The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot

"No, I did not!" Evelyn replied in a cold voice. Her nails dug into her palms, turning her knuckles white as she barely held back her emotions. "I did not kill Annabelle, Elias. And I don’t know why that maid committed suicide."

"Oh," Elias leaned back on the couch, a sad pout spreading across his face. "Then it must really be Brenna’s plans. Luckily, you got out of it."

"Stop acting like that, Eli! You’re making my skin prickle," Avery grumbled in frustration. "Just tell us what your mom is up to. Why did she kill Laila? Don’t cover up her sins, please."

Elias’s eyes darkened, a strange kind of protectiveness filling them. "Don’t accuse my mom without proof, Ms. Cartwell," he glowered, his words surprising everyone again.

"So you’ve been with her all this time?" Zevian asked, piecing things together. As much as he hated to doubt Elias’s loyalty, the younger man’s current attitude suggested his years of support might have been an act, something he’d staged alongside his mother to plot against Evelyn.

"Which son wouldn’t side with his mother, Brother-in-law?" Elias snickered, staring as if the trio sitting before him were fools.

Turning to Evelyn, he added, "Even though he hated you so much, Dad still thought of giving the company to you. I had to be nice and pretend I didn’t want it so you’d hand it over to me."

Evelyn’s heart felt like it was being crushed to pieces by his cold remarks. Holding back her tears, she dared to ask, "So... you never saw me as a sister?"

A slow, mocking smirk lifted Elias’s face. "Funny, it took you all these years to finally realize it... Sis," he replied, pressing on the last word to sting Evelyn harder. He leaned back and added, "Ah, I’m glad it’s finally over now!"

Avery let out a scoff of disbelief, her mind stunned with shock and betrayal. Sneering at the young, cunning man, she groaned, "How could you, Elias?"

"Oh, come on!" Elias rolled his eyes as if they were being dramatic for no reason. "It’s not my fault you all didn’t see through it. We aren’t in a fairy tale where step-siblings aren’t cold and ready to cut each other’s throats. That doesn’t even happen in fiction."

His every word was a sharp knife that stuck deeper into Evelyn’s heart, the poison it was dipped in so suffocating that her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

"And when we learned she wasn’t even his real daughter, how could you expect us to sit quietly and let William hold a spot for her in his heart again?" Elias drawled, his words shocking even Zevian.

They all recalled when William was hospitalized, the day Evelyn revealed her birth secret to Elias. So, Sophia wasn’t aware of it? It made sense—if she’d known, she would never have brought Annabelle into the picture, claiming her as William’s real daughter. She didn’t need to fight with Evelyn; after all, Elias was still William’s blood, while Annabelle was only an adopted daughter.

Avery massaged her temple, feeling foolish. William had hidden the truth from even Sophia all these years. Evelyn thought so too, recalling the night of AWE’s party when they’d stumbled upon Gracia’s grave and William had vented his sorrows. He’d mentioned taking this truth to his grave, fearing others would target her if they knew she wasn’t his real daughter.

Everything felt like a mess, conclusions just out of Evelyn’s reach. So, Elias had sided with his mother all these years, acting nice, believing Evelyn was William’s real and only daughter. They’d brought in Annabelle to claim the spot of ’real daughter’ and thus the heir’s title. When Evelyn spilled the truth to them, Annabelle lost her value and became a thorn. Indirectly, Evelyn was still responsible for her death.

Seeing Evelyn losing herself, Zevian suggested, "Let’s get out of here."

Avery nodded, turning to her best friend, who sat dazed. She placed a hand on Evelyn’s shoulder, shaking her gently to bring her back.

"No..." Evelyn murmured, shaking her head. "He needs to know the truth. He needs to know everything about Annabelle," she declared in a steely voice. These two had trampled her all these years, and she couldn’t let them do it again.

"Go ahead," Elias replied with a smirk. "But, sis..." he paused, waiting for Evelyn to look at him. "Mom took Dad on a vacation to clear his mind and pain. After all, he lost his real daughter—the one who should have died in that car accident 25 years ago."

Zevian squinted his eyes, noting the arrogance in Elias’s words. His remark hinted at another dark layer. So, Sophia had a hand in the accident that took the real Evelyn Wright’s life? Zevian figured it out, and even if she did, it seemed the witch was clueless about Eva’s adoption into this family a year later.

"And while he’s healing, I’m here to look after his wealth. After all, I’m the only blood he has left, right?" Elias continued with a smirk.

Evelyn looked at him, her heart clenching each time her gaze met his once-innocent, puppy-brown eyes. Taking a deep breath, she answered, "Then good luck, Eli. I hope you take Wright Constructions to new heights."

Elias was surprised to see her give up so easily. All these years, she’d fought for it, yet now... A smile crept over his lips, realizing that learning her real birth identity must have changed her mind. Evelyn wasn’t a true member of this family, to begin with, so why would she still have that fire to compete for it?

"I’ll see you on your crowning day," Evelyn added, a small smile touching her lips. "And I’ll make sure to bring a present too—since it’ll be your birthday." Her words flattened her once little brother’s smile.

Elias frowned. "Don’t try anything stupid, sis. Dad won’t believe anything you say now, including whatever you have on Annabelle."

"Well, well..." Evelyn drawled, a smirk lifting her lips. Zevian and Avery looked at her in surprise, unsure of what she was planning.

"He would believe it if his darling daughter Annabelle told him herself, right?" Evelyn’s words sent a shockwave through the room.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Elias rebuked, leaning forward in panic.

A smirk lifted Evelyn’s face, enjoying the fear gripping Elias. She knew Sophia too well; unsettling her son, rattling him the way Sophia had her, wasn’t a tough job.

"Since you’re my closest family member, let me tell you a secret, Eli," Evelyn began, her words crushing the young man’s confidence. "Do you know who Annabelle is?"

When Elias frowned in confusion, she added, "She’s the lost daughter of the Igor family—an infamous mafia family in Italy. And just so you know, her stepbrother, Ronan Igor, is also one of my closest clients."

"Why does that matter now? She’s dead anyway," Elias replied, annoyance clear in his voice. The more Evelyn dragged things out, the more his anger simmered.

"But are you sure she’s dead, Eli? Did you confirm that the body you received from the hospital was actually Annabelle’s and not a double?" Evelyn asked, shocking everyone in the room.

So Annabelle wasn’t dead yet?