Chapter 168

The Kingsley mansion descended into chaos.

"Stop right there!" The Dowager's shrill scream pierced the night. "Ungrateful boy! If you step through that door, I'll kill myself!"

Dishes clattered in the dining room as everyone scrambled to their feet.

Alexander Kingsley strode down the corridor, brushing past frantic family members.

In the parlor, the Dowager collapsed beside the leather sofa, her hair disheveled and cheeks streaked with tears.

"Mother!" Eleanor Kingsley rushed to support her.

"Let me die..." The old woman beat her chest. "What sin did I commit to raise such a monster..."

When Eleanor turned, she only saw her son's retreating back disappearing through the foyer.

The Song heiress sat rigidly through the spectacle.

As the Kingsleys summoned cars for departing guests, a doctor hurried in with his medical bag.

The Dowager was helped to bed for oxygen while the family fussed around her.

Her sobs eventually subsided, but she pressed her lips shut despite Patriarch Kingsley's anxious pacing.

Finally, she dismissed everyone except Eleanor.

"Eleanor," the Dowager rasped, "I know you dote on Evelyn. Our family wronged her. But what she's done to Alexander—I'll never forgive, even in death!"

Eleanor recoiled as if struck.

Further questions yielded only stubborn silence...

......

"The Kingsleys are shopping for a new daughter-in-law." Mrs. Winslow adjusted her tea set. "The third Song girl dined with them last night."

Isabella Winslow's fingers jerked, nearly dropping her cup.

"That trash?" Her laugh was icy.

Mrs. Winslow shrugged. "Honestly, I think—"

The butler burst in breathlessly. "Madam! Mr. Kingsley is here!"

Mother and daughter stood simultaneously, eyes lighting up.

"The police are with him." The butler's next words froze them in place.

Alexander arrived with law enforcement.

Presenting surveillance footage and brooch photographs as evidence, Isabella was detained for questioning.

Her incoherent statements in the interrogation room deepened police suspicions.

A search warrant was swiftly approved.

Alexander waited confidently for results.

But the police report made his expression darken.

"Nothing?" His voice could frost glass.

Officers displayed the seized butterfly accessories.

Alexander's gaze locked onto a diamond ring.

"This..." He produced an identical ring from his pocket.

The twin engagement rings glittered under the lights.

"Found in Miss Winslow's jewelry box," an officer explained.

Alexander's knuckles whitened.

This custom-designed ring was supposed to be one-of-a-kind.

He remembered Evelyn's hesitation when refusing it...

Rage ignited instantly.

Though the brooch remained missing, Isabella's guilt was undeniable.

Recalling her schemes against Evelyn, his eyes turned glacial.

......

Eleanor's call interrupted his thoughts.

"Your grandmother's blood pressure is through the roof!" she scolded. "Come now!"

Alexander recognized his mother's probing.

But he had to go.

"I won't pressure Evelyn anymore," Eleanor sighed. "But thinking of her calling someone else 'Mother'..."

Alexander realized where his stubbornness came from.

After all her wavering, his mother had returned to his side.

In the garden, mahjong tiles clattered as society matrons perked up at his arrival.

"Alexander, are you seeing anyone?"

"My niece just returned from Paris..."

He sat expressionlessly—until his pupils contracted.

Every woman at the table wore that familiar diamond ring.

"Mrs. Chen started the trend—we all had to have one," Eleanor boasted, twisting her wrist. "Lovely, no?"

These women cared nothing for carats.

Only about outshining their peers.

Alexander slammed the door on his way out.

Nathan Carter's call came at the perfect moment.

"Isabella still denies everything. Police lack concrete evidence..."

"The designer's assistant leaked the specs, but no ties to Miss Winslow..."

"Drop it." Alexander's voice was arctic. "I'll handle this."

......

On the Autumn Detail building's rooftop, Isabella's screams scattered in the wind.

"Alexander...please..."

She never imagined this outcome when accepting his invitation.

Rusted railings groaned as she dangled upside down seven stories above ground.

"Where's the brooch?" Alexander asked nothing else.

"I truly don't know..."

Isabella clenched her teeth.

That brooch had gone to William West—her final bargaining chip.

"Before dawn." Alexander stood. "Choose wisely."

Isabella suddenly shrieked: "I'm pregnant! With your child! After that night, I..."

The wind swallowed her cries.