Chapter 246

”

Chapter 246 Half Sister

The rising smoke obscured Troy’s face.

Sarah’s words caused Troy to furrow his brows slightly, though he didn’t delve deeper into it, assuming it was a slip of the tongue or a confused thought from Sarah.

The past was long gone to him, and he wasn’t interested in arguing with her over it.

Holding the cigarette with his slender fingers, he said calmly, “So, you went to see Grandfather? What did you tell him that day?”

Sarah’s gaze remained fixed on Troy, a dark look fleeting across her eyes. “You want to know? Well, I’m not telling you!”

In truth, Troy had long had his suspicions.

If Sarah had told Henry that she couldn’t live without Troy, the way Henry allocated the

company’s shares clearly showed he wasn’t angry at Troy. Instead, he was rather unfriendly

toward Leo.

Moreover, Henry had known about his love life, so it made no sense that he couldn’t bear to hear whatever Sarah told him.

Troy couldn’t figure the truth out, so he could only blame everything on Henry’s deteriorating health.

Troy didn’t

press further. “Let’s not talk about the past anymore. I heard from Yann that you’ve been persistently wanting to see me.”

“Why are you still pretending? Don’t you already know what my bargaining chip is? Hahaha, I didn’t expect that Imogen would turn out to be my half–sister. We share the same father. We sure share deep connections with the Marshall family!”

“So what? What are your demands?”

As the cigarette burned out, Troy lifted his hand and pressed the butt into the ashtray. Sarah didn’t answer directly. Instead, she wore a sneer. “You haven’t visited in a long time, so 1 thought the chip in my hand had lost its value after all this time. I didn’t expect that you would still see me. You and Imogen are already divorced. Are you still going to sacrifice your interests for her?”

Troy nodded calmly. “Of course.”

There was a crack in Sarah’s mask. She didn’t hide the jealousy and hatred in her eyes, gritting her teeth. “That despicable bitch!”

Back when she was forced to break up with Troy and went abroad, she realized that she couldn’t let him go.

She couldn’t abandon either him or the power he wielded.

She regretted it.

1

She had been searching for an opportunity to reunite with Troy, but he had already gotten married…

Troy raised his head, his tone turning icy. “What did you say?”

He was staring daggers at Sarah, ready to strike at any moment.

Sarah lifted her chin, looking directly at him. “I said Imogen is as despicable as her mother. She was always sleeping with men so that she could climb the social ladder. Who knows how many

men have she slept with? Am I wrong?”

Troy glared at her menacingly, a storm raging within him. “Since you have no intention of talking sensibly, go back to the psychiatric hospital!”

“If you

dare send me back, I will ruin Imogen’s reputation! Do you think I only have that one card in my hand? Do you think I could just make things up as I go?” Sarah said triumphantly, her expression almost manic.

She burst into laughter. “Troy, wake up! Stop being so delusional! Imogen is just a promiscuous slut, depraved and despicable!”

Troy clenched his fists involuntarily, and veins popped up on his forehead.

He never hit women, but Sarah might make him break that rule.

Suppressing his anger, he asked, “What else do you know?”

Sarah took out a photo from her clothes and placed it on the table, pushing it toward him. “Take a look. You’ll understand.”

Troy lowered his gaze, and the photo gradually came into view.

Calmly, he pinched one corner of the photo and brought it closer to examine.

The picture was obviously taken in a foreign country, judging from the surrounding buildings and facilities. Imogen, wearing a dress, walked on a street. She looked young and inexperienced, so the photo was obviously taken during her university days.

The most striking aspect was Imogen’s prominent belly, appearing quite large as if she were about to give birth.

Even though Troy had known about Imogen’s past pregnancy, seeing the photo still ignited his anger and brought about sadness within him.

He gripped the photo tightly, veins popping on the back of his hand, his eyes fixed on the photo as if trying to bore holes through it.

Satisfied with Troy’s expression, Sarah smiled triumphantly. “How about it? She’s pregnant with someone else’s child. Are you still going to love someone like that? Let me remind you. Don’t even think about tearing up the photo. I have plenty of backups.”

Troy closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he gulped. Slowly, he placed the photo on the table and raised his head. “Where did this photo come from?”

If Sarah had taken the photo, she would have presented it long ago to push him to divorce Imogen.

The fact that she only showed it to him at that moment probably meant she had just obtained it.

“No wonder she was in such a hurry to see me,” he thought.

If he could somehow convince Sarah to delete the original photo, he might be able to protect Imogen from public slander.

Sarah’s expression stiffened for a moment, then she laughed. “You don’t need to know that. As long as you agree to my conditions, Imogen’s identity and this photo won’t see the light of day. Otherwise, she’ll be completely ruined!”

She didn’t even know where the photo came from. It had just appeared on her desk one day. It seemed that Imogen had offended quite a few people, and some were using Sarah to target her. Imogen’s mother was a mistress, and Imogen wasn’t Ignacio’s child. Moreover, Imogen’s private

life abroad had been chaotic, and she had even given birth to a child!

The above, when combined with Imogen’s previous scandals, could ruin her reputation for good. Hearing that, Troy suddenly chuckled. “Why would I still negotiate with you for Imogen’s sake after seeing this photo and learning that she had a child?”

Sarah’s smile froze on her face.

Troy continued, “You’ve successfully convinced me. She doesn’t deserve my efforts, so I won’t negotiate with you anymore. Go back to the psychiatric hospital.”

Sarah’s heart raced in panic as she tried to maintain her composure. “Troy! Are you sure?! Aren’t you afraid that Imogen’s reputation will be ruined? It won’t be good for you either!”

“How could he change his mind so quickly?” She wondered.

“Why would I care about public gossip, be it real or fake? Yann, take her…”

“She’s still a part of the Marshall family. Aren’t you afraid of tarnishing the Marshall family’s reputation? Aren’t you afraid of dragging your grandfather’s honor through the mud? He has done so much charity work. Do you want the Marshall family’s century–old reputation to be destroyed by someone like Imogen?” Sarah’s tone carried a hint of urgency.

Troy fell silent.

Seeing that she had hit a nerve, Sarah immediately presented her own conditions. “As long as you spare me, we can avoid stepping on each other’s toes. Imogen’s background and this photo will never see the light of day. This is going to only benefit you!”

In truth, she wanted Troy to marry her.

However, she was certain he wouldn’t agree at the moment, so she settled for a compromise.

“There are who knows how many copies of this photo. If you want to negotiate, hand over all the original photos and backups.”

“If I give you the originals, I lose my leverage against you. Who knows if you might change your mind suddenly?”

“Then go back to the psychiatric hospital. Yann…”

“Fine!” Sarah answered decisively. “I’ll give you the originals and backups!”

Troy raised an eyebrow, a fierce glint in his eyes as he continued, “You indirectly caused Grandfather’s death, so I didn’t spare you just for Imogen. I also did it for the sake of the Marshall family’s reputation and Grandfather’s efforts… Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll have Yann accompany you back. Delete the originals and backups, and he’ll let you go.”

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay…”

The conditions were settled, and it was time for her to leave.

In the reflection of the glass, Sarah saw herself. She was frozen in place, her legs feeling as heavy as lead.

She used to be so beautiful, but somehow, she had ended up like that.

She forced a bitter smile before standing up and walking to the door. Suddenly, she paused and turned around to look at Troy, asking with a trace of sadness in her eyes, “Troy, did you ever love me?”