She Outshines Them All (Athena and Matthew)

Chapter 492

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Catherine finally lost control, her voice rising in a desperate, frantic shout, "I didn't!" Her face drained of color, her body trembling as she fought to hold herself together. "My sister is the best person in the world to me. I would never betray her! If I had done something like that, do you think the whole Donovan family wouldn't have noticed?

"Athena, if you don't like me, fine, I'll leave and never come back but you can't slander me like this! Do you understand how malicious it is to ruin a woman's reputation like this?"

Athena remained unfazed, her expression cool and composed. "That's the thing about you. You understand men too well. My father-he's a typical straight-laced guy, honorable, devoted to my mom. If you'd so much as shown any interest in him, he would've called you out, maybe even kicked you out."That's why you've been so careful."

Catherine's breath hitched. "Careful how?" she asked, voice trembling.

Athena's tone took on a sharp edge. "When no one's around, maybe it's a subtle touch of your fingers, or walking around in your nightgown. Or maybe you'd pretend to cry, just enough for him to notice. Or, perhaps, you'd 'accidentally' fall and land right in his arms. But the sad part is, to my father, you were just another relative.

any of it."

Athena pressed on, her voice cold and cutting. "It must have been so frustrating for you, right? You must've thought, 'Why did my mom end up with such a great guy when I'm just as good, if not better? Why can't I find a man like him?""

"He didn't see you the way you wanted him to-no matter how many hints you dropped, he couldn't sense

Athena wasn't just guessing-she'd heard the stories about Claire, and Jaden's words only confirmed it. He had told her that the whole family loved Catherine, but he didn't. He couldn't explain it, but something about her felt off. Jaden had sensed something that Athena only now understood-he was ten when she and Zilvia were born, so maybe he'd picked up on something back then.

Catherine's hands shook as she tried to control-her anger. "You're slandering me! You're trying to destroy the reputation of a woman older than you!" she snapped, eyes blazing with fury.

Athena's lips twisted into a cold smile. "Slander? My parents and brothers are downstairs. Should I call them up, one by one, and ask them if they ever saw you in front of my dad-wearing that nightgown, drinking, crying, or stumbling into his arms with that 'oh-so- innocent' look?"

She didn't let up. "After all these years at the Donovan family, you've got to know that if you did any of those things, no

hid it, someone would've noticed. But no one said anything because they're all too honest to think that matter how well you way."

Catherine's face went pale, her lips trembling as she seemed to search for words, but nothing came out.

Athena's gaze was icy, her voice sharp as a knife. "You can deny it, but if you do, I'll call everyone in here to verify. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize, and you can stay here for as long as you like."

Catherine wanted to scream, "I'm in the right. You can check all you want." But the words never left her lips.

The Donovan family wasn't filled with naive kids anymore. If they started recalling things from the past, any little hints she'd dropped with Wesley could easily confirm Athena's suspicions.

Athena smirked when Catherine stayed silent. "Of course, you don't love my dad, do you? You were probably just bitter that my mom married so well. You wanted to be loved and cared for like her, didn't you?"

Athena's tone grew even sharper. "When you saw my mom have twins-girls, no less-who were treated like treasures, while she wasn't neglected or discriminated against, how could you not be envious? How could you not think, 'Why can't I find someone like that? Why don't I deserve that kind of love?""

Her eyes locked onto Catherine's, unblinking. "I bet before the fire, you hid away, brooding and frustrated, missing the best

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Chapter 492

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Her voice was unwavering, leaving no room for escape. "I even wonder if, when you saw the fire started, you just stood there, watching, waiting to see my parents suffer. I base this on something a nurse recalled. That night, you weren't asleep. You were wandering around the nursery and then disappeared for a while. The fire broke out near the nursery. If you had been paying attention, you would've seen it."

Catherine couldn't bring herself to meet Athena's gaze. Her head hung low, eyes darting away, desperate to avoid the truth in Athena's words.

"My novels, every single case, is based on real events," Athena said, her voice calm but firm. "That's why I've been working with the police. Through my connections, I managed to get access to the fire case files. The investigation found that the fire started in the trash bin near the stairwell of the nursery. But why did the trash catch fire? And why in the middle of the night?

"I also found out that you smoke. So, could it be that you went out to the stairwell to smoke and accidentally tossed an unfinished cigarette into the trash? Medical waste can contain highly flammable stuff-alcohol, used bandages, and various chemicals. If one of those ignited from the cigarette, it could easily start a fire."

Athena's voice suddenly spiked, sharp and relentless. "I have more than enough reason to believe you set that fire on purpose. Tell me, did you intentionally start it, hoping to harm us?"

"No!" Catherine broke down, her voice breaking as she screamed. "It was an accident! I didn't start the fire! When it happened, I was in the hallway, crying. When I saw the fire, I panicked and ran the wrong way. By the time I came back, the kids were already gone..." She grabbed Athena's arm, her face streaked with tears. "Athena, please don't tell your parents. I swear, I never meant to hurt anyone. I was just... so upset, and I made a mistake. It turned into a disaster, but I did everything I could to make up for it. Now your family's all together, living happily and with wealth. Please forgive me. Let's just forget about all this and move

on..."

"It's too late." Athena closed her eyes, no pride on her face-only sorrow. "From the moment I stepped into this room, I activated the house's entire security system. Everything we've said here, my parents have seen and heard downstairs." The cold, hard truth hit like a punch. But the Donovan family had the right to know.

Catherine gasped, letting go of Athena's arm, her eyes wild as she scanned the room, seeing nothing. Then, a thought struck her. She rushed to the door and yanked it open.

Her body froze as she stared in horror at the people standing in the doorway-pale, unable to move like she was staring death in the face.

The Donovan family, who had been downstairs, were now gathered outside the study door, watching her with a mix of emotions. At that moment, all she wanted was to disappear.

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