The Heiress's Comeback

Chapter 161: [Volume 1] - 161- Father in law ?

Helga knew instantly that the second aunt harming herself was out of the question—it simply didn’t fit her.

A woman who commanded respect wherever she went, who wore her confidence like armor, would never submit herself to such a humiliating fate. The very idea was absurd.

Her eyes returned to the young man, or rather, the young mer, standing off to the side.

His stillness, the way he seemed to try and make himself smaller, almost invisible, beneath the heavy clothing he wore in the scorching heat, gave everything away.

The telltale signs were there—bruises hidden under long sleeves, the way he avoided eye contact, the posture of someone long conditioned to endure pain without protest.

Helga didn’t need to ask more questions. The whip hanging on the wall wasn’t for show; its use was clear.

And it wasn’t the second aunt or her daughter who bore its marks. It was him—the silent, subdued mer standing before her.

When Helga returned and told Esme what she had uncovered, Esme had been momentarily taken aback.

Esme had already delved into the background, piecing together the history of her second aunt’s relationships.

All four of her previous husbands had been adored, publicly showered with affection, which made this instance of physical abuse all the more baffling. Something didn’t add up, and that gnawing curiosity drove Esme to ask Helga to dig deeper.

What Helga uncovered was startling. The young mer in question wasn’t just another obscure figure plucked from nowhere. He had once been a prominent student at the same prestigious school attended by the second aunt’s eldest daughter.

Further investigation revealed something even more intriguing: this young mer and the second aunt’s daughter had been lovers. Not just secret or fleeting lovers either—they were a well-known pair, with their relationship the talk of the school for quite some time.

But the true shock came when Helga uncovered the timeline. The daughter had gone as far as proposing marriage to the young mer.

Yet, just one week later, the second aunt herself married him, and her daughter said nothing. Not a word of protest, not even a murmur of discontent. The girl, who had been so in love, simply let it all happen.

Esme, like Helga, was stunned. No one who genuinely loved someone would simply step aside without a fight, especially for something as monumental as marriage.

The silence from the daughter was deafening. It didn’t make sense. Why would she give up so easily? What could have possibly transpired in that week that led to such an uncharacteristic surrender?

The more Esme thought about it, the more the entire situation reeked of something far deeper, more disturbing, than just a scandalous affair.

It felt orchestrated, as if the daughter’s silence and the young mer’s submission were the results of something far more sinister than anyone had realized.

Esme couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

She had tasked Helga with investigating not just the questionable relationship between the second aunt and her daughter but also any potential money transactions that might have transpired during that peculiar week when the mer’s proposal had shifted from daughter to mother.

However, what Helga returned with days later was much more explosive than Esme could have anticipated.

As Esme listened to the report, her face grew pale with disbelief. Helga hadn’t only uncovered minor financial transactions—she had stumbled upon a much darker secret.

It seemed that over the years, the second aunt’s four husbands, all of whom had died within five to six years of marrying her, shared a chilling commonality.

"They all looked eerily similar to one person," Helga had said, her voice steady but grave.

Esme’s heart skipped a beat. "Who?" she asked, barely above a whisper, dreading the answer.

Helga leaned in, her expression mirroring Esme’s horror. "They all bore a striking resemblance to one man... your father-in-law. The father of your own Husbands."

The revelation hit Esme like a punch to the gut. Her mind reeled, trying to comprehend how it could be possible. Her father-in-law, long deceased, seemed to be the mold from which all of the second aunt’s husbands were chosen.

The similarity wasn’t limited to physical appearance either. The men shared common names, hairstyles, even certain quirks that mirrored her father-in-law in unsettling ways.

"How... how can that be?" Esme stammered, her voice breaking.

But Helga wasn’t finished. "There’s more," she said, her tone becoming even more serious.

"I investigated deeper into the second aunt’s past. Remember how she claimed her eldest husband—the father of her daughter—died many years ago?"

Esme nodded, the memory of that public statement still clear in her mind.

"That was a lie," Helga revealed. "He’s not dead. He’s very much alive."

Esme was left speechless. The second aunt had built her life on the lie that her first husband had passed away, using it as an explanation for her subsequent marriages.

But now, Esme had learned that this man—this figure who tied all of these pieces together—was still alive somewhere. What’s worse, it raised the terrifying question: why had the second aunt lied about his death, and what did that have to do with the string of husbands who all resembled him?

Esme sat in stunned silence, grappling with the shocking revelations about the second aunt.

How could someone be so reckless, so utterly devoid of sense? Just when she thought she couldn’t be any more taken aback, Helga leaned in closer, her expression serious, as if the next piece of news would shatter Esme’s already frazzled mind.

"But there’s something else," Helga said, biting her lip as she hesitated, clearly weighing the gravity of her words. The suspense only heightened Esme’s anxiety.

"Continue, Helga! What are you silent for?" Esme urged, her voice laced with urgency. "What could be more shocking than this?"

With a deep breath, Helga finally spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "It’s about the eldest daughter of the second aunt... and that young mer. They have a child together."

Esme felt as if she had been thrown into another world, her mind spinning at the weight of the news.