Chapter 1516

“If I’d known about this earlier, wouldn’t that make us practically family? Why would I hide it from you? You could’ve used my connection to climb even higher. Why wouldn’t I help you? This whole thing would’ve benefited both of us. I’m not stupid. Why would I keep it a secret if I knew?”

Tessa’s voice was steady and sincere.

At first, Aaron had been convinced he’d been played. His parents had told him as much, that he’d fallen for her tricks.

But listening to her now, he started to hesitate. Maybe he really had misunderstood her.

After all, what she said did make sense.

If she’d truly known, why would she keep it from him? He was a Carter too. If she wanted to use that connection, he could’ve easily helped her.

“Are you really saying you didn’t know Lucas was the head of the family?”

Aaron still sounded skeptical, but his tone had softened.

“I swear I didn’t,” Tessa said earnestly. “If you don’t believe me, we can talk in person.”

Aaron frowned. Deep down, he was already leaning toward believing her.

What she said did seem logical.

If Aurora’s husband was the Carter family’s head, then being on good terms with her might actually benefit him too.

“Fine, let’s meet later.”

Tessa didn’t refuse.

But after hanging up, Aaron couldn’t shake off a faint doubt.

Could things really be as she said?

Was it possible she truly hadn’t known?

Still, the thought felt far-fetched. Lucas was one of the most well-known businessmen in the country. How could they not have known who he was?

It just didn’t add up.

And this was her own sister’s husband, her brother-in-law. How could she possibly not have known?

Aaron turned the thought over and over in his mind before finally voicing the question that had been bothering him.

“Didn’t your sister have a wedding with the head of the family?”

Tessa sighed. “There really wasn’t one. That’s why I started doubting everything. They kept the marriage secret from everyone at first. My sister wanted to take over the company, so I guess she just found some man out of nowhere. Maybe it was pure luck. Someone like Lucas—how could she have ever met him? Who knows what tricks she used.”

Her words carried a clear implication, one Aaron immediately caught.

She was subtly suggesting that her sister and Lucas hadn’t even known each other well, and that the marriage must have been the result of manipulation.

Aaron’s gaze darkened. So, this family wasn’t as simple as it looked.

He had always known Tessa wasn’t as gentle as she appeared, but now it seemed her resentment toward her sister ran much deeper than he thought.

“I still have a few questions,” he said after a pause. “We’ll talk about the rest when we meet.”