Ficorpio
Chapter 1
The day my two daughters-in-law, who appeared to be hopelessly in love with my sons but were actually just enjoying their husbands’ money, decided to fake their deaths and disappear, I grabbed them and refused to let go.
“Only if you take me with you.”
They told me that the heroine returning from overseas was not only the woman my two sons had always adored from afar, but also the biological daughter of Richard Sterling’s own lost love.
The father and his two sons would eventually manipulate me into taking her in as my honorary goddaughter.
I wouldn’t discover the truth until I was seventy.
But I was only fifty right now.
“Like hell I’m going to suffer for another twenty years.”
So I decided to die on the road while the three men were rushing off to rescue the heroine.
Let them live with the guilt for the rest of their lives.
Later, Richard went mad.
My two sons regretted everything too late.
And my two daughters-in-law took me along to enjoy the most shameless life imaginable.
Ten young male attendants surrounded us, waiting on us hand and foot—massaging our shoulders, feeding us fruit, and making sure we never had to lift a finger.
It was only after living for fifty years that I overheard the truth from my two daughters-in-law.
The heroine, Lily Sinclair—the One Who Got Away who was about to return from overseas—was actually the daughter of Richard Sterling’s lost love, Evelyn Sinclair.
My daughters-in-law decided to run.
Claire Sterling poured every diamond, piece of jewelry, gold bar, and agate ornament she owned straight into a suitcase.
“I don’t want to end up like my mother-in-law. I want a divorce. What about you?”
Sophie Sterling fiddled with her phone. “If you’re getting divorced, so am I.
“I refuse to spend the rest of my life raising two sons who fall in love with their father’s lost love’s daughter.
“Let me check how much I managed to squeeze out of Julian Sterling over the past three years.”
She tapped through her accounts, then giggled.
“Heh. There’s nine million five hundred thousand and seventy cents in my Secret Escape Fund. That’s enough for the two of us to live extravagantly for quite a while.
“How do you think we should get divorced?
“Do you think those two bastards, Julian and Sebastian Sterling, will actually agree to it?”
Claire fell silent, thinking it over carefully.
“If we ask for a divorce outright, they definitely won’t agree.
“They might even freeze our bank cards, leaving us with a nine-and-a-half-million-dollar fortune we can’t spend a penny of.
“When Richard’s lost love, Evelyn Sinclair, returned from overseas, my mother-in-law tried to divorce him too. But Richard refused outright and froze her Secret Escape Fund, leaving her without even enough money to rent a place of her own.
“Then, as if that weren’t enough, she found out she was pregnant and gave birth to twins.
Chapter 2
“For the sake of her children, she had no choice but to stay obediently by Richard’s side.
“But she never could have imagined what happened next.
“Five years later, Richard began taking his two sons overseas on business trips, claiming he wanted to cultivate their business instincts from a young age.
“In reality, he was taking them to keep Evelyn’s daughter, Lily, company.
“He even made the boys treat her like their own little sister and protect her at all costs.
“That’s why Sebastian and Julian grew up as Lily’s childhood sweethearts.
“According to the Predetermined Storyline, once Lily returns, the three men will manipulate my mother-in-law into taking her in as her honorary goddaughter. They’ll spoil her rotten.
“After that, how are the two of us supposed to keep living the good life—eating well, drinking well, and spending money like water?
“Why don’t we just fake our deaths and disappear?”
Sophie agreed immediately.
“I’m in. I’ll go back to my room and pack our valuables right now.
“I’ve spent the past three years using Julian’s bank cards to buy whatever I wanted. If we sell the jewelry and designer handbags, we can turn them into quite a bit of cash. We definitely won’t starve.”
With that, she slipped out of Claire’s room.
And walked straight into me, standing outside the door and listening.
Sophie’s face went white with fright.
“M-Mom… how much did you hear?”
I felt as though I’d fallen into an icy abyss.
Yet my chest burned as if someone had set it on fire.
I was trapped between ice and flames. Clenching my fists, I asked through my teeth,
“Is everything you said true?
“Is Lily Sinclair really Evelyn Sinclair’s daughter?”
Sophie looked utterly torn. She turned back toward Claire, silently begging her for help.
What do we do now?
What if Mother tells Julian and Sebastian and ruins our plan to fake our deaths?
I seized one daughter-in-law with each hand and refused to let either of them leave.
“That’s right. Unless you take me with you.”
The moment I remembered what Adrian had told me the night before, his words echoed in my mind.
“Darling, haven’t you always wanted a daughter?
“A friend of mine overseas passed away, leaving behind an only daughter with no one to look after her. She’ll be returning home soon.
“Why don’t we make her our honorary goddaughter? She can live with us and be the daughter you’ve always wanted.”
Sebastian and Julian had both been there, and the twins immediately chimed in.
“That’s right, Mom. Her name is Lily Sinclair, and she’s incredibly good at winning over her elders. You’ll love her.”
Oh, wonderful. Just wonderful.
The three most important people in my life had joined forces to stab me in the back.
No wonder Sebastian had come home that morning and gotten into a vicious fight with Claire. He had even grabbed her by the throat, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
“Lily disappeared the moment she got off the plane.
Chapter 3
“Did you hire someone to kidnap her?”
I rushed over and shouted at my son to let go. I asked him whether there had been some kind of misunderstanding.
But Adrian dragged me aside, looking even angrier than Sebastian.
“What misunderstanding could there be?
“Claire, stop wasting time and tell us where you’ve taken Lily.”
No wonder Adrian had been even more agitated than his son.
It turned out Lily Sinclair was the daughter of Evelyn Sinclair, the woman Adrian had never gotten over—the one who had always been the one who got away.
Memories came rushing back like a flood.
I suddenly remembered a conversation Sebastian and Julian had when they were five.
“Dad, can Lily’s mom become our mom?”
“I really want Lily’s mom to be our mom.”
“Then Lily could be our little sister and live with us.”
“We could play with her and protect her forever.”
At the time, I had asked curiously, “Who’s Lily?”
I still remembered Adrian’s stern expression as he scolded the boys.
“Don’t say things like that!”
Then he had turned to me and explained, “She’s the daughter of a friend of mine overseas. She’s adorable. Those two little brats saw her once and immediately decided they wanted to be her big brothers.”
I had ignored how evasive his eyes were and how guilty his voice sounded.
How ridiculous.
I had sacrificed my career and every ambition I’d ever had. I had devoted myself completely to Adrian and our two sons.
And this was how they repaid me?
It felt as though every ounce of strength had been ripped from my body. I swayed on my feet, barely able to stand.
Then I looked at my two clear-eyed daughters-in-law.
When a man loved you, he showered you with gifts. When he stopped loving you, you packed up your valuables and walked away without looking back.
Compared with them, I suddenly felt like the biggest fool in the world.
I was afraid Claire and Sophie would think I was too old and refuse to take me along when they faked their deaths and escaped.
So I steeled myself and said, “There are One Hundred Half-Kilogram Gold Bars in Adrian’s Private Safe.
“If you take me with you, I’ll go clean out his safe right now.
“From now on, whatever you want to eat, drink, or buy, it’s all on me.”
Both my daughters-in-law’s eyes lit up.
They looked as if they wanted to throw themselves at my feet and cling to my legs.
My elder daughter-in-law spoke first.
“Mother, the truth is, we’ve wanted to help you turn this predetermined storyline upside down for ages.
“To be honest, Sophie and I were best friends who married into the same family. You’re caught in the silver-haired-wife trope.
“Three years ago, my best friend and I were in a car accident in our original world. We transmigrated into this novel together and married into the Sterling family.