Kendrick's appearance by the door surprised Lily.
She instantly regained her senses after realizing that she had blurted the truth in a fit of rage.
Her dysfunctional marriage had caused her to have a twisted mind, but there was no denying that when she was in the right state of mind, she was a loving mother to Kendrick who wanted the best for her son.
At present, her position in the Moore family was at risk, and Kendrick would be her only support for the rest of her life. She could not afford to have a falling out with her son because of this.
As such, she said sheepishly, “Kendrick, I have no idea what you're talking about. Cayden has a pair of twins now, and Avery is expecting another child. You should try harder and get married soon so that I could have a grandchild, too. That way, at least the Moore family's business won't fall entirely into the hands of Allie and her son!”
“Tell me the truth, Mom. Did you get someone to cause Cayden's car accident?” Kendrick couldn't be bothered to listen to his mother's nags.
Kendrick was staring right at Lily as though looking at a complete stranger with a pair of eyes that resembled Bruce's. His gaze caused fear to arise within Lily.
Sorrow swirled in her chest unbidden when she thought about how Bruce had won her heart with those exact rakish eyes back then.
In addition, Bruce, who was an experienced womanizer, had deceived her with sweet nothings and effortlessly swept her off her feet. She was too naive and foolish, for she had never fallen in love before. Her parents, on the other hand, didn't click with Bruce because they thought that although he was charming enough, his flirty playboy nature could not be tolerated.
However, back then, Lily didn't at all care about that, for she was the young and innocent heiress of a rich family who didn't know any better. She valued love and romance more than anything.
On top of that, Bruce's eyes were always filled with love and affection whenever they were together. She was wholly unaware of the fact that he was seeing other women.
In order to get her parents to approve of their marriage, she threatened them with her life and even got engaged in sexual activity with Bruce before marriage behind her strict parents' backs. Since what was done couldn't be undone, her parents had no choice but to give in.
Lily believed she had everything when she finally married the man she loved. Alas, before their honeymoon was even over, Bruce's lovers abruptly started to show up one by one.
Lily began giving Bruce the cold shoulder.
Initially, Bruce would do anything in his power to appease her, but eventually, he grew sick of all her tantrums and would often go missing, sometimes even staying out late and refusing to return home.
Thus, Lily was forced to grow up overnight.
Relying on her wealthy family's immense power, she dealt with each of Bruce's lovers individually. Unfortunately, Bruce was a blatantly unfaithful man. He would find another new lover after Lily had just gotten rid of one as if he was provoking her and mocking her for being so pathetic.
After that, Lily got tired of all that.
She was persuaded by her parents that as long as she secured her position as the matriarch of the Moore family and give birth to an heir for the family, the family's assets would ultimately be inherited by her own son.
Though she stopped caring about Bruce's multiple affairs, if any of Bruce's lovers ended up getting pregnant with his offspring, she would covertly get rid of the children.
However, despite her cautiousness, she still missed one.
Allie, a dancer who had become Bruce's sugar baby, unexpectedly gave birth to Bruce's illegitimate child right under Lily's nose without her knowledge.
When Lily received the news, Allie had already been pregnant for more than five months. To make matters worse, the former found out that Allie was expecting a baby boy.
Lily was so furious that she wanted to tear Allie into pieces.
Unfortunately, Bruce seemed to be aware that Lily would attempt to get rid of Allie. He kept Allie so well hidden that Lily could not find her no matter how hard she tried. Shortly after, Allie gave birth to Cayden safely under Bruce's protection.
Nevertheless, none of that mattered to Lily.
Allie would always be the “homewrecker” as long as Lily was Bruce's legitimate wife. The former would never be accepted by the family if Lily didn't give her consent.
Lily obstinately secured her title as the matriarch of the Moore family and earned support from Jeffrey. Even though Allie gave birth to a baby boy and had Bruce backing her up, the Moore family never really acknowledged Allie as part of them.
Following that, she got pregnant with Kendrick, but Bruce perished in an accident. As a result, Allie lost the only person who would protect her in the family.
Pressured by Lily's death threat, Allie was forced to marry someone else, and Cayden was sent to an orphanage.
Later on, however, Jeffrey had second thoughts and decided to bring Cayden back from the orphanage after reflecting on the death of his own son and the lack of successors for the Moore family.
Concerned that Cayden would have trouble adapting to life alone in the Moore residence, Jeffrey took matters into his own hands and brought Allie to the Moore residence as well. No matter how many tantrums Lily threw and how much she hated the way things turned out, there was nothing she could do about it.
Left without a choice, she could only deal with the mother-and-son duo who took her place in the family using various despicable tactics behind the scenes.
However, she didn't expect Cayden to be so smart and quick-witted. Cayden was diligent, hardworking, patient, and composed. He practically possessed all the merits that Kendrick lacked. Other than that, he was also talented in business and thus quickly gained Jeffrey's love and trust.
Lily panicked, for she was afraid that Cayden would one day replace her son as the heir.
Nonetheless, to everyone's surprise, the outstanding Cayden was diagnosed with depression. Lily was overjoyed by the news, feeling as though Lady Luck was on her side.
Jeffrey was forced to send him to a small town so that he could recuperate. Following that, Lily deliberately orchestrated a severe car accident in that small town and rendered Cayden unconscious. The young man was bedridden in a vegetative state for a whole year and was on the brink of death.
But no one expected him to be so lucky that he recovered from such a fatal situation. He overcame that crisis, and after his recovery, he transformed into a completely different person.
After Cayden went abroad to study, Jeffrey, who had seemingly noticed something amiss, sent people to protect the former in secret. Lily dared not take action openly even if she wanted to.
Besides, Lily didn't have any connections abroad, so she had no idea how Cayden was doing when he was away.
However, as soon as Cayden returned to the country, he forcefully took over Moore Group with his overwhelming influence and conducted a major reshuffle within the company. Lily's trusted aides whom she had spent years grooming at Moore Group were all fired.
Lily's resistance was utterly futile in the face of Cayden's assertiveness and overwhelming power.
Afterward, Cayden's extraordinary business finesse was brought into play in Moore Group. In just a few years, Moore Group was reformed and renewed, and the revenues that the company gained had increased at least one thousandfold. It developed into a prestigious corporate giant in Ackleton, and Cayden even changed its name to Trident Group.
Lily regretted not getting rid of Cayden when he was still powerless and immature, but there was nothing she could do, for she was too weak to stand in his way.
All she had left was her precious son Kendrick.
However, at present, her beloved son was questioning her if she was the one who caused Cayden's accident.
“You shouldn't be suspecting me, Kendrick. Everything I do is for your sake, and you still don't trust me. Why have I given birth to a good-for-nothing like you? I...”
When everything that had happened in the past flooded Lily's mind, she felt an unbearable sense of sorrow and pain. She clutched her chest and slowly collapsed onto the couch, looking as if she was in agony.
Heartbroken, she could only pretend to faint in order to avoid her son's accusation.
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