Unspoken Truths

The moment Chloe practically galloped into the grand living room, the suffocating, heavy atmosphere hanging over the Vance manor shattered. The oppressive silence broke the instant her heels clicked sharply against the polished mahogany floor. All eyes immediately snapped toward the grand archway. Donovan trailed just a few steps behind her, his tall frame casting a long, commanding shadow across the entryway. The family butler quickly stepped forward, silently taking their heavy winter coats.

“You are back.”

Helena sprang up from the plush velvet couch the second she saw them. She approached Chloe with cautious, anxious steps and gently took her daughter-in-law's hand. She scanned Chloe's face, her eyes darting back and forth, frantically searching for any sign of devastation or tears.

Edmund remained seated in his oversized leather armchair. He maintained his stoic dignity as the patriarch of the family, but the deep, tense lines bracketing his mouth betrayed his underlying anxiety. The Vance elders had spent the entire afternoon bracing for the worst-case scenario. After the explosive rumors of Chloe's catastrophic mistake at the company earlier today, they fully anticipated a messy, finalized divorce.

To make matters worse, they were already walking on eggshells. Their eldest daughter, Vivian, had arrived unannounced in a flustered panic. She brought along her domineering husband, Gideon Fowler, and his sharp-tongued mother, Martha. Sitting stiffly beside Martha was a frail, timid young boy clutching a colorful Rubik's cube in his trembling hands.

Before anyone could ease into a comfortable greeting or offer a polite smile, a raspy, condescending voice sliced through the tension.

“I thought they were divorced? Why on earth did they come back home together?”

Martha sneered from her seat on the loveseat, her weathered face contorting with overt disdain. The air in the room instantly turned ice-cold.

“Mom!” Vivian pleaded softly, her face flushing with embarrassment.

Her voice lacked any real forcefulness, reflecting a lifetime of gentle, high-society upbringing that left her tragically ill-equipped for her mother-in-law's crude hostility. She cast a desperate, apologetic glance toward Chloe. Beside her, Gideon sat in silence. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and simply allowed his mother to speak out of turn, perfectly content to let her humiliate the Vance family in their own home.

Donovan frowned deeply. He stepped up beside Chloe, his imposing presence demanding the room's attention.

“We are not divorced, so naturally, we came home together.”

His icy, unwavering composure sent a massive wave of instant relief crashing over Edmund and Helena. They exchanged a swift look of sheer delight. Their son's marriage was still intact. However, Martha refused to drop the subject, eager to draw blood.

“But the rumors about her making a massive mistake have spread everywhere in high society. Everyone knows what she did.”

Martha pressed on aggressively, desperate to undermine Chloe and strip away her pride. Donovan's eyes darkened, ready to shut the old woman down, but Chloe beat him to the punch.

“Since when is the Fowler family considered part of high society? Are you suddenly privy to exclusive insider news now?”

Chloe met the older woman's venomous gaze head-on, delivering the scathing retort without missing a beat. The Fowler family was an ordinary household at best. They only managed to scrape together a bit of wealth because Gideon showed some talent in the medical field. They had recently established a private hospital, but that was strictly bankrolled by the Vance family's deep pockets and extensive connections. They were miles away from the elite circles.

Martha's face drained of color, turning a sickly, ashen gray. Her frail shoulders trembled with raw rage at being called out so bluntly.

“What did you just say? You uneducated, ill-mannered child! How dare you insult us!”

Martha spat the words, her voice shaking uncontrollably.

Chloe offered a cold, mocking smile. She refused to back down an inch.

“True. No one ever taught me how to stoop to a lower level like you.”

While Chloe maintained her relatively calm and collected exterior, her mind erupted into a roaring tempest of vicious, scathing remarks.

*You call me uneducated like you are some beacon of high culture? You are a delusional old hag! You insulted me and cursed at me every single chance you got in the past! You even had the audacity to try and introduce Donovan to some random girl from your extended family while we were married! You sure are delusional for an ugly old bat!*

A sudden, profound wave of astonishment ripped through the Vance family.

Donovan, Edmund, Helena, and Vivian all froze in place. Their bodies went stiff and rigid. They stared at Chloe in sheer, unadulterated bewilderment.

Did she just speak?

No. Her lips were pressed firmly together in that tight, mocking smile. She had not made a single sound. Yet, that string of vicious curses had echoed crystal clear inside their heads, ringing with the exact pitch and tone of Chloe's voice.

Edmund gripped the armrests of his leather chair, his knuckles turning white. Helena gasped softly, exchanging a wild, panicked glance with her husband. They realized they were not losing their minds—they had both heard the exact same sentences. They looked toward Donovan for confirmation. Donovan narrowed his eyes and gave his parents a sharp, almost imperceptible shake of his head. He realized they were now sharing a bizarre, collective telepathic link with his wife. He needed them to stay quiet and not panic.

“Chloe, you...”

Vivian blurted out, her eyes wide with shock as the supernatural phenomenon overwhelmed her senses. She stared at Chloe like she was looking at a ghost.

“Viv!”

Donovan snapped, shooting his sister a sharp, piercing look of warning. He silently demanded she keep her mouth shut and not expose the mind-reading secret to the oblivious Fowlers.

However, the dynamic in the room was a chaotic mess. Gideon, blissfully oblivious to the telepathic link connecting the Vance bloodline, interpreted Donovan's sharp warning as a command for Vivian to stay out of the catfight. Irritated by the escalating situation, Gideon shot an icy, oppressive glare at his wife. His cold eyes silently demanded she control her family and put an end to this embarrassing spectacle.

