Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1459

Even if Lillian did plan to return, she would undoubtedly unleash a barrage of impossible demands. The Mercers would have to bleed themselves dry to meet her conditions before she ever stepped foot in that house.

In the past, Bella had prided herself on understanding Lillian. Although they rarely interacted growing up, Sabrina had constantly fed her stories about her half-sister. Later, after returning from studying abroad, Bella had spent months analyzing Lillian before setting her traps.

But ever since Lillian's true identity was revealed, Bella realized her understanding had been dangerously flawed.

It wasn't entirely her fault. Everything Sabrina knew about Lillian had been filtered through Martin, and Martin was a remarkably negligent father who didn't know his own daughter at all.

Noticing Bella spacing out, Sabrina snapped, "What is it? Did you find a flaw in the plan?"

Bella shook her head slowly. "The gap between Lillian and me... it's getting too wide. Everything I fought for, everything I built to close that gap—it's just been crushed. I have nothing left. Mom, where did I go wrong? I was supposed to win. Why is this happening? If I hadn't failed, if she hadn't pulled so far ahead, you wouldn't have been humiliated like this today. I feel like I took a wrong turn somewhere, and I don't even know when."

Her voice broke, heavy with exhaustion and grief.

"It's not your fault," Sabrina said, softening slightly. "Man proposes, God disposes. That bitch is just a jinx. Those two years she was locked up were the best years of our lives. The second she got out, everything went to hell. It's not your fault. If we get the chance, maybe we should just find a way to throw her back behind bars."

Bella let out a hollow, bitter laugh. "Are you listening to yourself, Mom? With her status now, we need her permission just to breathe the same air. Put her back in prison? It was hard enough the first time when we held all the cards. Now? It's practically impossible."

It was worse than impossible.

Tossing and turning, Bella finally made a decision. She had to go to the hospital. She needed to see exactly what Lucas was up to.

Running on zero sleep, she ordered a lavish bouquet of flowers and a fruit basket, driving to the hospital at the crack of dawn.

Visiting The Prestige Wing normally required a strict appointment, but she didn't need one.

As a shareholder of the Blake Group, which owned a massive stake in the hospital, she had unrestricted access.

She took the private elevator up, determined to see if Lucas was actually working on their escape plan, or if he was just living it up in a luxury suite on her dime.