Upon hearing this, Sylvia Lancaster looked down guiltily and said nothing.

Clara Hayes thought Sylvia was too upset and hurt to speak, which only fueled her anger. She continued to rage, "Besides, who demands living expenses from their ex-wife after a divorce! Are the Suttons so broke they can’t survive?!"

Seeing Clara getting more and more agitated, Sylvia had no choice but to speak up. "Clara, please stop. It’s all my fault. I couldn’t save the baby..."

Hearing this, Clara said, exasperated, "Don’t be silly, Sylvia. What did you do wrong? The baby is gone, and you’re the biggest victim here. You’re just too naive and good-natured, so everyone thinks they can walk all over you!"

Sylvia could only force a helpless, bitter smile. In a dejected tone, she said, "I guess it’s my fault for being a poor judge of character... But we’re at this point now, and there’s no use crying over spilled milk... I’ll figure out a way to pay him back..."

Clara looked at Sylvia with pity and comforted her, "Sylvia, don’t be scared. You don’t owe the Sutton Family anything, and you certainly don’t owe Ethan Sutton anything. The fact that Ethan wants a divorce just proves he’s blind. The Suttons aren’t good enough for you!"

Seeing Sylvia’s sorrowful expression, Clara just felt she was too naive. She offered a few more words of comfort before leaving the guest room.

******

Back in her own room, Clara thought it over and over. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that what the Sutton Family did was completely inhuman.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Unable to sit still, she decided to call Ethan Sutton directly.

The moment the call connected, Clara yelled, "Ethan Sutton, are you even a man?!"

Ethan was already annoyed, and hearing Clara call and start screaming at him for no reason made him furious. He frowned and asked, "Clara Hayes? What’s gotten into you? I don’t recall doing anything to provoke you."

Clara replied angrily, "Ethan Sutton, Sylvia’s baby is gone! She’s pitiful enough as it is! It’s one thing for your family not to take care of her, but to divorce her at a time like this? Do you have any idea she’s still recovering from her miscarriage?"

"Filing for divorce is bad enough, but you’re also demanding money from her? Did the Sutton Family go bankrupt? Are you that desperate? I’ve never heard of anyone demanding living expenses from the woman after a divorce! Your family is disgusting!"

Ethan was silent for a moment. Then he asked, "Clara, is Sylvia Lancaster with you?"

Clara snorted. "So what if she is? You threw her out while she was recovering from her miscarriage. Did you even think about where she would go? Ethan Sutton, you’re a piece of scum. I despise you!"

Ethan was so angry he started to laugh. He retorted with a cold smile, "Clara, you sound so self-righteous, acting like you’re standing up for your good friend. But has your ’good friend’ ever told you that the baby she miscarried wasn’t mine?"

Clara froze, shocked. "What did you say?!"

Ethan continued with a sneer, "You didn’t know, did you? Sylvia Lancaster was messing around with her older brother, Simon Lancaster, and they were caught in bed by Simon’s girlfriend! The baby she miscarried wasn’t mine at all. It was Simon’s!"

"Clara, you’re so eager to play the hero. Don’t tell me Sylvia has been keeping you in the dark this whole time?"

Hearing this, Clara was utterly stunned. Her eyes went wide, and she froze as if struck by lightning.

She cried out in disbelief, "Ethan Sutton, what nonsense are you spouting? They... they’re brother and sister! They grew up together!"

Ethan snorted on the other end of the line. "Nonsense? I had a paternity test done on the miscarried fetus. The results are there in black and white. Do you want to see them?"

Clara was too shocked to speak. She could only listen as Ethan continued, "Clara, have you ever considered this? If I divorced Sylvia just because she had a miscarriage, why would her own parents kick her out of the Lancaster Family at the same time?"

"Have you ever wondered why even her parents have disowned her?"

"It’s because she seduced their biological son, of course!"

"Simon’s girlfriend saw them together! Now his girlfriend has left him, so of course the Lancaster Family doesn’t want to acknowledge their adopted daughter anymore!"

