Lucinda’s complaints.

''Mark, how could you leave like that? That was the perfect moment to ask for custody of Ayana and Jason!" Lucinda exclaimed, her frustration spilling out of control as soon as the family of three got into the black SUV.

Such sight was not new to the driver, and so he discreetly raised the partition, giving the couple privacy to have their regular arguments. He definitely did not want to involved in this couple's argument and calmly turned the key in the ignition.

The vehicle swiftly drove out of the Mansion.

Meanwhile, Arabella silently averted her gaze from her parents without care and stared at the passing scenery beyond tinted window.

She inwardly agreed with her mother's words. Why had her father chosen to back down? With the attorneys present, it had been the perfect opportunity for him to demand custody of her cousins.

'I wanted to teach that orphan a lesson.' She gritted slightly and her eyes narrowed in anger. Arabella had not forgotten the humiliation she suffered from her cousin.

To think she, the Arabella Kingston, was talked down by a twelve-year-old…an orphan no less!

'It's strange though.' Her eyes flickered with suspicions. Why had her cousin behaved differently from before? Ayana was not one to behave distantly from herself and her mother.

'She didn't even call me Elder sister.' Arabella suddenly realized, recalling that her cousin had even called herself by her name.

''Perfect? Tell me exactly what was perfect about that situation Lucinda?!'' Unaware of their daughter's thoughts, Mark glared pointedly at his wife. ''If you hadn't brought up that servant, Ayana wouldn't be suspicious about us!'' His voice bellowed angrily.

Of course, Mark blamed everything on his wife. If she hadn't sided with that Madam May at the beginning, perhaps his niece wouldn't be so distant from them.

He had even tried to mellow the situation by suggesting that he and his wife could help some affairs of the family. However, Ayana had calmly ignored his suggestion, and turned him down without hesitation.

She even indicated that the Nanny and the Attorneys were better adults than them—her relatives!

"She's suspicious of us? She trusted us over that lowly servant, Mark! Didn't you see that?" Sometimes Lucinda could not understand her husband's overly cautious nature.

Ayana had not even mentioned a word about Madam May's claims, meaning that she naturally believed them. How did her husband arrive at the conclusion that she suspected them?

''Besides, I was trying help you, Mark! How come it is always my fault when something does not go right?!'' Lucinda teared up, wanting to shed her woes. Her husband had revealed how Madam May was the key to having spies in her late brother-in-law's Mansion, and she naturally thought of helping him when Madam May had reported about her unexpected dismissal.

Lucinda hated how her husband blamed her when things were not in his favor. Couldn't he see that she always had his best interests at heart?

She had given him two children, even though one was sickly. She had also managed the family and boosted his reputation. Couldn't he give her one credit for all the things she had done for him?

'If I had given birth to a healthy son, would things have been different?' Lucinda suddenly wondered, remembering how her late brother-in-law had always respected and pampered his wife, even before Jason had been born.

This was one of the reasons why she envied and hated her younger sister-in-law. If it wasn't that there was an age gap between herself and her late brother-in-law, her family wouldn't have settled an arranged marriage with Mark.

Perhaps recalling her late younger sister-in-law, Lucinda suddenly remembered that the latter had been drugged with teratogen. Her heart chilled, knowing that the man by her side was responsible for that.

No wonder she heard that her younger sister-in-law had a difficult pregnancy. It must be because of that drug.

Although her husband had often confided in her as his wife, Lucinda knew there were still things he kept hidden from her.

Her stomach churned at the thought of the man sleeping by her pillow poisoning a pregnant woman with that drug.

Lucinda was very sensitive to pregnancy since the doctor had revealed that it would be hard for to have a third child. Arabella, her second child, had been nothing short of a miracle to her.

And to think her husband had tried to harm a developing life, fully aware how she cherished the feeling of being pregnant once more.

She did not expect him to have been that cruel.

Mark, on the other hand, did not care of his wife's sudden silence, and simply ignored her. He was greatly relieved when he did not have to hear her screeching voice again.

From his point of view, Ayana had begun suspecting his family, perhaps from that time of the funeral. He didn't even know when her suspicions started or what she had found out on her own, but Mark was already convince that niece had gradually distanced herself from them.

Though, he did not understand why she had not asked them about Madam May's claim. Perhaps she still had trust in them, or was there something else that he missed?

He should reach out to his spies some time and order them to watch the girl carefully.

'I should prepare for the upcoming board meeting and convince the shareholders.' Mark settled his immediate concerns for now and thought of the board meeting in the new week. He recognized this as his golden opportunity to secure the position as president of Kingston Corporation.

He couldn't afford to miss it and let that position fall in the hands of an outsider!

Mark's gaze darkened at the memory of his late father pushing him aside, favoring his younger brother, even though he was the firstborn.

The bitterness of that rejection still burned deep within him even after so many years. That was the reason why had schemed to get rid of his younger brother's son when he hadn't been born yet, since a son would naturally be the heir and next president of the Kingston corporation.

'Once I convince all of them, Ayana wouldn't resist me any longer.' Mark was self-assured that the shareholders of the Kingston corporation would favor someone like himself over a one-year-old who hadn't even spoken a word yet.

Not only had he bribed a few key figures, but his solid reputation and years of experience as a Managing director in the Kingston Corporation made him an obvious choice over a mere child.

His niece also wouldn't have a choice other than to accept him as her new guardian despite her suspicions.

Mark was very confident about everything falling into his favor, until the day of the board meeting at the second topmost floor of the Kingston corporation.

The sight of a familiar girl clad in a corporate wear that did not seem overly mature for her age, but rather fitting for her small size, stunned him. Her hair was styled into a sleek bun.

Mark looked at her smiling hazel eyes that resembled his, and also his late younger brother.

Someone should tell him exactly what his niece was doing here in the board room of the Kingston corporation?

And also seated confidently in the president's chair at that!