Chapter 5

I held onto Thomas's sleeve, looking up at him anxiously.

His jaw was clenched, his face grim and almost frightening. "Mom!" Thomas's voice was tight with suppressed rage. "What the hell are you trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do?" Linda shot me a cold look. "I'm throwing this filthy woman out of the Sterling family right now! I will never let that bastard in her belly stain the Sterling family's name."

"Over my dead body!" Thomas's voice was low, but every word hit like a hammer.

He enunciated each word clearly, "As long as I, Thomas, don't give my consent, Rebecca will always be my wife, the Sterling family's young mistress. No one is going to drive her away."

His words formed a solid shield, protecting me. I looked at his determined profile, and my eyes welled up again.

When the whole world doubted and turned its back on me, he was the only one who stood by me, unwavering. Even deep down, he was as lost and unsure as I was.

Linda was furious, completely losing her composure because of Thomas's attitude. "Fine, fine, fine!" Linda snapped, her lips trembling with anger. "So now you're abandoning your own mother for this woman?

"Let me make myself clear: If she's here, I'm out. If I'm here, she's gone. If you insist on sticking up for her, then get out of this house!"

Thomas and Linda were now fully locked in a standoff, the atmosphere bristling with tension.

The household servants were so terrified they hardly dared to breathe. They all kept their heads down, wishing they could turn invisible.

Then, an authoritative male voice sounded from the doorway. "What's all this noise about?"

It was Richard who returned home. He was in a suit, casually holding a cigar, radiating quiet authority without a raised voice.

Seeing the tense standoff in the living room, he frowned. "What do you all think you're doing? Is this place a fish market now?"

When Linda saw Richard, it was like she'd finally found her anchor. She hurried over to him, sobbing, "Richard, thank goodness you're back! Take a look at your wonderful son. He's about to disown his own mother for some woman with no decency."

Richard's gaze swept over Linda, who was sobbing, then moved to Thomas, who looked furious, and finally settled on my pale, helpless face.

His eyes were deep and piercing, as if he could see right through everyone. "What's going on?" he asked in a low, commanding voice.

Richard's arrival briefly defused the bristling tension in the living room. He was the patriarch, and the sheer weight of his long-held authority was enough to make Linda instinctively temper her anger.

"Richard, you have no idea." Linda wiped her tears, handed him the ultrasound report, and exaggerated everything, painting the worst possible picture.

She made me out to be some scheming gold-digger who'd stop at nothing to get into the Sterling family. First, I pretended to accept that Thomas couldn't have kids to gain their sympathy and trust.

Then, not long after the wedding, I supposedly jumped into bed with some guy, got knocked up, and tried to pass the kid off as Thomas's, all to cement my spot in the Sterling family.

Every word she said felt like she was smearing me with the dirtiest filth.

I was shaking with anger, but I didn't have the strength to fight back. Because on the surface, all the evidence was stacked against me.

Richard listened to Linda's sobbing. His expression never changed. He picked up the ultrasound report from the coffee table and examined it closely.

Then he fixed his gaze on me. "Rebecca, is what she said true?" His voice was deep and unreadable, impossible to tell what he was thinking.

I met his scrutinizing gaze and shook my head hard, tears welling up again. "Richard, I didn't. I never did anything to hurt Thomas or the Sterling family. I have no idea how this happened with the baby." My voice trembled with emotion.

Richard looked at me, silent for a moment. "Don't cry," he said slowly. "No matter how big the problem is, crying won't fix it."

His tone was way calmer than I'd expected. He wasn't raging or accusing me like Linda. That helped steady my messy emotions a bit.

He turned to Thomas. "And you? What do you think?"

Thomas gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. He met his father's gaze without backing down. "I trust Rebecca." His voice was steady and firm. "Until we find out the truth, she's my wife. Nothing will change that."

Richard looked at Thomas, his eyes showing a mix of emotions, some admiration, some resignation. "So, what's your plan to figure this out?"