At the hospital entrance, Charlotte paced impatiently, growing increasingly frustrated until she finally saw Hugo approaching. He looked disheveled, unsteady on his feet, and his mind seemed elsewhere.
"What took you so long? Did you get it? Did you manage to get it?" she demanded, her tone sharp and urgent. But Hugo only stared blankly at her, lost in his own world, which sparked Charlotte's anger. She slapped him hard across the face.
"Answer me! Speak!"
Hugo snapped back to reality, his eyes vacant, as he mumbled incoherently, "She doesn't want me anymore... my sister, she doesn't want me..."
He couldn't shake the image of his sister's bloodshot eyes filled with deep-seated hatred and disgust. She had never looked at him like that before. Never.
Did she really hate him now?
The thought made Hugo's heart ache, his eyes reddening with unshed tears. He had a sudden urge to rush back upstairs and explain, yet the memory of Eugene's threats held him back. Eugene was terrifying, as dangerous and intimidating as his brother-in-law. Hugo was genuinely scared.
Seeing this, Charlotte realized things hadn't gone as planned. Anger flared within her, and she twisted Hugo's ear, ready to slap him again in public.
"What a useless fool! You can't do anything right except look good. If it weren't for his sister marrying into power and wealth, why would I bother with him?" she thought bitterly. "A sick woman in a hospital bed and a mere child—how hard could it be to deal with them? Just a few threats and the money should have been ours! Useless!"
Hugo remained in a daze, not even flinching at the threat of another slap. But before Charlotte could land it, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Irritated, she pulled back her hand, jabbing at the screen, eager to see who dared message her when she was in such a foul mood.
The message jolted her like a bolt of electricity: "I know what you truly desire, Charlotte Harvey."
Charlotte Harvey? Whoever sent this knew her real name, and that meant they knew she was the illegitimate daughter of the Harvey family. But who? Someone from the Harvey family?
Impossible!
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