BOUND TO My EX'S UNCLE

The Hayes family mansion felt like a tomb as Evelyn pushed through the heavy front doors. Her stepmother's shrill voice called from the living room

"Evelyn? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

Evelyn didn't even slow down or glance her way. Her target was her father's study.

She climbed the marble staircase, her heels clicking against each step like a countdown. When she reached the heavy wooden door, she didn't bother knocking. She shoved it open so hard it hit the wall.

Her father, Richard Hayes, looked up from his computer with irritation. "Evelyn? What's the meaning of this?"

"I'm calling off the engagement." Her voice came out steady, and controlled. "I won't marry Nathan."

Richard's face darkened. "Excuse me? What is this nonsense you're spilling about?"

"I found him with Maya. In his bed. She's pregnant with his child."

She waited for shock. For anger on her behalf. For some sign that her father cared about her pain.

Instead, Richard leaned back in his chair and sighed like she'd just told him about bad weather.

"And?"

The single word hit her like a slap. "And? Dad, he cheated on me. With your stepdaughter. She's carrying his baby."

"Do you have proof?"

"I saw them together! I heard them talking about it!"

Richard stood up, straightening his tie. "Evelyn, you're being emotional. The merger with Sinclair Industries is worth hundreds of million dollars. I'm not throwing that away because you think you heard something."

"Think I heard?" Her voice cracked. "Dad, she's three months pregnant. Three months! While I was planning our wedding, he was sleeping with my stepsister!"

"Even if that's true," Richard said coldly, "it doesn't change anything. The contracts are already drawn up. The board is expecting this business merger together."

Evelyn stared at him. This man who was supposed to protect her. Who was supposed to love her more than anyone else in the world.

"You don't care," she whispered. "You don't care what he did to me."

"I care about this family's future. And that future depends on this marriage happening."

"What if I refuse?"

Richard's smile was cruel. "Then you'll be cut off from this family. No trust fund, no inheritance, no place in this family. You'll have nothing."

The threat hung in the air between them. Evelyn felt something break inside her chest, not her heart this time, but something deeper. The last bit of hope she'd carried that her father might choose her over money.

"You're not my daughter when you act like this," Richard continued. "You're being selfish and childish. Maya is pregnant, yes, but these things can be managed quietly. Nathan will marry you as planned."

"Managed quietly?" Evelyn's voice rose. "You want me to marry him knowing he loves someone else? Knowing he got my stepsister pregnant?"

"I want you to do your duty to this family."

The words were like ice cold water in her veins. Duty?. That's all she'd ever been to him.

"No." The word came out stronger than she felt.

Richard's hand moved so fast she didn't see it coming. The slap sent her stumbling backward, her cheek exploding with pain.

"You will do as you're told," he said quietly.

Evelyn touched her burning cheek, tasting blood where she'd bitten her tongue. She looked at her father, she really looked at him well,

and saw a stranger.

"I hate you," she whispered.

She turned and walked out, her legs shaking but her spine straight. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the front door opened.

Maya walked in, practically glowing with satisfaction. When she saw Evelyn's red, swollen cheek, her smile widened.

"Daddy didn't take the news well?" Maya asked sweetly.

Evelyn stopped walking. "Stay away from me."

"Oh, I don't think so." Maya stepped closer, lowering her voice. "You see, I've been planning this for years. Taking Nathan was just the beginning."

"Planning what?"

"Taking everything from you." Maya's hand rested on her small bump, still flat and barely showing. "Your fiancé, your father's love, your place in this family. Soon you'll have nothing left."

Evelyn's hand clenched into a fist. "You think you've won?"

"I know I have. Nathan chose me. Your father chose me. Even your own mother would have chosen me if she'd lived to see what a disappointment you turned out to be."

The mention of her mother was too much. Evelyn's fist connected with Maya's nose before she could think twice.

Maya screamed, stumbling backward as blood poured between her fingers. "You psycho! I'm pregnant!"

"You should have thought of that before you opened your mouth."

Car doors slammed outside. Nathan burst through the front door, his eyes wild with panic. When he saw Maya bleeding, his face went white.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted at Evelyn. "She's carrying my baby!"

Evelyn looked at him, this man she'd loved for three years, this man she'd planned to spend her life with-and felt absolutely nothing.

"Your baby," she repeated. "Not mine. So not my problem."

"Evelyn, we need to talk-"

"No, we don't." She walked toward the door, then stopped. "By the way, Nathan? The merger you're so worried about? It's off. My father can threaten me all he wants, but he can't make me sign the marriage papers. Good luck explaining that to your grandfather."

She continued walking away, then stopped for a while, turning around slightly over her shoulder to gaze at them. "And Nathan, Just wait. I promise you, I will destroy everything in your life."

With those final words, she walked away.

Nathan stood frozen for a moment, watching her go. A cold shiver ran down his spine. He had never seen that look in Evelyn's eyes before. It wasn't the hurt of a betrayed woman; it was the cold promise of a storm. But he quickly brushed it off. 'She's just upset,' he told himself. 'What can she possibly do?'

"Nathan, my nose!" Maya's whimper broke his thoughts. He looked down to see blood still trickling through her fingers.

"Right, sorry, baby," he said, helping her to her feet. He led her, sobbing, into the house.

The moment they stepped inside, a shrill voice cried out in alarm."My baby! What happened to you?"

Claire, Maya's mother, rushed over with concern. She was a beautiful woman in her forties, but her eyes held a calculating intelligence that made her dangerous.

"It was that psychotic bitch, Evelyn!" Maya cried, leaning into her mother's embrace.

Claire gasped dramatically, guiding Maya to the sofa. "Someone bring the first aid kit immediately!" She ordered the household staff.

As Claire gently cleaned the blood from Maya's face, she looked between Nathan and her daughter with sharp, assessing eyes. "Now, tell me everything. What exactly did Evelyn do? And why?"

Nathan ran a hand through his hair, looking genuinely stressed for the first time. "Mrs. Hayes, I've... I've made a serious mistake. Evelyn found out about Maya and me."

Claire placed a perfectly manicured hand over her heart, acting shocked. "What? You and Maya? Oh, my... Nathan, I had no idea this was going on!"

"It's true, Mom," Maya sniffled prettily. "We're in love. He was only with Evelyn because of the family engagement arrangement."

"I see," Claire said, sighing deeply as if burdened by this terrible news. She patted Nathan's arm. "I understand, dear. These things happen sometimes. But for Evelyn to attack a pregnant woman... she's clearly become unstable."

"Exactly!" Nathan agreed, feeling validated. "I've never seen her like this before."

"But what are we going to do?" Maya asked, her voice trembling with perfectly calculated fear. "Evelyn will tell everyone about us. Your grandfather will be furious, Nathan. He might even cut you off!"

A slow, cunning smile spread across Claire's face. "Then we must make sure she can't be believed. In fact, we must make sure she's the one who looks guilty."

Nathan and Maya leaned in, intrigued by what she was about to say

She continued . "What if we catch Evelyn in a compromising position? We create evidence, photographs, or recordings, that show she's the one being unfaithful. We can use it to call off the engagement ourselves, before she can open her mouth to spread her lies."

Nathan's eyes lit up with understanding. "Make her look like the cheater..."