After Mrs. Winters left the banquet, she hurried home and immediately called Eugene. “Eugene, something major has happened!”
Eugene was also entertaining clients that Saturday evening. He excused himself from the private room to answer the call. “What's happened?” he asked.
“Sylvia is actually Old Mr. Quintin’s granddaughter! She’s the real Ms. Quintin!” Mrs. Winters’ voice trembled with shock. “Evelyn was a fake—she's nothing at all!”
Eugene was caught off guard. “Sylvia is Old Mr. Quintin's granddaughter?”
“Yes! I just got back from the Quintin family’s recognition banquet. I heard Old Mr. Quintin announce it himself—there’s no mistake this time!” Mrs. Winters’ tone was filled with regret and anger. “We were all fooled by that little schemer Evelyn!”
Eugene gave a cold laugh. “You were the one who got fooled.”
“How could I have been so stupid?” Mrs. Winters berated herself. “You need to go find Sylvia at the banquet right away!”
Eugene asked, “For what?”
Mrs. Winters answered immediately, “To apologize, of course! Tell her we misunderstood her because Evelyn was manipulating us. I can go in person to apologize as well—as long as you two can make up.”
She had tried every trick to build a connection with the Quintin family, only to discover that Ms. Quintin was already involved with her own son and that she herself had driven them apart, even bringing an imposter into the family.
Mrs. Winters was truly beside herself with regret.
Eugene’s voice was frosty. “Mom, sometimes you need to have a little self-respect.”
He hung up without another word.
Standing in the hotel corridor, Eugene was still stunned by his mother's revelation. He had known Sylvia was alone in the world, but never imagined she was actually Old Mr. Quintin’s granddaughter.
Had their identities been swapped all this time?
He was shocked, but also happy for Sylvia—she finally had family and would no longer be all by herself.
He pulled out his phone, intending to call Sylvia to congratulate her, but after thinking for a moment, chose to send a text instead:
[Congratulations, Sylvia!]
Remembering how Gladys deliberately took her to the Quintin home, Mrs. Winters grew more and more convinced it was all part of a scheme.
Mr. Winters was equally dismayed. “How could something like this happen? Sylvia turned out to be Old Mr. Quintin’s real granddaughter!”
Because of Mrs. Winters Sr.’s will, the Winters family had turned against Sylvia. Now, how could they possibly make things right?
Mrs. Winters could only lament, “How did we not hear about this at all before?”
But soon she came up with a plan. “Luckily, Eugene has always treated Sylvia well. She should still care for him. If we prepare a generous gift and go to congratulate her—and apologize sincerely—maybe she’ll forgive us.”
Mr. Winters snorted. “That’s only if you’re even let through the Quintin family’s front door!”
He couldn’t help but complain, “Why didn’t you check the facts before making a move? We could have had a marriage alliance with the Quintin family, and now you’ve completely messed it up!”
Mrs. Winters knew she was in the wrong, but she held in her frustration and could only focus on how to fix the situation.
*

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