My stepmother came to me, helping me up. “The floor is so cold, and your body is already weak. How could you treat yourself this way? Come inside with me. If you have any grievances, we can discuss them behind closed doors as family.”
She even removed the cashmere shawl from her own shoulders and carefully draped it over my shoulder, which was trembling slightly from the cold. The soft texture and lingering warmth made me feel momentarily dazed.
She practically carried me into the villa, but her steps hesitated slightly at the archway leading to the living room. Very skillfully, she positioned me in a shadowed spot where I could clearly hear the conversation in the living room.
Joan's discontented mutter reached my ears. “Thomas, now that Victoria knows about Grandma, will our plan change?”
Thomas's voice was as cold as ever. "What’s to change? An elderly woman on her deathbed is the best bargaining chip. With a few tactics, we won't be afraid that Victoria won't sign and give away her shares in the Lawrence Family. Once we have the shares, wouldn't it be perfectly natural for a heart-diseased old woman to ‘suddenly take a turn for the worse’ in a nursing home? Then we'll arrange for Victoria to suffer ‘excessive grief’ and have a little ‘accident’. Everything will fall into place."
In that moment, I charged into the living room like a wounded, trapped beast that was utterly enraged, my eyes bloodshot.
"Thomas! Joan! Are you even human? She is my grandmother! How dare you... how dare you plan...”
My body shook with rage, my voice was hoarse and broken, and I could hardly speak a complete sentence.
Thomas clearly hadn't expected my sudden appearance. His expression shifted abruptly as his sharp gaze darted toward my stepmother, who was behind me.
But my stepmother rushed forward, positioning herself between him and me with a feigned look of benevolence to mediate.
Thomas watched her performance and sneered, "Beatrice, have you finished your act? You were so eager to lure Victoria here—wasn’t it because of her grandmother's old house in the suburbs? Though it may be dilapidated, the location and land are valuable. You've wanted to get your hands on it for a long time, haven't you?"
His words struck like thunder. Not only did they make my stepmother's face go pale and her eyes dart away, but they also made me realize instantly that, beyond Thomas and Joan's vicious schemes, my stepmother had also had her own agenda.
The revelation of the layers of truth made me dizzy. Despite my weakened state, a surge of unexpected strength erupted within me, propelling me forward toward Thomas without hesitation.
"Victoria, are you crazy?"
Thomas roared and, in a flash, grabbed my raised wrist. Meanwhile, Joan, who had followed him, shoved me hard.
Since I was already feeling lightheaded and dizzy, the shove sent me staggering backward. The moment I crashed against the cold wall, a sharp pain shot through my back.
And in the split second before I lost my consciousness, I thought I saw the icy glint in my stepmother's eyes, Thomas's furrowed brows, and Joan's slightly curled lips.
When I regained consciousness, I was alone in a hospital bed. Though an IV needle pierced the back of my hand, no one was by my side.
My fever had not subsided, and it worsened in the middle of the night, making my head pound like it was about to explode. Weakly, I reached out and pressed the call button by my bed.
One minute. Two minutes. Five minutes … but still ... not a single nurse came.
I pressed it again, but there was still no response.
I had to bring this fever down. The desire to survive forced me to drag my heavy body out of the ward by leaning against the wall step by step.
Although the corridor was empty, a group of doctors and nurses gathered not far away, outside the VIP ward. They looked nervous and talked in a low voice, “Miss Lawrence said her heart was uncomfortable, and Mr. Crawford is inside with her."
"Mr. Crawford ordered to neglect all other patients. Miss Lawrence must not suffer any mishap.”
So that was it. All the medical staff were gathered outside Joan's VIP room, while I, the genuinely frail and feverish Mrs. Crawford, was left to fend for myself in a regular ward.
Knowing our family history of heart disease, Joan was now using this very reason to torment me. How utterly ridiculous.
Despair mixed with feverish dizziness washed over me. I leaned against the icy wall, nearly collapsing to the floor. But the instinct to survive kept me from falling, at least, not here.
Summoning my last ounce of strength, I groped my way to the direction of the nurse station in my memory.
My blurred vision scanned the medicine boxes until I spotted the familiar name of the fever reducer. Ignoring dosage and instructions, with trembling hands, I unscrewed a mineral water bottle and swallowed several pills hastily.
I leaned against the wall, drenched in cold sweat, and finally received a message from Hugh.
[All materials will be ready in three days.]
A smile touched my lips. [Three days from now is the Lawrence Group's anniversary celebration. Let all truths be revealed that very day.]
This time, I would destroy them all completely.
