Chapter 486: The Atmosphere in the Manor Grew Thick with Tension

The atmosphere in the manor grew thick with tension. A flicker of something unreadable passed through Sophia's eyes when she saw Lucas. She quickly averted her gaze, her voice barely a whisper. "Mr. Harrington... I... Could we speak privately?" Her tone was meek, almost fragile. Lucas hesitated for a brief moment. He set the document down. He walked toward the door. As he passed Sienna, he stopped. His voice was a low, serious rumble. "I will handle this. Do not forget my words to you."

Sienna frowned. His words? He had said so many things to her... Lucas turned to Sophia. "Follow me." He led the way toward the koi pond in the garden. Sophia offered Sienna a small, polite nod before trailing after him. Sienna watched them go, a strange unease coiling in her stomach. She could sense it. Lucas's interaction with this woman was different. The way he looked at her was unusual. His entire demeanor was off. There was history there. A story she did not know.

The image of his broad back leading the way, with her small, delicate figure following behind, was striking. It looked like a scene of a protector and his charge. It felt intimate. Sienna's hand tightened on the doorframe.

By the koi pond, they were alone. Lucas stood with one hand in his pocket, his posture rigid and imposing. He said nothing, simply waiting. Sophia stood behind him, wringing her hands nervously. Finally, she found her voice. "Mr. Harrington... I wouldn't have come if I had any other choice. I know I wronged you all those years ago..."

Back then, they were not officially together. Yet he was always there. Protecting her. Helping her. His world was sterile then. Just work, study, business deals. She had promised to show him a different life. The simple joys. The vibrant chaos of street food stalls. The beauty in small, everyday moments. But the very next day after making that promise, she took the money. She left Kingsport without a word.

Sophia hung her head in shame. "I know five million was too much for someone like me. Taking it was degrading. But my grandmother... she was sick. Kidney failure. The treatment costs were astronomical. I had no other options. And I knew I was never good enough for you. Being with me would have only brought you trouble. So I..." Lucas remained silent. His back was a cold, unreadable wall.

Her voice grew hoarse with emotion. "I planned to never return. To stay away forever. But my grandmother passed five years ago... Her final wish was to be buried in her homeland. She didn't want to rest in a foreign place. She begged me every day to bring her home. I couldn't let her soul be restless. I had to bring her ashes back to Kingsport."

"I know you've built a new life. I never intended to disrupt it. I never meant to break my promise to Ms. Duval or your mother. But... you know my history. I was an orphan. My parents abandoned me as a child. My grandmother raised me alone. When I returned with her ashes, I found them. My parents. They had come back. It turns out they were captured. Forced into slave labor at illegal brick kilns. Their captors only released them when they were completely broken. Used up..."

Tears welled in Sophia's red-rimmed eyes. "After Grandma died, they were all I had left. I couldn't just leave them here. But the five million... it was all spent on her medical bills. I had nothing left to take them away, to start over somewhere else. So I had to stay. I've been here in Kingsport for the past five years."

Lucas's expression darkened with each word she spoke. A jolt went through him at the phrase 'five years ago'. His hand clenched inside his pocket. Five years. She returned five years ago. The timeline aligned perfectly. Was it true, then? Was she the one? Was Noah truly her son? His son? Was Sophia Prescott the woman from that fateful night?