Chapter 48

Leyla's eyes swept over the Murrays, her expression as cold as glass. "So Eliana actually managed to reclaim the estate?"

How the hell could some country bumpkin pull off something like that? If she truly had that kind of influence,the city's high-born nobles wouldn't have skipped her so-called welcome party.

The more Leyla thought about it, the more convinced she was that the Clarke family had surely lent a'hand-especially since Eliana had gotten lucky that day, stumbling into Miguel's good graces after curing him by chance.

Even caught in the open, Leyla didn't flinch.

She let out a faint, dismissive laugh. "Whether you'll live in the street or beg in the gutter, why should I give a damn? I gave you your shot, remember? But you threw it away and pushed things between us past the breaking point. And now you've got the nerve to act like I should feel bad?"

Truth be told, she'd never cared much for the estate. Her own home suited her just fine.

But the day before, Hector had offhandedly mentioned a client with eyes on the property-and that was reason enough for her to swoop in and stake a claim on his behalf.

If not for that, she wouldn't have bothered tangling herself up with the Murrays again.

Remembering why she'd come, Leyla fixed them with an icy look. "I'm only here today'because of our history. If you'd shown a little courtesy, I might have let you keep some small cabin to live in. But clearly,that's unnecessary. When Dad promised me the property, I recorded it. With that proof, I can take it back entirely."

The Murrays turned ashen the moment they heard it.

"Leyla, how on earth can you be this shameless?!" Carl barked, his voice shaking with fury. Eliana let out a sharp, derisive scoff, inwardly marveling at Leyla's sheer ignorance of the law.Did she really believe that waving around a flimsy recording would be enough to seize the property? Gifts could be rescinded-had she truly never grasped such a basic principle? The thought was downright ridiculous.

Then again, perhaps Leyla did know better. Perhaps she simply assumed the Murray family,weakened as they were, would be easy prey, and that she could toss the law aside for a brazen, daylight grab.

Eliana was just parting her lips to speak when a deep, resonant voice rolled in from the doorway."Leyla Murray,your shamelessness is truly something to behold."

Eliana's gaze snapped in the direction of the sound, and her breath caught at the sight of a familiar,'striking face.

The man stood tall in a black shirt and perfectly tailored trousers, every movement steeped in the elegance of a nobleman. His features were cut with the precision of a sculptor's hand-handsome enough to steal attention in any room-yet it was the glacial sharpness in his gaze that commanded silence.

It was none other than Tristan.

For some reason,Eliana couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

Maybe it was the guilt of having deliberately concealed her identity from him that day.

But now she recognized the inevitable-there was no keeping it in the shadows.

Her head turned instinctively, as if avoiding his eyes could erase the truth. She prayed Tristan hadn't caught the flicker of recognition.

"Mr. Pearson?" Leyla's voice faltered, her composure slipping at the sight of him.

She hadn't expected him here of all places. The Murray family's fall from grace had been devastating, their welcome-home party for Eliana so sparsely attended. Why would someone of his elite position show up at a place like this?

In his presence, Leyla dared not be reckless. She forced a brittle smile, choosing her words with care. "Mr.Pearson, this is a private Murray family matter. Are you sure you want to get involved?" "Family matter?" His deep voice carried a razor's edge. "Excellent. Because the Murray family's matters are mine as well. Are you seriously unaware that l've been engaged to their little daughter all this time?"

Leyla's eyes flew wide as she blurted out, "What did you just say?"

She stood frozen, unable to fathom it. Surely she would have known something like this.

Sensing that Tristan was stepping in ontheir behalf, Stella wasted no time clarifying."Long before Tristan and Lia were even born, Mrs. Pearson and I made an agreement-that our children would marry once they were grown."

Leyla's complexion drained of color, disbelief tightening her features.

She couldn't fathom what she'd just heard. Not once had anyone breathed a word of this to her.

Had she known, there's no way the engagement would have ended up in Eliana's hands-a girl she dismissed as nothing more than a backwoods nobody.

With Eliana gone all those years, Leyla had stepped neatly into her place, confident it was hers to keep.

Now she saw it for what it was-Stella had deliberately kept her in the dark.

The people who claimed to have done so much for her had been quietly saving the real prize for Eliana all along. No wonder Eliana had the audacity to pose as a famed healer when Miguel's life hung by a thread.She hadn't been acting on sheer nerve-she'd been relying on the shield of her engagement to Tristan.

With everything clicking into place, Leyla realized she was in a tight spot.

For all her pride and education, she couldn't ignore the truth. The Murray family had reclaimed the estate by lawful means.

Even so, she had tried to take advantage of their current weakness to forcefully seize it.

But with Tristan now openly backing the Murray family, she could no longer make such a blatant grab without exposing herself.

Leyla's face stayed rigid, her voiceclipped with restrained irritation.. Pearson, since you've spoken, I'll honor your words.They can keep the estate."

Sawyer's jaw tightened as he countered sharply, "Keep it? The estate has always belonged to us!"

"That's right!" Carl shot back, his tone rising. "It might have been yours once, but you pawned it off to the court. From that moment, it stopped being yours entirely. Where do you get the gall to act like you're granting it to us?"

Leyla's glare swept over them, her chest tight with indignation, convinced she was staring at a pack of ungrateful parasites.

When she got back to Hector, she resolved to ask him to personally step in and wrest the property back on her behalf.

Drawing in a slow breath, she forced a breezy smile. "Why are you two nitpicking over every word? You're not novelists-must you be so exact? Fine, I take back what I said about letting you keep it. Happy now? No need to blow it out of proportion."

Her careless tone made Sawyer and Carl flush with rage, and their reddened faces gave her a flicker of satisfaction.

She turned to leave, already plotting a different way to reclaim the property once she came back.

But before she could take another step, a deep, weathered voice called from the doorway, laced with disdain. "Is this the woman you mean to marry?"

Leyla's back went rigid at the sound of the voice, its familiarity cutting through her like a blade.

She whipped her head around and found Miguel staring at her, eyes steeped in contempt.

Beyond him, the entire Clarke family-everyone but Khloe-stood in a tidy row at the doorway.

Even Hector, who had so often been her ally, now wore a grim frown.

"Hector.." she began, her tone edged with unease, ready to justify herself.

He strode forward, his face darkening, and spoke in a low, biting voice. "Just look at the mess you've made!" Her throat tightened with bitterness. "I was only doing it for you... You said yesterday that you had a client..."

"Shut up!" Hector cut her off through clenched teeth. "Even if I wanted this property, this isn't how to get it.I told you to see if they'd sell it tome, not storm in and try to seize it."

After all, if the client caught wind that the estate was taken by force, they'd surely back away from the deal.

Leyla's breath caught at his rebuke, panic flashing in her eyes. "I didn't realize at the time... but, Hector,everything I did was for you.."

"Hector! What are you wasting words on her for? Get over here, now!" Jeffry's voice rang out, sharp with command.

He had never harbored much fondness for Leyla-though that stemmed mostly from the bitter, long-standing feud between the Clarke and Murray families.

When it came to Leyla, he had nothing significant against her.

But after seeing her shamelessness laid bare today, there was no way he would ever permit someone like her to marry into the Clarke family.