Married To My Ex's Brother, Reborn Miraculously-Chapter 272: Megan is exposed

Audrey smiled widely, her eyes darting between Anne and Augustine, trying to smooth over the fraying edges of the moment.

But Anne wasn’t so easily pacified. Her heart still pounded, unease curling tight in her chest.

It was a lot to take in. The one friend she trusted most had been romantically involved with a feared mafia king, and she had been completely in the dark. Not once had Audrey given her even a hint.

As Anne’s eyes met Lucien’s intense, razor-sharp gaze, a chill ran down her spine. Her heart dipped, unease flooding her. She shifted closer to Augustine, slipping partly behind him and clutching the edge of his sleeve. There was no doubt, this man frightened her.

"Why didn’t you tell me before?" she asked quietly.

Augustine, already sensing the depth of her discomfort, gently placed his hand over hers. He turned to her fully, his hands rising to rest on her shoulders.

"Anne, listen to me. I didn’t know it was Lucien, not until Audrey was hospitalized. You were already going through so much... I didn’t want to add to it. I thought...I’d tell you when the time felt right."

Anne searched his eyes. Hearing the sincerity in his voice, her shoulders eased under his touch, but the tightness in her chest remained.

"I’m sorry if I upset you," Augustine added. "That was never my intention."

Before Anne could reply, Audrey chimed in again, "Come on, Anne. Don’t be upset." She leaned her head against Lucien’s shoulder with a dreamy sigh. "Aren’t you happy for me? I mean, look at him, my incredibly handsome boyfriend."

Anne’s chest felt tight as she watched Audrey nestle so comfortably beside the very man whose name sent chills down her spine. A thousand thoughts swirled behind her gaze. She was trying to be happy for her friend. But in that moment, all she could feel was the chill of uncertainty brushing her skin.

But seeing Audrey’s radiant smile, Anne found herself unable to voice her worries. She swallowed them down and forced a soft smile.

"As long as you are happy, I am happy." Then, summoning her courage, she looked directly at Lucien. Though her heart pounded and a flicker of fear danced in her gaze, her tone remained composed. "Please, Mr. Sinclair... don’t ever break Audrey’s heart. Keep her happy. Protect her."

Lucien’s response was immediate and firm. He drew Audrey closer with a possessive arm around her waist. "No one touches what’s mine. I’ll keep her safe. From the world and even from myself. You have my word."

His words eased some of the weight pressing on Anne’s chest. For the first time, she glimpsed genuine honesty in his eyes.

Audrey suddenly groaned, swiping at her misty eyes with the back of her hand. "God, why is everyone being so dramatic? Are we trying to make this dinner a sob fest?"

Anne chuckled. "Alright, alright. Let’s eat."

They all sat down at the dining table, and laughter started to replace the awkwardness. The initial tension thinned out.

While they were enjoying food, Nathan stormed into the Granet manor, fury blazing in his eyes.

"Dad," he bellowed, his voice reverberating off the high ceilings. "Where are you?"

Megan appeared from the side corridor, startled by the abrupt intrusion. "Nathan!" she called out, rushing toward him. She was stunned as she took in the ferocity on his face. "What’s going on? Why are you yelling like this?"

But the moment Nathan laid eyes on her, his expression twisted with revulsion. "You." His voice dropped into a dangerous growl. "I treated you like my own sister. I trusted you. And all this time, you were just a snake slithering through this family."

Megan’s heart plummeted. Panic flickered in her eyes. For a brief moment, her mind scrambled. Had he discovered her role in the poisoning? But how?

Patricia had taken the blame. The evidence was buried deep. How would he know?

She clutched her chest with a sorrowful expression. "Nathan... if I’ve done something to upset you, please tell me. Don’t say things like that. This family is mine too."

"Shut your mouth." Nathan’s voice exploded like a whip crack. "You are not my family. I cut all ties with you here and now. I want nothing to do with a viper like you."

"Nathan!" Footsteps echoed above, and Oliver appeared at the head of the stairs, his face dark with disapproval. He descended slowly, his sharp gaze locking with Nathan. "Have you lost your mind?" he barked. "You are humiliating your sister."

Nathan turned his fury on his father, eyes blazing. "She is not my sister. I only had one sister, Raya. But this woman?" He pointed at Megan. "She is a liar, a schemer, a threat. And you..." He shook his head with bitter rage, "...I hate you for protecting her. For letting this evil fester in our family."

