A hush fell over the ballroom. Even Millie, who was about to lash out at Sebastian, kept quiet after seeing
the thunderous look on the latterâs face.
âSo thatâs why she didnât want to attend the ball with me?â he muttered. The rising anger was like a
blazing inferno that threatened to boil him from the inside out.
Karl silently agreed, but he did not dare to say that out loud. Instead, he gestured at Sebastianâs hand,
from which a piece of broken glass shard was protruding. âMr. Hayes, are you all rightâ¦? Youâre
bleeding.â
His words fell on deaf ears as Sebastian stood. âExcuse me,â he addressed the crowd, âI have some
matters to attend. Enjoy the rest of your evening.â
The rest watched him leave in stunned silence. None dared to question his abrupt departure, but the
murderous look on his face had everyone speculating about what had happened.
Eager to write off the episode, Millie quickly found someone else as her beau for the night.
Meanwhile, Sasha and Solomon were sitting face to face at a cafe.
She had assumed it would take another two hours before Sebastian returned from the ball. By her
calculations, there would be plenty of time for her to meet with Solomon and head back to the hotel with
her roommate none the wiser.
Expressionless, she demanded, âGo on, what evidence do you have to prove that you are Yancyâs son?â
Yancy Young was the best friend of Sashaâs mother, Heather.
Back in the day, Heather, Sharon, Matilda, and Yancy were the most well-known socialites in Avenportâs
upper class.
Coming from a long line of doctors and scholars respectively, Heather and Sharon were renowned for
being as beautiful as they were accomplished.
Though somewhat lacking in the looks and talents department, Matilda was one of the wealthiest
socialites in the city, thanks to the powerful Hayes family.
The Young family, too, was well endowed, having struck it rich from the real estate business. With riches
abound and coupled with good looks, Yancy had never been short of suitors over the years.
Her parents had intended her to marry one who was well-matched in social and economic status.
However, Yancy staunchly opposed to such an arrangement. After several fights with her parents, she
left home for several months, only to return with a bun in her oven. To say that the rest of her family was
displeased would be the understatement of the century.
The news had also sent the entire Avenport into upheaval. Speculations and rumors about the babyâs
father circulated wildly within the city for months on end.
Heather finally managed to see her best friend after the latter was disowned by her family and evicted
from the Young residence.
Yancy told her that she did not regret becoming pregnant, but she had refused to divulge the identity of
the babyâs father. Not knowing how else to help, Heather had provided her friend with a hefty amount of
money before Yancy vanished from the public.
When Sashaâs mother received news about her again, it was when someone showed up at her doorstep
with an eight-year-old boy. The person told Heather that Yancy had died, leaving behind her son who
was now orphaned.
Heather was shocked beyond words. A part of her had always believed that Yancy left to be with the
man she loved, especially when she had said, in a firm tone, that she did not regret the pregnancy.
Even till her death, Sashaâs mother never found out what had happened all those years ago and who
was the childâs father.
âI know my mom was sponsoring an orphan whoâs the child of one of her friends. But she didnât tell me
itâs someone around me. Why would she hide this from me if itâs really you?â Frustrated at the situation,
Sasha asked with an irked expression. Solomon said it himself that he attended the same elementary
school as I did.
After a long moment of silence, the man sitting opposite her took out an envelope. âMy mother told her
not to say anything. When I was sent back to Avenport, your mom made arrangements to register my
name under a welfare organization. You can take a lookâall the documents are here.â
Sasha took the envelope and pulled out the contents with shaking fingers.
She could recognize her motherâs handwriting on the papers yellowed with age. There was even a
photograph of her mother with a young boy.
Itâs all true then. The shaking had spread from her fingers to the rest of her body, while tears welled up in
her eyes.
âWhy didnât your mom want people to know who you are? What was she afraid of?â
âShe was afraid that someone would try to kill me.â
Sashaâs eyes, still wet with tears, widened in shock. âWhat? Do you mean the Youngs wouldâ¦â
Solomon shook his head. âNo, not the Youngs. Itâs my father. Heâs a man who would kill his own flesh
and blood if it meant covering up his past mistake.â
A sardonic laughter burst forth from his throat. The mention of his father warped his expression into one
of pure hatred and contempt.
At that moment, he looked more like a vengeful spirit than anything else. It was the first time Sasha saw
him like this. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up at the sight.