Chapter 198
Chapter 198
Every head in the room turned toward the door at once.
Lester stood in the entryway, his jacket hanging open, the zipper pull flopped to one side. The shirt underneath was so wrinkled it looked like a crumpled piece of scrap paper, the collar wide open, showing a strip of sun-burned skin beneath.
That redness was the kind you only get from years on a construction site — rough, dark, and completely out of place in this polished living room.
He looked like he'd just run straight over from a job site. His pant legs were spattered with mud, mostly dried now, leaving dark yellow stains scattered from his knees all the way down to his cuffs.
On his feet were a pair of dusty sneakers, one lace undone and dragging on the floor, leaving a faint, smudged footprint on the gleaming marble.
His chest heaved up and down as he caught his breath, a slick sheen of sweat on his forehead, a few strands of damp hair plastered to his face.
But his eyes were startlingly sharp — like a stray dog that had caught the scent of blood in the wild, locked onto someone across the room.
Not far behind him, Ryan strolled in at his own pace.
He was wearing a dark grey suit, no tie, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, car keys in hand, looping the keyring lazily around one finger.
"Found this guy outside," he said. "He'd been hanging around the gate for a while, acting sketchy. Security was about to call the police. I got out of the car, and he said he knew Marlowe — said he needed to come in and find someone."
Ryan glanced sideways at Lester, the corner of his mouth curving up slightly — a smile with something unreadable behind it.
"So I figured, who is this? Asked around a bit. He says his name is Lester. Says he used to work security at the estate."
Several of the older relatives' expressions shifted instantly — from shock into something more like knowing suspicion.
Maurice's brow knotted tight, the corners of his mouth pulling down, a muscle twitching faintly in his jaw.
Keith's gaze moved slowly back and forth between Marlowe and Lester, then he closed his eyes, as if he were processing something absurd that he couldn't quite dismiss.
Ryan's eyes swept across the room without drawing attention, finding Gloria in the crowd.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of amusement playing at his lips.
Gloria looked down, her fingertip grazing the edge of her cuff — just enough to acknowledge him.
Ryan looked away, satisfied.
He wandered over to the sofa, didn't wait to be invited, pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing one leg over the other, settling in like a man ready to enjoy a show.
"Go ahead, don't mind me. I'm just watching."
As he said it, he reached over to the side table and picked up a cup of coffee.
He had no idea whose it was. He didn't care. He took a sip, narrowed his eyes slightly, the picture of innocent contentment.
But nobody in that room thought he was innocent.
Everyone there knew exactly who Ryan was.
He'd always been on the fringes of the Tudor family — but being on the fringes didn't mean he was harmless. He was never the kind of person who made things easy.
His showing up tonight, and conveniently bringing Lester along with him — the intention was obvious.
But no one had the energy to go after Ryan right now.
All eyes were on Lester. His arrival had thrown fresh fuel onto a fire that was already burning at its peak.
The older relatives quickly leaned toward each other, a wave of hushed voices rippling through the room.
"Lester? Isn't that the security guard from the estate? Didn't they say he ran off with some money?"
"What do they mean, he and Marlowe were close? What's that supposed to mean?"
"What's he doing showing up here at this hour? Who's he looking for?"
The moment Marlowe saw Lester, every trace of color drained from her face.
She sat on the sofa, frozen in place, as if the blood in her veins had simply stopped moving.
Lester spotted her immediately.
His eyes lit up, and he crossed the room in long, quick strides.
"Marlowe!"
His voice boomed through the entire living room. "Marlowe! You dumped me in the middle of nowhere, cut me off, left me with nothing — what, you wanted me to die out there? I'm telling you, that's not happening!"
The room went dead quiet.
Lester didn't disappoint. He walked straight up to Marlowe and stopped in front of her, looming over her from above.
His shadow fell across her, swallowing her whole.
Marlowe looked up at him, her pupils wide with shock.
Her hands were still pressed over her stomach, but her fingers had gone completely rigid.
Lester didn't give her a second to respond.
"Let me be clear — nothing you do changes what's happening here. That baby you're carrying is mine. You think shipping me off to some other city and cutting off contact means you can just pretend none of this happened?"
He thrust out his hand, one rough finger — the nail still rimmed with black dirt — pointing straight at Marlowe's stomach.
"That's my child. You think you can just get rid of me? Not a chance."
Marlowe hadn't even recovered from the shock of seeing Lester again when those words hit her like a rush of blood to the head.
"You're lying!"
She tried to stand, tried to snap back at him — but her knees had gone weak, and she couldn't find the strength to get up.
Lester didn't give her room to breathe.
"Lying?" His voice got even louder. "Marlowe, you going to stand there and tell me you never slept with me? You going to tell me that baby is Brent's?"
"Don't think I don't know — you went to Vesperia because you were starting to show and couldn't hide it anymore. You pushed me out of the picture, sent me off to the middle of nowhere, because you were scared I'd come back and ruin everything."
He was working himself up now, the veins in his neck standing out, his face flushed red, spittle flying as he spoke.
"I'm telling you, forget it. You're not getting away with this. If you don't give me an answer today — if you don't give me money — I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay right here. I'll let everyone see. I'll make sure everyone in Sovereign City knows exactly what kind of person you are."
Maurice had never in his life been subjected to language like this. His temper snapped, and he shoved himself up from the sofa.
"Marlowe, how could you do something like this? Where does that leave the Tudor family?"
The other older relatives erupted all at once, voices overlapping, each one more agitated than the last.
"A security guard? She got involved with a security guard? Marlowe, have you lost your mind? Do you think the Tudor family is just something you can walk all over?"
"No wonder something felt off. Suddenly going abroad to 'recover,' gone for months, didn't even come back for the holidays — turns out she was hiding away to have an illegitimate child!"
"The Tudor family has given you everything, Marlowe. You've always had the best of everything. You're Brent's wife — people respected you, looked up to you. And this is how you repay us? You've got no shame left at all!"
"If this gets out, the Tudor family's reputation is finished. How is Henry supposed to hold his head up in business after this? Everything — ruined. You've ruined it all by yourself!"
The words came from every direction, like lashes cutting into her from all sides, leaving her nowhere to hide.
She opened her mouth — to explain, to push back, to say anything that might hold back the flood of humiliation crashing down on her — but nothing came out.
Then a lazy voice cut through the noise.
"My, my, Marlowe — a woman in her fifties, and you've still got that kind of energy?"
Ryan was leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, a coffee cup somehow back in his hand.
He turned the cup slowly.
He blew on the foam, took a sip, savored it unhurriedly, then finally lifted his eyes to Marlowe.
"Though honestly, if you were going to do it — couldn't you have found someone a little better-looking?"
As he said it, his gaze drifted over to Lester with open, unabashed appraisal.
It seemed to snap Marlowe back to herself. She said urgently, "I don't know him! He's the one who won't leave me alone! He threatened me! Don't believe a word he says — he's crazy, he's just trying to extort money out of me!"