The Heiress's Comeback-Chapter 389: [ Volume 1] Chaper - Are you qualified to be a mother?

Esme lowered her gaze for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. Then, with a quiet, almost reluctant voice, she spoke.

"You see, every family has its secrets," she began, her tone carrying a weight of something long buried. "From the video I left behind, you might have already realized that our fathers—yours and mine—were part of something much bigger. The agency... no, the organization."

She lifted her eyes then, meeting their gazes with a newfound seriousness. "Your father was killed, and yes, your grandfather and second aunt had a hand in it. That much is true. But before that—before he was murdered—you knew his health had been deteriorating, right?"

The brothers exchanged looks, nodding.

"That was no secret," one of them muttered. "Everyone knew about it."

Esme gave a small nod in return. "Exactly. But here’s the thing—my father also fell ill right after I was born. And the ironic part? He was completely fine when I turned five. But then, mysteriously, he became sick again."

Her voice grew quieter, more deliberate. "Later, I found out from my mother that she had the ability to transfer waste—the excess or tainted power—from one person to another. And she taught me how to do it."

Esme exhaled, her fingers curling slightly on the table. "That was the last thing she ever taught me. Because right after that, she had an accident. A mysterious one. And I lost my memories." Her lips pressed together for a moment. "That was it. That was all I could recall. But even with my memories gone, the knowledge of how to transfer waste powers—it stayed."

Her expression darkened slightly. "There are rules to it. Strict ones. First, the person receiving it must be blood-related to me. And second..." She hesitated, then continued, "I must have the strongest desire to protect them."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

"Now," she said, shifting in her seat, "there’s a reason why a Beast Owner never transfers or inherits a beast at a young age. A child’s mind and body are too weak to handle it."

Her eyes flickered toward Ray. "Even after I took Beom and split it, I still control half of it. Even when I’m unconscious. If I had let even ten percent more power flow to her... it would have shattered her mind. Maybe even killed her."

A cold hush fell over the room, the weight of her words sinking in. The truth had been laid bare, but it only raised more questions—ones no one dared to voice just yet.

Ray’s breath came out uneven, his voice hoarse as he spoke, disbelief splashed across his eyes. "So, you mean to tell me... you transferred a Beast to my daughter—knowing full well that it could kill her?" His hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. "And yet, you still did it?"

His eyes bore into Esme, raw with anger and betrayal. He couldn’t believe it. Even after knowing the risks, she still did it.

Esme lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "I had no choice."

"No choice?" Ray’s voice cracked, his throat tightening with emotion. "And what if she couldn’t handle it, huh? What if it killed her?" His hands slammed against the table, the force of his frustration shaking the room.

But Esme didn’t flinch. She simply lifted her gaze, her expression steady. "No," she said firmly. "I knew she could handle it."

Ray let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "And how the hell could you know that?"

Esme inhaled deeply before speaking again. "Do you remember when I used to check the babies while they were still in the womb? When you were pregnant?"

Ray’s body stiffened. His mind reeled back to those moments—Esme’s hands resting over his stomach, her fingers pressing gently, lingering longer than necessary. He had always assumed it was just because she cared. That she was excited, just as he was, about the child they were waiting for.

And then, the realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

His eyes widened, and his voice dropped into an almost disbelieving whisper. "So you mean... you weren’t checking on her because you cared?" His breath hitched. "You were checking if she could handle the power?"

Esme lowered her head again, nodding in silence.

Something inside Ray snapped. His head felt like it was boiling, a mix of rage, pain, and helplessness colliding all at once. His child—his child—had been in danger from the very beginning. And he was only just finding out now?

His fists trembled at his sides, his heart pounding furiously against his ribs. "Damn it, Esme!" he roared, his voice filled with emotions he couldn’t contain.

Ray felt as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs. His body swayed slightly, his heart pounding violently in his chest. Esme’s words cut deeper than any blade ever could.

"For me, you guys are more important than an unborn child that I do not even know about."

A sharp, burning pain spread through his chest. His fingers curled into trembling fists, his entire being rejecting the weight of her words.

His child—his precious, beautiful child, the one he had cherished from the moment he knew of her existence—was nothing in Esme’s eyes. She had gambled with his daughter’s life as if it were some trivial decision.

Ray’s mind flooded with memories, each one like a cruel dagger twisting deeper into his heart.

He remembered the first time his daughter wrapped her tiny fingers around his thumb, how her little body fit so perfectly against his chest when she slept. The way she took her first wobbly steps toward him, giggling as she fell into his arms.

He could still hear her small, sweet voice calling him— Dada.

Still see her running around the house, her laughter filling every empty space, making every hardship worth enduring.

And yet, Esme had looked at that innocent child—his world—and decided that she was expendable.

A deep, cold rage settled in Ray’s bones. His breath came out shaky as he looked at Esme, his eyes dark with fury and grief. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried the weight of a storm about to break.

"How," he rasped, "how could you do this... to her?"