Chapter 219/You don’t know the truth

Chapter 219: 219/You don’t know the truth

Chapter 219

Stephanie’s POV

I slammed the phone shut without giving him another second to respond. A sudden surge of victorious heat coursed through my veins, as if months of suffocating pressure had evaporated from my chest in a single instant. Pushing myself out of bed, I dressed quickly and blew my hair dry, savoring the loud, obnoxious hum of the hairdryer as it drove away the remaining traces of fear.

Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open. My face hardened as the maid slipped inside, quietly clicking the door shut behind her with a sinister calm. She strolled toward me with slow, calculated steps, stopping just a few inches away before whispering with sickening confidence:

"Your time is up today, Stephanie... Are you giving me the key, or do I go tell Mr. Alexander?"

I locked my eyes on her face for a moment, my lips slowly stretching into a dark, mocking smile she had never seen on me before.

"Go ahead. Tell him."

Her entire face froze, her pupils dilating in sheer disbelief. "What did you say?" she stammered.

I adjusted the collar of my shirt, staring her dead in the eye. "The days of blackmail are over, you bitch. Alexander knows everything now."

She stumbled a step back, her voice shaking as she tried to cling to her fragile composure. "Impossible! You’re just bluffing..."

I closed the distance between us with decisive steps, speaking in a dangerously quiet tone. "Why would I bluff? Last night, I told my husband everything. But I kept your ugly little secret and didn’t expose you for blackmailing me... Though maybe I’ll go ahead and tell him today."

Panic flickered across the maid’s face before her bravado completely dissolved, leaving behind a sudden, ghastly pallor. She shook her head nervously. "You really don’t understand what’s happening here at all... You think you’re living in paradise, but the truth isn’t anything like that."

My hands went still. My eyes narrowed as I caught the nervous twitching of her lips. "What the hell do you mean? What’s down in that basement?"

She whipped her head toward the door, her voice dropping into a tense, hurried whisper. "I can’t tell you anything... But if you really want to know, you know what you have to do."

My eyes widened in pure impatience. "Do what?"

Her trembling fingers intertwined as she whispered breathlessly, "Steal the key... Behind that giant, terrifying painting down in the basement, there’s a lock. Unlock it, and you’ll find out the truth."

I dragged in a deep breath, letting out a dry, skeptical laugh. "You just want me to steal the key for you... That’s your new trick."

"You’re just dying of curiosity to know," she snapped back, backing away toward the exit. "Though if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t dare do it."

I tracked her frantic movements. "Why won’t you just tell me?"

Her hand gripped the door handle tight, casting one last terrified look over her shoulder. "Pack your bags and run... That is the only thing I can tell you."

She slipped out, letting the door click shut behind her. She left me alone in the dead silence of the room, my mind spinning into overdrive. I squeezed my eyes shut, a sudden wave of sheer terror ripping through my chest as my brain replayed the haunting memory of that strange sound I had heard coming from behind that painting once before. My breath hitched, my lungs tightening painfully as the staggering weight of the secrets hidden around this estate settled over me.

I placed my palm over my stomach, forcing myself to take slow, rhythmic breaths to calm my racing pulse. *I’m pregnant. I can’t stress myself out like this... She’s probably just trying to scare me because her little blackmail scheme blew up in her face.*

Walking over to my bag, I heaved it up, tossed my phone inside, and stepped out of the room, heading down the wide staircase.

The lower dining hall was echoing with the quiet clinking of glassware. Alexander, Cedric, Grandfather Victor, and even Valentina were all gathered around the breakfast table. I walked over with quiet steps and took my seat next to Alexander, putting Cedric right to my left.

An eerie silence hung over the table, entirely free of the daily explosive fights that usually tore the room apart.

Alexander extended his fork toward my mouth, offering me a small bite, his voice dripping with natural warmth. "Eat this, sweetheart..."

I swallowed the piece and nodded softly at him. In that exact instant, Cedric reached over with a napkin, gently dabbing the corner of my lips with incredible tenderness, letting out a low, husky growl: "Oh, Stephanie, you have something on your face... Let me wipe it."

Grandfather Victor’s face contorted as he watched the scene unfold before his wide, bewildered eyes. His brows shot straight up in absolute shock; he had clearly been expecting an all-out bloodbath, not this subtle, twisted harmony between his two grandsons especially since no one else knew about that wild, boundary-crossing night that had flipped everything upside down.

Grandfather dropped his fork onto the plate, staring at us in utter disbelief. "Am I awake, or am I dreaming?"

Cedric turned to him calmly. "Why, Grandfather?"

The old man gestured back and forth between the two of them. "You and Alexander aren’t tearing each other’s throats out at the breakfast table for the first time in history!"

Alexander dabbed his lips with his napkin, answering with steady composure. "My brother and I agreed that there’s no reason to argue anymore."

Grandfather narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Is there something I don’t know about?"

"Nothing at all," Cedric replied without blinking an eye. "We are simply prioritizing Stephanie’s well-being and the twins she’s carrying."

Grandfather raised his voice, incredulous. "So you’re not jealous anymore that she’s your brother’s wife?"

Cedric let out a faint, enigmatic smile. "I’ve come to accept that she is my brother’s wife now... and I will live with that truth."

Grandfather shook his head, looking back and forth between us in total shock. "Did someone cast a damn spell on you two, or what?"