Shattered Rose He Held On Tight novel Chapter 168

Chapter 168 Donovan’s Real Legacy

Everyone who walked into this family got corrupted eventually.

Finished

“The storm in this family doesn’t stop just because one or two people want it to. Ms. Lancaster, why wade into these muddy waters? If it’s protection you’re after, even the strongest house will one day fall.”

Claudia’s voice was calm but clear. “If there’s a storm, you build a boat. And if the house falls, well… then it gives you space to build a better one. You’ve got it wrong. I’m not here to swim in the Romeros‘ river. I’m here because Sterling just happens to be in it.”

A rotting house collapsing meant nothing to her. Sterling’s Romero had never been their Romero.

And she had stepped onto his ship by choice.

Her response caught Fiona off guard.

Everything about Claudia’s words–her certainty, her lack of fear–was unexpected. For the first time, Fiona actually seemed intrigued. She studied Claudia with a new kind of gaze—one that carried curiosity, and maybe the urge to share.

She smiled faintly. “You and Sterling … You’re both nothing like the rest of this manor.”

When Claudia didn’t respond, Fiona’s smile deepened slightly. “Want to know what Waylon said to his father upstairs?”

Upstairs, in the study, Sterling coldly ordered everyone crowding the door to leave.

Once the room cleared and the air was breathable again, he glanced toward Donovan, who had collapsed and was now sitting in a chair, eyes shut, chest heaving. Waylon stood over him, and Sterling went straight to the bookshelf, pulled open a drawer, and grabbed a bottle of fast- acting heart medication Donovan frequently used. He slipped one into Donovan’s mouth and made sure he took it.

Still, with his health in this state, the old man clearly needed to get to a hospital.

Sterling didn’t have to say a word, Donovan’s oh–so–devoted sons and grandsons had already rushed off to call the driver and prep the car.

As Donovan was helped out of the study, pale and shaken, Macy narrowed her eyes and turned to her brother, suspicion flaring. “What did you say to Dad?”

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11:40 Fri, Oct 10 d

Chapter 168 Donovan’s Real Legacy

Waylon stood still, expression unreadable. He didn’t answer.

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Finished

Irritated, Macy’s eyes shifted to the terrified maid huddled in the corner. “If he won’t say it, you do,” she snapped.

The maid’s lips trembled. She glanced at Waylon. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again, but not a single word came out.

Sterling looked over at her, voice low and firm. “What did you hear? Say it.”

Being stared at by those cold, heavy eyes, the maid flinched and finally began to stammer out her story.

“I–I pushed open the study door and saw Mr. Romero lying on the floor, and Mr. Waylon standing nearby. But … but right before I went in, I heard…” She snuck a glance at Waylon, then quickly looked down. “I heard him say, ‘You were never a real father to Freddie, and now you want him to just stand there and watch his mother die?“”

The moment the words left her mouth, a crack of thunder split the sky outside, lighting up the entire house.

Inside, the Romeros froze as if struck themselves.

Freddie—the nickname for Waylon and Fiona’s only son, Frederick.

Everyone turned to Waylon in disbelief.

There had only been two people in that room, so it was obvious who that line had been directed at.

Absurd.

That was the first word that crossed every mind.

No wonder Donovan had collapsed from the shock. His grandson turns out to be his son? Anyone would be shaken.

Sterling gave Waylon one last glance, then looked back to the maid. His voice was calm but firm. “Go rest. And whatever you heard tonight, keep it to yourself.”

Macy stared at Waylon, stunned, and beneath the shock, there was something deeper. Something she couldn’t even name.

Cheated on for decades, and the other man was their own father. Waylon just accepted it? Like it was nothing?

That kid had to be around the same age as Simon, Leon’s son.

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