Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 222

At those words, Adeline nearly exploded, her eyes widening in fury. "Are you serious?"

The divorce certificate was barely warm in Sydney's hands, and she was already entangling herself with another man?

The more Adeline thought about it, the angrier she became. She forgot, entirely, how her own son had treated Sydney in the first place.

Had Sydney remained in the Hampton household, she might have understood the source of Caleb's double standards. It was in his blood. Mother and son alike—both born hypocrites.

Seeing Adeline's reaction, Penelope knew she had taken the bait. She smiled sweetly. "Why would I lie? Just the other day in Haven—you didn't know, did you? Julian is living right across the hall from Sydney now."

Adeline nearly spat blood. What difference was that from living together?

She had barely divorced her son, and now she was clinging to a man of Julian's stature? If the word got out, everyone would say something was wrong with the Hamptons.

Adeline's chest heaved with anger, her eyes flashing cold. "I knew it. That's why she was so desperate for her divorce certificate. She was afraid of being caught red-handed and disgraced!"

It all made sense. Sydney was not a helpless victim broken by Caleb. She had already secured her next patron.

Yet if she had been involved with Julian all along, why had she begged the Hamptons for help when Tiffany was in trouble?

Adeline was too furious to think it through.

Penelope froze. "What? Divorce certificate? Whose divorce certificate?"

Her heart pounded as the answer formed.

The mention of it only worsened Adeline's headache. If her son ever discovered that Sydney was the very person he had been searching for—and that she, as his mother, had pushed the divorce certificate through behind his back—her household would erupt into chaos. All because of that wretched woman, Sydney.

Adeline shot Penelope a glare. "And what about that project? I heard from Eloise herself that you promised to secure the research results. That's the only reason she invested such a large sum.

"If you fail, you know what the Sterlings are capable of. Don't let this end with you losing everything and dragging the Hampton family down with you."

That part was true. The project Penelope ran existed only because of Eloise's funding. Research meant burning through mountains of money.

At first, Eloise had hesitated. The Sterling family's real power lay with Julian, and her access to funds was limited. However, Penelope had sworn that once Sydney developed something, the results would be hers.

As such, Eloise had invested. Once it paid off, the beneficiaries would be Penelope and herself.