“Brother,” Shiloh said.

After Marco helped her to her feet, Shiloh collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

What had she done wrong?

Why were they treating her this way?

She was a victim too.

Marco hugged her tightly and said with concern, “Please stop crying; you need to leave first. If you stay, they will hurt you again. They have a lot of resentment towards you now, and if they get the chance, they will bully you severely.”

Shiloh had sided with her brother, which upset their wives.

Even though both Shiloh and the others were women, Shiloh was viewed as their sister. If she didn’t support her brother, how could she side with the sister-in-law? As a sister-in-law, how many of them truly supported one another?

Kathryn assisted her three sisters-in-law, not out of a sense of justice, but because she had no emotional ties to her brothers.

“I won’t leave, brother; I refuse to go. I want to wait for my mother to return and explain everything to her. I honestly don’t understand how this all happened. I am the victim here. Someone must have plotted against me. There was a banquet at our house last night. Someone caused chaos and harmed many people, but I was the one who got deceived. Someone framed me and intended to kill me.”

The individual who hurt her was more malicious than she realized.

Everyone knew that someone had orchestrated the events of the previous night. If they took a moment to calm down and think critically, they could deduce who was behind it.

Marco hesitated to speak up because he had given Holden most of the bottle of wine that both he and Shiloh had consumed. The unfinished bottle remained on the wine cabinet in his room.

Holden had approached him in a foul mood and requested a bottle of wine.

Fearing that Holden might get drunk, Marco didn’t bring a full bottle; instead, he opened one and shared it with him.

After he drank a glass of wine, something was amiss. Someone had spiked the wine as part of a scheme against Holden and Shiloh. Who was responsible for this? If Marco wasn’t the culprit, then it must be Erika. But why would Erika drug Marco?

Marco recalled that he had opened the bottle of wine and poured himself a glass. After taking just two sips, he felt an urgent need to use the bathroom. When he returned, he found Erika sitting at the bar in enticing pajamas. She poured the remaining half of Marco’s unfinished glass into another, claiming she wanted to share a drink with him.

Although Marco felt disgusted, he still indulged in the drink with Erika. That night, the couple became enamored with each other, as if they were newlyweds. Marco struggled to stay awake into the late hours before finally falling asleep. Deep down, he understood that Erika’s intention in spiking the wine was to rekindle their romance, not to orchestrate a plot against Holden and Shiloh. Unbeknownst to him, he had inadvertently given Holden the tainted wine, leading to the previous day’s incident.

How could Marco make such a statement? Perhaps it was because he felt trapped in the relationship. The couple was like prisoners on a boat.

“Shiloh, Mom has calmed down, but she will find out. If you don’t leave now, they will continue to harm you. Just look at yourself; it’s distressing to see you like this, and I feel powerless to help. You know the situation in our family, and as your older brother, my words carry no weight.”

Shiloh understood that staying any longer was unwise, yet she feared that it would be even harder to face Matriarch Farrell again after she left.

Everyone was preventing her from seeing her.

“Shiloh, you should go first. When mom returns, I’ll help you talk and explain things,” Marco reassured her.

Shiloh paused to think before nodding. She lifted her face, tears brimming in her eyes, but her skin was marred with scratches. Some of the wounds were bleeding, red, swollen, and quite distressing to look at.