was practically a gentleman.
"I was despicable," Marcus admitted, but his tone held no remorse. "If given the chance again, I'd do exactly the same thing."
My body shook with fury. This wasn't the Marcus I thought I knew. This was a predator who'd been circling me for years, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
"So in Mr. Murphy's eyes, my feelings don't matter? My dignity means nothing?" My voice cracked despite my efforts to stay composed.
"I admit I was underhanded." His voice hardened. "But what was the alternative? Stand by and watch you go to Olympus Club to find someone else?"
"That was my choice to make!" I shot back. "It's like if you were planning to find someone, but ended up being slept with instead. Do you see the difference?"
His next words sent me over the edge: "Then consider me that type of person. After all, you did pay me that day."
My mind went blank with rage. The casual way he threw my humiliation back at me, as if it were some kind of joke...
Without another word, I spun on my heel and stormed out. I couldn't breathe in that room, couldn't stand to look at his face for another second.
Rachel barely managed to follow as I swept through the marble foyer. She shot a venomous glare at Peter Reed, who stood near the entrance. The entire Murphy security detail seemed to shrink back as we passed.
In the car, silence wrapped around us like a shroud. Rachel's knuckles were white on the steering wheel, her jaw clenched in shared outrage. She didn't speak—what was there to say? My entire world had been built on lies.