In fact, from what Victor Hale had just said, Elena Cross already knew the answer, but she still asked.
She couldn't believe that her biological father would willingly throw her into the fire.
Elena's questioning made Victor Hale's face turn ghastly pale for a moment. He avoided eye contact with her, too guilty to meet her eyes.
His eldest daughter had always unsettled him.
Especially those eyes—sharp and fierce, a haunting reminder of her mother, which made Victor uneasy and desperate to avoid her gaze.
"What nonsense are you spouting? I'm your father. Do you think I'm some kind of criminal? Why are you interrogating me like this?"
Elena sneered, "Father, if you still remember that you're my father, then why did you throw me into the fire? You allowed Vivian to drug me and marry me off to the Blackwell family. Without your consent, Vivian wouldn't have dared to do that."
Now that it was a foregone conclusion, Vivian Cross dropped her pretense. "The Blackwell family only said they wanted a daughter of the Cross family, but they never specified which one. Besides, the Blackwell family's power and influence dominate all of Leawood. You should be grateful we arranged such a prestigious marriage for you."
"If they're so wonderful, why didn't you marry Selena to them?" Elena's face turned icy, her tone sharp. She had been to the Caldwell family estate before coming here.
The Caldwells had informed her that Ethan and Selena were on their honeymoon.
At that moment, Elena felt as though her entire world had collapsed.
Ethan had abandoned her.
When he discovered something was wrong with the bride, why hadn't he come to find her?
"Enough!" Victor roared, his face contorting with fury. "Selena is fragile. If she married into the Blackwell family, how could she endure it? You're older than her. Would it kill you to take her place and marry into that family?"
Hearing this, Elena stared at Victor, her heart heavy with sorrow. For years, she had known her father was biased, but she hadn't realized the extent of his cold indifference.
"Father, my mother's been dead for years. I doubt you even remember that I'm still your daughter. You don't know how I've survived in this household, how I managed my schoolwork. You don't even care how Vivian treated me."
Victor's face twisted in anger. "That's your mother you're talking about. Show some respect!"
"My mother died long ago," Elena said bitterly, her eyes clouded with pain.
Since Vivian Cross and her daughter had entered the family, Elena had never enjoyed a proper meal at the dinner table. She was always given scraps.
After high school, she had to pay her tuition through part-time jobs.
Despite being the eldest daughter of the Cross family, she lived a life worse than a servant.
Selena basked in luxury, draped in designer clothes, attending exclusive clubs. Meanwhile, Elena wore cheap garments and relied on public transport to get around.
In all of Leawood, no one even knew the Cross family had a daughter named Elena. They only knew Selena.
Elena had thought marriage to the man she loved would free her from the Cross household. She never imagined that Vivian and her daughter would scheme to ruin everything.
Vivian forced a smile, her words dripping with false humility as she tried to ease the tension. "Victor, don't be mad at Elena. I'm not her real mother anyway. It's not the first time she's disrespected me. It's fine if I'm wronged. Don't let it affect your relationship with her."
"See? Vivian still defends you," Victor said coldly, his disappointment palpable. "The Blackwells are here to break off the engagement. You don't need to marry into their family anymore. That's it. Go change your clothes. Stop embarrassing yourself. I have business to handle."
Without sparing Elena another glance, Victor strode away.
Elena's expression turned even colder. More than a decade had passed, and Victor had long since stopped caring about her. What else was left to say?
The moment Victor left, Vivian dropped her façade, her expression turning vicious. "You little wretch! How dare you run away from the wedding? Where the hell have you been? Are you happy with the grand gift I prepared for you?"
Elena's eyes gleamed with icy determination. "Vivian, your schemes are vile. Aren't you afraid of facing retribution?"
Vivian Cross said with a smug smile, "My daughter is already the new Mrs. Caldwell. Who do you think you are? You'll never be a match for Selena. Besides, I wonder if Ethan knows you gave birth to a child a few years ago. Do you really think you can keep that secret from the Caldwell family forever?"
Elena Cross's face darkened as the secret buried deep in her heart was exposed.
"It was you and your daughter who set me up," Elena gritted out.
Indeed, she had given birth five years ago, but the child had died immediately after birth. To this day, she didn't even know who the father was.
It was a nightmare she had desperately tried to forget, one she couldn't bear to tell Ethan about.
Vivian sneered. "So what? No one will believe you, least of all your father. The Cross family belongs to my daughter now. Victor abandoned you long ago." Her eyes gleamed with cruelty. "Oh, and there's one more thing—you thought your child was dead, didn't you? Well, he's not. He's a beautiful boy."
"What?" Elena's heart clenched painfully. "Where is my child?"
Vivian's expression turned mocking. "Do you want to know? Then get on your knees and beg me."
Elena's eyes blazed with defiance. "Listen carefully, Vivian," she said through clenched teeth. "One day, I'll make you pay for everything you've done."
Even if she begged, Vivian would never tell her the truth. And Elena couldn't even be sure if the child was truly alive.