Chapter 269

Dominic Reeves still refused to speak to Genevieve Sinclair, and she could only sigh. "If you're unwilling to talk to me, I'll just go."

"I see. You'd be so indifferent even after your son was in an accident," Dominic finally spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Didn't I come here to see you?" she snapped.

"Yeah! It must've been such an inconvenience to fit me into your busy schedule." He had never been this disrespectful to his mother before, but Dominic was seething, and she was the only one he could lash out at.

When people hit rock bottom, they usually had someone to lean on—but Dominic had no one.

"Dominic! How dare you speak to me like that?" Genevieve's tone turned sharp. "You know exactly how hard my life has been all these years, yet I've always done everything I could to help you. Ask yourself—haven't I always been there when you needed me? Yes, this time, I made a mistake. But that doesn't give you the right to treat me this way!"

Dominic immediately sobered under her reprimand. He turned to look at her. She was still elegant, still poised. Even in her later years, with faint lines marking her face, she carried herself with grace. It was clear she had lived well after remarrying.

"Mother, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that," he muttered.

Genevieve exhaled in resignation. "It's fine. I know you're upset because of your injuries. And I saw the news report about your accident—that street wasn't narrow at all, and it was empty when it happened. How could you have been hit by a car?"

Dominic didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, "Mother, what’s your relationship with Lucien Dubois?"

Genevieve stiffened. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. You were the one who introduced him to me, after all," Dominic replied carefully.

"I met him by chance. I helped him once, and he owed me a favor. When I heard you were in trouble, I brought him in because of his reputation abroad. Did something happen because of him?" She pieced the timeline together quickly.

"You're saying you barely knew him, that he wasn’t a friend—yet you still sent him my way?" Dominic pressed, his tone edged with accusation.

Genevieve’s expression darkened. "What are you implying? Are you blaming me for this? I introduced him to help you clean up your mess. Was he not useful? Did he not have the skills? Why does it matter if he was a friend or not, as long as he could help?"

"Oh, he was helpful, all right," Dominic scoffed bitterly. "He even helped my fiancée with her needs."

Lucien had been introduced by his mother—and had ended up in bed with Vanessa Blake.

Dominic should have stopped them from going to Silverpine Valley together. Silverpine Valley. The realization hit him like a truck. Lucien had been interested in Vanessa from the start. Dominic had sensed something off back then and tried to keep Vanessa away, but she hadn’t listened. They had been sneaking around behind his back for who knew how long.

And he had been the biggest fool—flying all the way there to protect her when she was alone in Silverpine Valley.