Chapter 15

Evelyn's gaze lingered on Diana with unspoken complexity. Logically, Diana should despise her—after all, she was Victor Sterling's illegitimate daughter, born from an affair that had shattered their family.

Yet Diana had never treated her with anything but warmth, even when the rest of the world had turned its back on her.

She had been the only one who believed in Evelyn’s innocence when the missing necklace scandal erupted.

"Diana," Evelyn murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Diana responded with a tender nod, her eyes sweeping over Evelyn with a mix of concern and maternal affection. "Evelyn, my dear, how have you been these past three years? You’ve grown so thin. And your birthmark—it’s completely gone now."

She was the first to notice, the first to care.

Lila stepped forward with a practiced smile, looping her arm through Diana’s as she chimed in, "Isn’t it incredible, Mother? I barely recognized her at the Caldwells’ gala last night. She’s practically a different person. I always said she’d be stunning if she just lost a little weight."

It had been Lila, of course, who had informed Victor of Evelyn’s return—and her dramatic transformation.

Evelyn met Diana’s gaze steadily. "I had a full medical evaluation while I was abroad. The doctors discovered my weight issues were caused by certain medications that disrupted my hormones. As for the birthmark… it faded on its own over time."

By the end of her first year away, the dark mark had begun to lighten inexplicably. By the second, it had vanished entirely.

Grace gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "What do you mean? What kind of medication were you taking? Evelyn, how could this have happened?"

"I don’t know," Evelyn admitted, shaking her head.

But she intended to find out. Now that she was back, she would uncover the truth—whether it had been a medical error or something far more deliberate. And she would finally understand the origins of that birthmark.

Her eyes swept the room, searching for any flicker of guilt among the assembled faces. But their expressions revealed nothing.

Lila sighed dramatically, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "Evelyn, you’ve endured so much."

She turned to Victor, her tone saccharine. "Father, don’t you think it’s time to let bygones be bygones?"

Victor’s response was laced with reluctant affection. "I forgave her long ago. I even told her she could keep the necklace if she wanted it so badly."

Lila beamed, the picture of sisterly devotion. "Evelyn and I are family. Why wouldn’t I be kind to her?"

Victor exhaled, then fixed Evelyn with a stern look. "Do you see how Lila treats you? Remember how you treated her before? Out of respect for her generosity, I’ll let this matter rest today."

His gaze sharpened. "Thank her. Don’t be ungrateful."