Damien drove in silence, dropping Penelope and her mother at the Wellington estate before continuing back to Sterling Manor with his grandfather. The quiet was heavy, thick with unspoken tension. Don Sterling was the first to break it.
"You've made me proud today," he said, his voice filled with satisfaction. "Stepping up and making Penelope happy."
Damien's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Someone who didn't know our relationship would think Penelope was your biological granddaughter and I was just an outsider."
"You!" Don shrieked, his voice sharp with anger.
"I'm tired, Grandpa," Damien said, the exhaustion clear in his voice. "I'm really tired."
Don said nothing, the words hanging in the air. In his mind, he saw pictures of Sarah. She would never do anything to harm Damien, he thought. He then asked himself, Am I harming him by forcing him to marry Penelope? He knew he was wrong to push this marriage on his grandson, but there was a battle going on in his head—the company's success versus his grandson's happiness. His old, stubborn mind believed he could have both.
That night, Damien stayed at Sterling Manor. He tried calling Sarah, but her phone was off. He called Marco to ask about the investigation, but Marco had no further leads. "The trail went cold," Marco said.
Damien's jaw tightened. He was convinced there was a connection, a hidden link between Sarah's forgotten past and the powerful Rossi family. He just needed to find the thread that would unravel the mystery. Damien then told Marco to come back to the manor and keep an eye on the old man for a while. Marco understood.
Damien kept thinking about Sarah. He remembered Vance's words. Was he pushing Sarah away by hiding the truth? Should he tell her about the old man, the marriage he was being forced into, and his inability to refuse because he was afraid of making his grandfather angry and losing him? His grandfather was old; his health was deteriorating. He had already caused one heart attack and wasn't going to risk another. He couldn't just ignore his grandfather's wishes, especially now. But Sarah… if he lost Sarah, then his life would truly have no meaning. He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.
Meanwhile, Sarah was talking to Matilda late into the night. When she finally went to bed, she was also restless, her mind jumping from Damien to his grandfather, from moments of tenderness to feelings of betrayal. She loved him; she had never felt this way for anyone. But she couldn't forgive him for hiding the truth. No matter how hard it was to speak, she would rather hear it from him. She decided to give him two days to confess everything. If he didn't, she would forever remove herself from his world.
When she finally fell asleep, she had a strange dream. She was a little girl walking around an old playground. There was a set of red swings. She climbed up on one and fell, hitting her head. Blood ran down her face, staining her eye. Then, a boy came out of nowhere. He found her and began yelling for help. "Bella… somebody help. Help! Help!" She woke up in a sweat. Was this just a dream or a fragment of a memory?
Sam's Intervention
Sam arrived at the Wellington family's mansion to find his grandparents had arrived from abroad. They were sitting with Thomas, Evelyn, and Penelope, discussing Penelope's upcoming engagement party.
His grandmother, Ethel, was thrilled to see him, and his grandfather, Samuel, beamed with pride. It was clear that his grandparents loved him dearly.
"Were you working in the company this late? Is it always like that?" Samuel asked.
"Actually, Grandpa, I was with a friend and her aunt, and I lost track of time," Sam replied.
"What friend?" his grandmother asked, curious. Then she leaned in and whispered, "Is it that pretty girl I saw you sitting with in the hospital hallway?"
Sam whispered back, "You saw that, Grandma?" He looked at her, shocked, then beamed at her and said, "Yes."
"What are you two whispering about? Let us hear it too," Samuel said.
"Nothing."
"About that friend…" Samuel pressed.
"I'll introduce her to you when the time comes. She's busy lately," Sam said, laughing it off.
"You should spend more time with your family rather than entertaining other people's relatives," Thomas spoke disapprovingly.
"And you should spend less time forcing your daughter on Damien Sterling," Sam shot back.
"How dare you talk to me like that?" Thomas's anger was visible on his face.
"Do you seriously think Damien Sterling is happy to marry Penelope? He's doing this because he doesn't want to piss off the old man. Did you know that the first time he refused, the old Sterling had a heart attack?" Sam laughed sarcastically. "Damien Sterling will never treat your daughter with respect and love because he will never have any genuine feelings for her."
That infuriated Thomas. His wife tried to calm him down.
"Sam, you're heartless," Penelope said, her voice filled with tears.
"If honesty means having no heart, then I am definitely heartless," Sam said. "But you, you should come down from that throne you've placed yourself on in your head." He then turned to his family members. "You're all pathetic. You're selling your own daughter. For what? Your ambitions? More money, more power, more connections? Which one is it? Oh, I forgot—with Damien Sterling, it's all of it. Instead of questioning me, question yourselves and how far you're willing to go to ruin your precious little brainless daughter's life."
Thomas fell onto the couch, his wife giving him his high blood pressure medication. Penelope cried, saying, "Daddy, don't listen to him."
His grandfather yelled, "How could we give birth to such a stupid son?" The old man was angry at Thomas. He ordered Evelyn and Penelope to take Thomas to his room.
Ethel just sat there, disappointed. Thomas and Evelyn didn't love their son; they only had Penelope in their eyes. After all, Sam was an orphan Samuel and Ethel had adopted because their grandson had died. They were the only ones who truly loved and supported Sam, and they were the ones who had placed the decision-making power of the company into Sam's hands as soon as he finished college. This alliance with the Sterling family was exactly what Thomas needed to regain his power and position in the Wellington family. Both Ethel and Samuel knew their son and his schemes. But Sam... He was nothing like them; he was raised right by his grandparents. Over the years, they'd watched him being belittled by Thomas and Evelyn and would always try to calm the situation down and protect Sam. But now it was clear to them that if the Sterling marriage alliance was formed, Sam might be in trouble because Thomas would certainly try to take over the power. But if Damien didn't want this marriage alliance, then Thomas's attempts to take Sam down wouldn't come to fruition.
Thomas, Evelyn, and Penelope entered the room. They had placed him on the bed and started talking among themselves.
"Did you see that little bastard and the way he spoke to your father?" Evelyn said.
"Yes. I can't wait for or dad to take charge of our family and our company, Mother," Penelope replied.
"Just wait until you marry Damien. I will use him to get rid of that orphan from the company and the family, Everything will be ours in the future." Thomas said.
"But Daddy, he was right. Damien hates me," Penelope admitted.
"You have to work harder to make him interested in you," Thomas said.
"I have an idea," Evelyn said.