Back at Alex's house, the tension was thick in the air. Alex remained silent, his gaze shifting between Jake and Claire. Claire's piercing stare fixed on him.
"What do you mean by Jake trying to tie you down with his mistress?" she asked again, her voice sharp. "Are you, by any chance, referring to Vanessa?"
Alex sighed heavily, rubbing his temple as if the weight of the situation bore down on him. "I didn't plan to reveal it like this," he admitted. "But you've all left me with no other option."
He looked Jake directly in the eye. "Jake is planning to use Vanessa to take everything from me, and on our so-called date, they both drugged me, wanting me to sleep with Vanessa so he could impregnate her and have her pass their child as mine," Alex said, and Claire's eyes widened in shock as she turned to look at Jake.
Jake's heart pounded as panic set in, but he tried to maintain his composure. "Me? How? What do you even mean pass my child as yours?" he scoffed, forcing a laugh. "Alex is talking rubbish. No one should believe a word he says. This is utter nonsense!"
Claire and Margaret exchanged confused glances, their expressions mirroring the chaos in their heads. What was going on, and what prompted Alex's accusations?
Claire knew Alex, and she knew he wouldn't just spill such words if they weren't true. How could Jake do this? Why? If it were true, would that mean she had been actively trying to push her own brother into a trap?
"It can't be. All this has to be a joke," Claire muttered before she could stop herself.
Alex shook his head. "It's not. It's because I know that's why I was always against Vanessa," Alex said, his voice rising with frustration. "I never liked her because I knew she was trouble."
Jake looked at Claire and Alex, and all he could think about was shutting Alex up. How did Alex even know about all this? Had he suspected it and had still pretended to have fallen for Vanessa's plans?
He needed to do something, maybe create a diversion before Claire or his mother started to believe all Alex was saying.
Jake's face darkened, and he turned to Emma, pointing an accusatory finger. "She's the one, isn't she? She's been turning you against me!" He yelled, glad he could use her this time.
Margaret, who had been silent until now, chimed in, ready to defend her son. "It has to be her," she said, her gaze cold and judgmental as it landed on Emma again. "That's all she's ever done—cause problems for this family."
"Emma has to leave," Jake declared, his voice firm and final. "Right now."
All eyes turned to Alex, but Claire said nothing. Her gaze lingered on him, her thoughts clearly racing.
She was still grappling with the fact that she was a party to whatever Jake was plotting against Alex.
Jake took a step toward Emma, his hand reaching out to grab her arm. But before he could touch her, Alex's fist collided with his face, sending him stumbling back.
"Don't you ever attempt to touch my wife again!" Alex growled, shaking out his hand.
The room fell into stunned silence. Jake froze, his hand pressed against his face as he tried to process what Alex had just said.
Jake's thought went back to the time Emma visited Ling Corp. He realized that a wedding band was on her finger, and that was why he had assumed that she had come around to beg for his forgiveness, but now the whole thing made much sense to Jake why she actually went to see Alex that day.
Emma's eyes widened in disbelief, her mouth slightly open. She gazed at Alex, shaking her head to tell him this wasn't the time for the revelation he just made, but Alex's gaze was equally fixed on Claire.
"Your wife?" Claire finally repeated, her voice laced with confusion. "Since when? And how did this happen?"
Alex ignored the question, and instead pulled out his phone from his pocket. "Let me show you something." He opened a video and handed the phone to Claire.
Margaret leaned over to watch as well, her eyes narrowing as Vanessa's voice filled the room. The video was a damning recording of a conversation between Jake and Vanessa from the previous night and all that transpired between Alex and Vanessa.
Jake's panic was palpable when he saw that Alex had evidence. "What are you showing them?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.
He never would have thought Alex would make a record of Vanessa. If he had known, he probably wouldn't have let Vanessa call him that way. What was he supposed to do now? He thought and then narrowed his eyes when he thought of something.
After all, it was a blank video with no one hearing his own side of the conversations. Just what Vanessa was saying.
Claire, who had been grappling to accept Alex's words, felt a wave of disappointment hit her as the implications of the phone call and all she had seen sank in.
"Jake," she said, her tone demanding, "what is this? What were you discussing with Vanessa?" she asked, wanting to see if he would come clean now.
Jake chuckled nervously, trying to deflect. "That conversation doesn't show any evidence that I am working with Vanessa, Aunt. That could be her and another guy for all I know," he swallowed and continued, his eyes fixed on Emma, "He is just trying to sow discord in our family because he wants to defend this cheap and unfaithful gold digger. He's trying to protect her by coming up with these lies, can't you see it?"
There was no way he would let Alex get away with this. Even though he had evidence, he was going to make sure no one believed him.
Margaret looked at Claire and then shook her head. "You need to believe Jake, sis. You practically watched him grow; you nursed him like he was your own child. How could you even doubt his intentions? He's just hurt that Alex would even think of siding with someone that broke his heart. Claire, listen to your nephew," Margaret said, tears glistening in her eyes.