"Clara, you don’t know anything, yet you jump in to defend Sylvia. Just how stupid are you?"

"Sylvia Lancaster is using you as a pawn. Can’t you see that?"

"Clara, let me tell you, a two-faced person like Sylvia will be your undoing sooner or later. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!"

After hanging up, Ethan let out a long breath.

He had vented all the frustration he’d built up from Melody Summers and Sylvia Lancaster on Clara Hayes. For the moment, his anger had subsided.

He decided to go back to The Crestview Hotel to visit Amy and Louise.

Ethan felt that those two girls were different from a malicious, deceptive woman like Sylvia. They were genuinely innocent and gentle, inspiring a feeling of tenderness and affection.

******

Perhaps because she hadn’t rested well during her recovery, Sylvia Lancaster had been feeling exhausted lately. Just as she was about to lie down, Clara Hayes knocked on her door again.

Sylvia was a little surprised, but she still smiled and asked, "Clara, did something happen?"

But Clara’s face was grim. She asked, "Sylvia, tell me the truth... whose baby was it that you miscarried?"

The color drained from Sylvia’s face in an instant.

Her eyes darted away, and she asked with a tremor in her voice, "Clara, what-what do you mean by that?"

Seeing Sylvia’s guilty expression, Clara frowned and pressed, "Whose was it? Answer me!"

Faced with Clara’s interrogation, Sylvia didn’t know how to respond.

She could only avert her gaze in a panic, her mind racing uncontrollably. ’Could Clara have found out about me and Flynn Adler?’

Looking at Sylvia’s flustered expression, Clara understood everything.

She stared at Sylvia in disbelief, her face a mask of disappointment. "I can’t believe you’re this kind of person... You actually slept with your own brother..."

Sylvia froze. The weight that had been pressing on her heart suddenly vanished.

’Since Clara doesn’t know about Flynn Adler, there’s still a chance to salvage this.’

So, Sylvia looked up at Clara, her face contorted in a pained expression, and said tearfully, "Clara, I had my reasons... My life with the Sutton Family was a living hell. My brother was the only one who cared about me, the only one who showed me any warmth... I was just confused for a moment, and I went down the wrong path."

Sylvia looked at Clara with pitiful, pleading eyes, hoping for her understanding.

When Clara just frowned silently, Sylvia continued, "Clara, ever since I married Ethan Sutton, he’s been like a different person... I was in so much pain, I desperately needed comfort, and that’s why I made a mistake... Clara, you’re my friend. You should be able to understand, right?"

Normally, faced with Sylvia’s tearful gaze, Clara would have felt sorry for her and offered comfort. But this time, she was unmoved.

Clara just stared at Sylvia with a complicated expression. After a moment of silence, she spoke slowly, "Sylvia Lancaster, you have... disappointed me so much."

As Sylvia stared in astonishment, Clara continued in a cold voice, "How could you do something like this?"

There were two kinds of people Clara hated most in this world. The first was someone who interfered in another’s family and stole their loved ones.

The second was someone who betrayed their family, betrayed their marriage, and cheated with a third party.

She never would have imagined that her good friend Sylvia, for whom she had always felt so sorry, was the latter.

Clara looked at Sylvia’s pale face and felt like she was looking at a stranger. It was as if she had never truly known her at all.

Clara’s mind flashed back to her childhood: her father’s affair, her mother’s pained struggle, the other woman’s provocations, her parents’ endless arguments and screaming matches...

She remembered her mother dragging her, a small child, along to catch her father in the act. She remembered being in a strange room, her mother grabbing her head and forcing her to watch the tangled, pale flesh of her father and another woman on the bed...

The memories flooded over Clara like a tidal wave. Looking at Sylvia’s familiar face now, she just felt sick to her stomach.

Clara didn’t understand why.

Why did people like this have to cheat?

Why did they have to betray their marriage, their family?

Clara looked at Sylvia with disappointment in her eyes and said coldly, "I guess I was wrong about you, Sylvia Lancaster. You’ve had a few days to recover, and you seem mostly better. Pack your things and get out of my house as soon as possible!"