Chapter 22 Chaos
Rachel’s Pov
Susan’s face twisted with fury as she jabbed a manicured finger in my direction.
“This is a scam! Rachel isn’t the Blake heiress! She must have paid or blackmailed these people to say she is!”
Gasps rippled through the hall, the murmurs rising in volume.
I smirked, watching the panic set in. Susan was losing control, and it was amusing.
My grandfather’s expression darkened. He stepped forward, his voice carrying a quiet authority that demanded attention.
“Are you calling me a liar, Susan?”
Susan hesitated for a second but quickly recovered, tilting her chin up defiantly.
“I’m stating the facts. This woman-” she sneered at me “-was nothing but a housewife for eight years, waiting on Michael hand and foot. Now you expect us to believe she’s some heiress to the Blake fortune?” She scoffed. “It’s ridiculous.”
My grandmother, standing beside her husband, crossed her arms. Her gaze was cold as ice.
“Watch your words, Susan. False accusations have consequences.”
Susan laughed bitterly. “I’m only saying what everyone here is thinking! She’s a fraud!”
My grandfather’s patience snapped. “If you continue to slander my granddaughter, I will have you arrested for defamation.”
The color drained from Susan’s face for a split second before she quickly masked it with
anger.
I chuckled, shaking my head. “Oh, Susan,” I said sweetly. “You’re just mad because, for once, you’re not the center of attention. It must be humiliating to realize that no matter how hard you try, you’ll never be me.”
Susan’s face turned a deep shade of red. “You don’t deserve any of this.”
I arched my brow. “And yet, here I am. Standing as Rachel Blake Crawford. While you? You’re still just a desperate woman clawing at whatever little dignity you have left.”
“You conniving little-”
“Aunty Susan, stop!” Ivan’s small voice cut through the tension, his face scrunched up in frustration. “Rachel is a bad woman, Aunty! She hurt Daddy! She lied to us all along! And she’s bullying you.”
I turned my gaze toward the boy, my expression neutral. “And to think,” I said softly, “I wasted eight years raising you.”
Ivan’s face turned red with fury. “You pretended to love me!” he shouted, his small fists clenched. “You made me think you cared! But you didn’t! You’re just mean!”
Before I could reply, a deep voice boomed across the hall, silencing everyone.
01:08 Sat, 22 Mar
“What the hell is going on here?”
Heads turned as Gerald Russo stormed forward, his face a mask of confusion and anger. His sharp eyes scanned the room, landing on me first before moving to Xavier.
His brows furrowed, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“How is this possible?” Gerald demanded, his voice rising. “How is my useless son walking? Speaking like a normal man? And how is the woman who wasted years on Michael suddenly an heiress?”
The room fell into hushed murmurs again.
I crossed my arms and met his gaze without flinching. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
Gerald’s nostrils flared. “Like hell, you don’t!”
Xavier stepped forward, his presence commanding. “And I didn’t go crippled like the people who killed my mother intended me to.”
The moment he said it, gasps erupted throughout the hall.
The whispers started immediately.
“The accident three years ago…”
“Wait, was it really an accident?”
“Someone tried to kill Xavier?”
Gerald’s jaw clenched as he realized how damaging this conversation was becoming.
“Enough,” he snapped, his voice laced with warning. “You’re ruining the family name with these reckless accusations.”
Xavier let out a low, humorless chuckle. “Oh? And here I thought the family name was already rotten.”
Gerald took a step forward, his voice dangerously low. “You think you can just walk in here and turn this into a spectacle? Drag our family’s reputation through the mud?”
I leaned in slightly, my voice dropping just enough to be chilling. “Oh, Gerald,” I whispered mockingly. “I’m not just here to cause a scene.”
His glare hardened.
I tilted my head and smiled. “I’m here to destroy you.”
For the first time that night, Gerald looked truly rattled.
Before he could respond, Xavier’s phone buzzed loudly.
I felt the change in his body instantly. His grip on my hand tightened, his whole posture stiffening.
I turned to look at him, my brows furrowing. “Xavier?”
His jaw tensed as he glanced at the screen.
Something was wrong.
Chapter 22 Chaos
