Chapter 160 CHAPTER 160
The Hidden Father
Lila sat frozen on the floor of Ares’s massive bedroom, the glow of the laptop screen reflecting off her wide, horrified eyes. The old video she’d just watched kept looping in her mind.
Her fingers trembled as she paused the video, dragging the timeline back again as if maybe, just maybe, she had imagined it. But there it was, the proof.
Lila’s heartbeat drummed painfully in her chest. “No,” she whispered to herself. “No… this can’t be true.”
The video kept replaying, as if mocking her. Her hands went cold, her mind spinning with fury and disbelief. She couldn’t let anyone see this.
Her expression hardened. She ejected the flash drive from the laptop, walked toward the fireplace, and without a second thought, flung it into the flames. The plastic melted, the silver metal sizzling as black smoke curled upward.
“Let it burn,” she whispered, watching the evidence die in the fire. “This truth dies with me. Ares won’t father those bastards!”
But before she could catch her breath, her phone buzzed sharply on the table. She turned, startled, and picked it up. The number wasn’t saved, but she recognized it immediately—the camera guy who’d sent her the footage.
Her stomach dropped. She answered, her tone tight. “What is it?”
“Hey, Miss Lila,” the man’s voice oozed through the line. “I figured you might be interested in keeping that footage private. You know, given what’s in it.”
Lila’s throat went dry. “You weren’t supposed to keep any copy.”
He chuckled darkly. “Oh, I didn’t. But I’m a professional, sweetheart. Always keep a backup. And right now, I could use some money. Fast.”
Her jaw clenched. “You’re blackmailing me.”
“Call it insurance,” he said. “You transfer fifty thousand dollars into my account by midnight, and I delete everything. Otherwise…” He paused, enjoying her silence. “Otherwise, I’ll send a copy to Ares. And maybe another to that woman, Tessa, was it?”
Lila’s grip on the phone tightened. She could hear her own pulse pounding in her ears. “You listen to me,” she said slowly, her voice trembling with fury. “You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“Really?” he said lightly. “But danger pays well.”
The call ended.
“I’ll pay you,” she muttered. “And then I’ll deal with you.”
Dorcas stepped into the living room, still pale but trying to compose herself. She was met by the sound of laughter.
Chloe was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed, sipping juice, her eyes gleaming with mischief. Ayisha was still nearby, pretending not to listen.
“Well, well,” Chloe said loudly, glancing at Dorcas. “Someone looks a little sick. Or should I say… glowing?”
Dorcas froze. “What?”
Chloe grinned. “You heard me. You’ve been puking all day, avoiding questions. I mean, come on…it’s giving pregnancy.”
Dorcas’s face went red. “That’s not funny, Chloe.”
Chloe laughed. “Who said I was joking? It’s pregnancy season around here anyway. First Tessa’s got her drama, lost it, then me, you now…maybe Ayisha’s next.”
Ayisha’s head snapped up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, don’t act innocent,” Chloe said with a smirk. “You spend more time around Marcus’s guards than any of us. Maybe one of them…”
“Shut up, Chloe,” Ayisha cut in, glaring. “You are too silly.”
“Oooh, touched a nerve,” Chloe teased.
Dorcas stood there trembling, tears threatening to spill. She turned and ran upstairs without another word.
Tessa appeared at the top of the stairs, having heard the commotion. “Dorcas!” she called. “Wait!”
Dorcas stopped halfway, wiping her eyes.
Tessa climbed the steps toward her, her tone gentle. “Tell me the truth. What’s going on? Are you pregnant?”
Dorcas bit her lip, her voice cracking. “No one.”
Tessa blinked. “No one what?”
“No one got me pregnant,” Dorcas whispered. “No one.”
Tessa frowned in confusion. “Dorcas, that doesn’t even make sense. What are you talking about?”
But Dorcas shook her head and bolted into her room, slamming the door behind her.
Tessa stood there, stunned, heart pounding, as Chloe’s laughter echoed faintly from below.
“Pregnancy season indeed,” Chloe muttered under her breath.
Ayisha shot her one last glare. “You really don’t know when to stop.”
Chloe shrugged. “Just calling it how I see it.”
Tessa turned away, her thoughts swirling with questions, about Dorcas, about everything that was unraveling inside this mansion.
Somewhere across the city, in Ares’s bedroom, Lila sat in the dark, staring at her phone.
Her hand hovered over the “Send” button for the bank transfer.
Her face was calm, but her eyes were cold.
“I’ll pay you,” she whispered to the camera man’s number. “Then I’ll handle you.”
The world didn’t need another scandal.
And she would make sure no one ever found out that the real father of Tessa’s children was Ares.