Chapter 9

Using the quickest way possible, Matthew rushed Sierra to the hospital. He then ordered the doctors to conduct a thorough check-up for her before leaving to buy her favorite cake. He returned with the cake a few hours later. As he was about to push the ward door open, he heard Sierra's voice. She sounded a little smug, as if everything was going according to her plan. "Don't worry, Mom. Matthew doesn't have eyes for anyone but me now. He'll stand up for me and punish Amelia whenever I say the word and shed a few tears. It won't be long now before I replace Amelia completely. I'll be the only woman by Matthew's side then." "I heard that the heir of the Sterling family is mentally ill. You just have to keep him dancing in the palm of your hand, and you'll eventually inherit his family's wealth." Matthew could see Sierra talking to a woman whose eyes were glinting greedily through the door that was slightly ajar. The woman was smiling while wearing a scheming expression. "I told you from the start that it would be extremely easy for you to have him wrapped around your finger with how beautiful you are." Sierra looked as if she had just thought of something at the mention of Matthew. She lightly pushed her mother, Lindsey Otterman, and said, "We should stop talking about this now. I called Matthew earlier. He should be back any minute now. It'll be bad if he hears us." The words had just left her lips when the ward door creaked open. Matthew appeared at the door. His dark eyes were devoid of any mirth as he stared at Sierra and Lindsey. A chill ran down Sierra's spine when she met his gaze, making her tremble. An ominous feeling began to fester in her heart as she recalled her conversation with Lindsey. Deciding to test the waters, she asked, "Did you hear what we were talking about, Matt?" The silence that stretched on intensified the uneasiness within her. Fortunately, Matthew's tense expression softened in the next second. He shook his head and replied, "No, what were you talking about?" Sierra discreetly breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that he didn't seem to have heard their conversation. Neither Sierra nor Lindsey noticed the flicker of darkness that flashed through Matthew's eyes. He hated it the most when people lied to him and took advantage of him. Amelia had done so by using Leonard's influence to force Matthew to marry her, so she could join the Sterling family. Now, Sierra and Lindsey were doing the same. Matthew didn't stay for long. Everyone who tried to take advantage of him should prepare themselves for the consequences. He wouldn't rest until he enacted his revenge. He had developed an interest in Sierra when they first met because she had looked at him with surprised but clear eyes. No one else had ever looked at him that way before her. As a result, he assumed that she tried to cozy up to him because she genuinely liked him. However, reality had proven him wrong. Sierra was the same as everyone else who had tried to get close to him in the past. When Matthew returned to the manor, he could clearly feel that something was off with the silence. He frowned as Amelia floated unbidden to the forefront of his thoughts. She had been acting rather odd that day. Amelia knew that his study was off-limits to everyone in the manor. No one was allowed to get close to it, and he had only allowed Sierra to enter recently. Although Matthew despised Amelia, he had to admit that she had always followed his rules and never crossed his boundaries. This was the only exception. He made his way to his study and swept his gaze across the room. Finally, his eyes landed on an inconspicuous box on his desk. No such thing had ever appeared in his study before that day. He suddenly recalled that Amelia had left something in his study, explaining how she needed to return something to him. She must have been talking about the box. Frowning, Matthew approached the desk. He was just about to pick up the box when anxiety suddenly spiked through him as a voice repeated endlessly in his head. He couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was hidden in the box was a truth he wouldn't be able to accept. His fingertips felt like they had been burned just before he touched the box. He hastily retracted his hand before turning around and rushing out of the study. "Who's in charge of cleaning today? I want them to clean the entire manor again. Throw out anything that doesn't belong!" Matthew hurried back to his room, doing his best to ignore the chaotic sounds reverberating in his ears. The uneasiness in his heart continued to grow. A long time passed before he finally realized what was wrong. Something wasn't right about Amelia. Or more accurately, she had been acting strange for quite some time now.