On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 153: Heartless Departure

Chloe Sterling had already confirmed the relationship between Ava Rhodes and her adoptive mother: they were twin sisters. Her adoptive mother had spent her life doing manual labor and never took care of her appearance, which was why she looked older than Ava. In reality, they were the same age, and her adoptive mother was the younger sister.

Over twenty years ago, her adoptive mother had returned to the country to visit family and unexpectedly fallen in love with a poor boy—who Chloe presumed was the adoptive father she’d never met. For his sake, her adoptive mother had a falling out with her family, determined to be with him.

The two even eloped.

The Rhodeses, feeling disgraced, cut off their youngest daughter and never looked for her again.

She didn’t know why her adoptive father and their daughter had died, and neither did anyone in Silara Town.

All anyone knew was that after losing her husband and daughter, her adoptive mother had lost her mind.

Ava Rhodes had returned this time to secretly search for her long-lost sister, going behind her family’s back. It seemed the two had once been quite close.

Her adoptive mother was gone, so there was no way for Chloe to repay her kindness. Therefore, she decided to help Ava Rhodes, and in turn, Apex Group, just this once.

Jean Kensington added, "Aren’t you worried she’s just a two-faced, phony sister? Just because she’s looking for your adoptive mother doesn’t mean her intentions are pure. If she was really that worried about her sister, why wait so many years to start looking?"

Although she hadn’t interacted much with Ava Rhodes, Chloe Sterling trusted her judgment. She didn’t think Ava was a bad person.

"Her eyes are so gentle and clear. I don’t think she’s a bad person."

"And Claire White used to think Esther Sterling was a good person."

"..."

"Charles Sterling is a sharp one. You’d better be careful. If he discovers your true identity, you’ll have yet another huge problem to deal with."

Chloe Sterling crossed her arms, a cunning glint in her eyes. It seemed she already had a plan. "Don’t worry," she said calmly. "He won’t find out."

"So... are you going to tell the Rhodeses that your adoptive mother has passed away?" Jean Kensington asked.

Chloe Sterling’s gaze deepened. "Not for now."

’As long as there’s no news, there’s still a sliver of hope.’

Ruby Lynch received a call from her bodyguard before she even made it home.

"Ma’am, we’ve run into a problem with the lawsuit."

Ruby Lynch, who was already in a foul mood, flew into a rage. "What do you mean?" she demanded coldly. "Spit it out!"

"None of the lawyers we contacted will take the case. They said they’ve been threatened."

"What!" Ruby Lynch gritted her teeth. "Who threatened them?"

"They don’t know who. They just said they were threatened and that they can’t take the case." After a pause, the bodyguard added, "Ma’am, what should we do now?"

Ruby Lynch said nothing, simply hanging up the phone.

Nothing had been going her way lately. Her mind was a mess. She needed to get home and clear her head before dealing with this.

Just then, her bodyguard sent a text: Chloe Sterling had visited Claire White in the hospital. The trouble with the lawyers was most likely her doing.

As she read the message, Ruby Lynch’s expression grew even darker. ’Chloe Sterling again!’

’She pretends she doesn’t care about the Sterling family, but behind the scenes, she’s using every trick she can to attack Esther, who stole her parents’ love!’

’So you want to oppose me! Fine. Chloe Sterling, you can forget about ever feeling the warmth and love of a family for the rest of your life.’

Ruby Lynch immediately ordered the driver, "Take me to the Sterling family’s estate."

...

"Ruby, you’re here."

Rose Lynch seemed to be in a good mood and stepped forward to greet her sister. But when she saw Ruby’s dark, unhappy expression, she asked, "What’s the matter? In a bad mood?"

Ruby Lynch snorted. "I’m furious, thanks to that ’precious’ daughter of yours!"

Rose Lynch paused. When her sister said "daughter," she only thought of Esther Sterling. "Esther? What’s wrong with her?"

Ruby Lynch was exasperated. "Not Esther! I’m talking about Chloe Sterling!"

