Chapter 2
A crisp, echoing slap cracked across Barnaby's face.
The entire café went dead silent in an instant.
Sydney flexed her tingling fingers, her gaze icy cold. "You asshole."
Barnaby clutched his cheek, staring at her in shock and rage. "Who the hell are you? How dare you hit me?"
Sydney gave a cold laugh.
She spoke each word with icy clarity. "I'm your long-lost sister, and the heir to this family. From now on, you and the bastard are both kicked out of this family."
Barnaby was completely stunned.
He clutched his rapidly swelling cheek, staring at Sydney in total shock, like she'd lost her mind.
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm my parents' only son. Since when do I have a sister?" he snapped.
Yvette quickly came to her senses, rushing to shield Barnaby as she pointed right at Sydney's face and screamed, "Who the hell are you, hitting people in here? Security! Where's security?"
Yvette assumed Sydney was just someone I'd brought along for backup, trying to stir up trouble and make a scene to embarrass me.
The café manager did come running over, but instead of looking panicked, he was all respect and nervousness.
He hurried over to Sydney and bowed deeply. "Ms. Morales, what brings you here? Please forgive us if we've failed to serve you properly."
Barnaby and Yvette's expressions froze.
Barnaby was born into privilege, a familiar face among the elite. He desperately tried to recall any Morales who was a big deal in those circles, but came up empty.
Sydney didn't even bother looking at the manager. She just reached into her Hermès bag, tossed one document straight at Barnaby, and dropped the other on the table for good measure.
"See for yourself," she said.
Barnaby scrambled to catch the paper, his hands shaking as he opened it, and his eyes nearly popped out in disbelief.
It was a DNA relationship test report.
The DNA test results couldn't be clearer: Sydney was Wayne Osborne, Barnaby's father's daughter—99.99% confirmed. Barnaby's jaw dropped.
The other document was a formal letter from a lawyer, along with an official asset statement.
Turned out, most of the Osborne family's business empire was locked up in a trust, and the only person named as heir in the trust was Wayne Osborne's eldest child.
That meant Sydney. No doubt about it.
Barnaby's hands started shaking, the papers rustling in his grip.
"No... no way! This is all fake. My dad would never have an illegitimate child!" he shouted, his handsome features twisted with rage and panic.
"Illegitimate?" Sydney let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Barnaby, you're way off. When I was born, your dad hadn't even met your mom. If anyone's the outsider here, it's you and your mom."
Her words hit Barnaby like a sledgehammer, smashing straight into his heart.
Yvette saw Barnaby's face turn white as a sheet and started to panic. She grabbed his arm, her voice shaking. "Barnaby, what... what's going on? Who is she?"
Barnaby didn't seem to hear her at all. He just stared daggers at Sydney, then whipped his gaze over to me.
"Diana! This is your doing, isn't it?" he roared, his eyes blazing with rage, like he wanted to tear me apart. "Where did you find this fake? You forged all this just to grab more of the inheritance? I really underestimated you."
Before I could say a word, Sydney stepped right in front of me, cutting Barnaby off before he could blow up.
She was a good half a head taller than me, her broad shoulders making me feel completely protected. For once, I felt truly safe.
"Is your brain only good for chasing women, or can you actually think about something else for a change?" Sydney's voice was cold as ice. "Why would I need to lie to you? Go ask Wayne or your oh-so-noble mom if you don't believe me."
With that, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
The call connected almost instantly.
Sydney put it on speaker, and an old, commanding voice came through—Wayne himself. "Sydney, did you handle it?"
It was Wayne, the head of the Osborne family.
Barnaby's face went ghostly pale in an instant.