Oliver’s face twisted with outrage. "What the hell has gotten into you?" he snapped. "Have you gone mad like your mother?"

The Oliver who once praised Nathan for his level-headedness now couldn’t recognize the furious man before him.

But Nathan didn’t flinch. If anything, the insult only fanned the flames already roaring inside him. "Yes," he barked. "Yes, I have lost my mind. The moment I found out the truth, everything shattered."

He stepped forward, eyes blazing with betrayal. "You lied to us. You said Raya died in that fire. But she wasn’t. You knew the body you identified wasn’t hers, and yet you pushed to close the case. Why?" His voice cracked under the weight of raw emotion. "Why would you do that to your own daughter?"

Oliver’s jaw clenched, his posture stiffening. "You are mistaken," he said stiffly. "Raya died in that fire. The police confirmed it. Ask the investigating officer."

"I already did," Nathan growled.

Oliver froze. For a brief second, the carefully maintained calm in his demeanor slipped. Panic flickered beneath the surface of his eyes—barely perceptible.

He had paid that officer a massive sum, sent him to a distant location, and ensured he vanished without a trace. So, how had Nathan managed to locate him? Not only had he tracked the man down, but he had also gotten him to admit the truth. How had he pulled it off?

Nathan pressed on, relentless. "He confessed everything. He told me how the bodies were charred beyond recognition. That there was no way to identify anyone. But you insisted that one of those bodies was Raya’s. You forced him to write that report. And then you paid him to disappear."

Oliver’s breath hitched, but he said nothing.

"You didn’t even try to find her," Nathan shouted. "Why, Dad? Why were you so desperate to declare her dead? She is your daughter."

Oliver’s chest heaved, his rage boiling over as he thundered, "She is not my daughter—she is a bastard child..."

The words slammed into Nathan like a punch to the gut. He stumbled back a step, eyes wide in disbelief. For a moment, he just stared at Oliver, stunned that such venom could spill from a father’s mouth about his own child.

"I can’t believe you," Nathan finally choked out.

But Oliver wasn’t done. His face was flushed, twisted with pain and old rage. "There is a lot you don’t know. You were just a kid then," he spat bitterly. "Your mother was kidnapped... dragged away by men who wanted revenge on me for a case I took against them. We found her eventually, but by then... it was too late."

His voice cracked, but he pushed through, the anguish showing in his clenched jaw. "She was raped. Raya was the result of that night."

Nathan’s blood ran cold. His mind spun as he tried to absorb the weight of those words. But more than the shock, it was the injustice that burned through him. How wrong Oliver had been.

"You are such a fool," he said hoarsely. "You made such a disgusting assumption without even checking the facts."

He reached into his coat and yanked out a handful of papers, shoving them hard against Oliver’s chest. "Take a look. I ran multiple DNA tests from different clinics. They all say the same thing—Anne is Raya. And she is your daughter."

Oliver stood frozen, the stack of DNA reports trembling in his hands. His face had gone pale, eyes darting back and forth across the documents as the crushing weight of truth sank in.

99.9% match. Anne was his daughter. His flesh and blood.

But how?

His mind spun in circles, grasping for logic, for an explanation that made sense. He had done the test years ago. He had seen the result that claimed Raya wasn’t his child.

So why did this say otherwise? Had everything he believed... been a lie?

Before he could say a word, Nathan’s cold voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"And this woman, your so-called daughter..." Nathan threw a scathing glance at Megan. "She did everything to make sure Anne never had a place in this house. She was the one who bribed doctors, tampered with the reports, and erased the truth."

Oliver turned to look at Megan. His confusion morphed into suspicion, disbelief, and betrayal, tightening his brow.

Megan’s lips quivered as she shook her head. "No... no, I didn’t. I swear. Nathan, you are wrong. You must have misunderstood..."

"Misunderstood?" Nathan barked, his fury unrelenting. "Stop lying. You are exposed. The doctors you paid off have already confessed. They have turned over evidence, and they are at the police station now, facing charges for tampering with official medical records."

Megan staggered back, her eyes wide with horror as Nathan took another step forward, his voice like thunder. "A case has been filed against you. The cops are on their way."

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