Caught agonizingly between her aggressive husband's silent threats and the surreal, terrifying reality of hearing Chloe's inner thoughts, Vivian withered into the sofa cushions.

“Mom, please do not be mad. Chloe is just young. She does not mean any harm.”

Vivian weakly attempted to placate Martha.

Her frail defense only earned a harsher, demeaning reproach from Gideon. He sneered at her clumsy handling of the conflict, his disappointment rolling off him in suffocating waves that made Vivian shrink even further.

Now fully privy to the internal monologue detailing how deeply and cruelly Martha had wronged Chloe in the past, Edmund and Helena felt a fierce surge of protective anger. They had always treated Chloe as one of their own, considering her strong ties to the Mercer family. To hear that this bitter old woman had been secretly tormenting their daughter-in-law behind their backs sparked a fiery indignation in their chests.

*We never knew she was so vicious to Chloe in private. Trying to set Donovan up with another woman while they are married? How shameless! They can forget about forcing a divorce on our watch!*

Helena decided she had entertained the Fowlers long enough. She aggressively dismissed Martha's complaints, refusing to give the older woman an inch of ground.

“That is quite enough, Martha. Please forgive my daughter-in-law. Do not hold it against her. She is just having a stressful day.”

Helena's tone was dismissive and heavily biased. She offered no real apology, practically insulting Martha all over again by brushing off her outrage as irrelevant. The Fowlers choked on their anger, but they dared not argue with the matriarch of the Vance family in her own territory.

Martha muttered under her breath about ungrateful hosts, sinking back into her seat with an awkward, humiliated scowl.

Having effectively silenced the nuisance, Helena pivoted her attention entirely to Chloe. Her demeanor shifted from icy matriarch to a warmly doting mother in the blink of an eye. She took Chloe's hand again, her voice softening into a gentle croon.

“You are back so late, Coco. Have you had dinner yet?”

Chloe felt a sudden shiver trace its way down her spine. The intimate nickname caught her off guard. As an orphan, she rarely experienced such raw, unfiltered maternal affection.

*Helena is so nice. I really love how she treats me.*

Hearing that genuine mental praise echo in her mind, Helena practically glowed. Her heart soared with pure joy. Chloe usually kept a polite, emotional distance from them. Knowing that her daughter-in-law harbored such sweet affection for her made Helena want to spoil her even more.

When Chloe shook her head to indicate she was hungry, Helena immediately turned toward the kitchen hallway.

“Rosa! Prepare all of Coco's favorite meals right now. Make sure the dishes are fresh!”

Helena barked the order to the bustling kitchen staff. She patted Chloe's hand, glaring pointedly at her own son.

“I must apologize for Donovan. He should have brought you home much earlier to eat. You must be starving.”

Donovan let out a flat, exhausted breath.

“Mom, I have not eaten dinner either.”

Helena waved her hand dismissively, treating her own flesh and blood as a mere afterthought.

“Rosa, prepare a side portion for Mr. Donovan as well.”

Donovan closed his eyes, thoroughly speechless at his mother's blatant favoritism. Chloe fought back a grin, biting the inside of her cheek to suppress a laugh when she caught Donovan's unamused stare.

A moment later, Edmund reached across the low mahogany coffee table. He gently slid a fresh, beautifully arranged fruit platter directly in front of Chloe.

“Have some fresh fruit first while you wait.”

Chloe picked up a slice of melon, her inner voice humming with pure satisfaction.

*Edmund is such a deeply caring man. They really are such a loving couple. It is rare to see a marriage this strong in their circle.*

Edmund, usually the stoic, unreadable head of the family, suddenly sat up a little straighter. His chest puffed out. He beamed with immense, undeniable pride, a rare smile cracking through his stern features. Hearing his daughter-in-law admire his character and his marriage was the ultimate compliment.

Hearing Chloe’s bright inner thoughts momentarily lifted Vivian’s crushed spirits. A small, fleeting smile touched her lips as she watched her parents dote on her sister-in-law. However, the heavy, suffocating glares from Gideon and Martha quickly dragged her back down into misery. She kept her head bowed, shrinking away from her husband's controlling, disappointed presence. He made her feel as though her family was neglecting her on purpose, even though Vivian knew her parents were simply protecting Chloe.

Donovan stood quietly near the sofa, his sharp eyes catching every micro-expression in the room. He noticed his sister’s quiet, painful predicament. He saw the way Gideon systematically broke her down with just a calculating look. Deciding to shift the family's attention away from the current battlefield, Donovan moved his focus to the mysterious figure sitting beside Martha.

He studied the frail, timid young boy. The child had remained dead silent through the shouting match, his eyes glued to the plastic toy in his hands. Donovan's gaze locked onto the Rubik's cube. The colors were nearly perfectly aligned. A complex puzzle, almost solved by a trembling, anxious kid.

*He looks incredibly frail, almost like he suffers from a severe inferiority complex,* Donovan analyzed silently. *But looking at that nearly solved cube, I bet he is exceptionally intelligent. Nate and I used to enjoy playing with those when we were kids.*

Recalling the thick web of unspoken secrets echoing in the room, and the frantic panic in Vivian's voice on the phone earlier, Donovan zeroed in on the strange, uncomfortable dynamic. The Fowlers had brought a child into the Vance manor without any prior notice, sparking a massive family conflict. He needed to force Gideon to reveal his hand.

Recalling the unspoken secrets echoing in the room, he asked, “Who is this child?”