"Chloe!" Rose Lynch frowned. "What has she done now?"

"She’s helping an outsider—Esther’s rival—and is now trying to extort six million from me! She came to Crestfall for the sole purpose of getting revenge on us! She simply won’t let Esther be!"

"What are you talking about? Extorting six million from you? You need to explain this clearly."

Ruby Lynch explained the whole situation.

Rose Lynch was aghast. "You hired someone to hit that girl with a car?"

"Who cares about some worthless girl? Besides, she didn’t even die. Everything I did was for Esther! Don’t you want her to get close to Tristan Sinclair? Imagine the honor it would bring you if she became the future lady of the Sinclair Group!"

Rose Lynch was incredibly vain. Her eyes lit up at the thought of Esther becoming the wife of the Sinclair Group’s president, but her expression soured as soon as she remembered Chloe Sterling.

Ruby Lynch added, "You need to figure something out. I refuse to give that little bitch six million! I could buy so much perfume from Orchid Labs with that kind of money."

Rose Lynch looked conflicted. She really didn’t want to see Chloe Sterling.

’She wished she would never have to see her again.’

"Sis, are you going to say something or not?"

Rose Lynch said, "It would be useless. She treats me just as horribly. Her heart is made of stone. I pleaded with her about Esther’s scandal, and she refused to budge. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be able to see Esther right now."

A strange glint appeared in Ruby Lynch’s eyes, but it vanished in an instant as she regained her composure. "Well, she still has no intention of leaving Esther alone," she said. "Otherwise, she wouldn’t be helping that Claire White."

"Then I have even less reason to go see her. The better I treat Esther, the more jealous she becomes, and the more she torments her." Rose Lynch paused, her voice full of regret. "I should have never gone to find her in the first place."

Ruby Lynch snapped, "What’s the point of saying that now!"

After a moment’s thought, Rose Lynch said, "Or maybe... I could go warn her? I’ll tell her that President Sinclair thinks very highly of Esther, so she’d better back off. Even the Xavier Family has to bow and scrape in front of President Sinclair."

Ruby Lynch nodded. "That might actually work. And it’s true, President Sinclair does hold Esther in high regard. I refuse to believe Chloe and her backers won’t be wary of President Sinclair."

At this, Rose Lynch felt a new surge of confidence. She decided she would go and put Chloe Sterling firmly in her place tomorrow.

’She also hoped Esther would join The Sinclair Group soon and end up with Tristan Sinclair. If that happened, she would have nothing more to worry about.’

「Meanwhile.」

Just as Chloe Sterling walked out of the martial arts dojo, Damian Rivers’s car pulled up to the curb, and he got out.

"Chloe, you’re leaving?"

"Yeah," Chloe acknowledged. "I should get going."

Damian Rivers walked up to her. "Why didn’t you accept the money I sent you?"

"I don’t need it," Chloe said flatly. She paused, then asked, "How is your... aunt?"

"She’s feeling much better physically, just in low spirits. About the other day... sorry you had to see that."

"There was nothing embarrassing about it."

"Please, accept the money. I can’t let you have come all that way for nothing."

"It wasn’t a wasted trip," Chloe said, her expression serious. "I also got to expose a scumbag for who he really is."

Damian Rivers chuckled. "Such a strong sense of justice."

"I’m leaving now." With that, Chloe moved to open her car door.

Damian Rivers quickly added, "Then let me buy you dinner. If you don’t, I’ll feel bad, like I owe you a favor."

"I need to get home."

"Then how about tomorrow? Tomorrow is Monday, you have to go to The Medical College, right? I’ll meet you there. And don’t worry, I have no other intentions. This is purely to thank you."

Chloe said, "Young Master Rivers, really, you don’t have to."

With that, she opened her car door, got in, and drove away without a second glance.

Watching her car disappear into the distance, Damian Rivers murmured to himself, "Oh, that won’t do at all. I never leave a favor unpaid."