Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 1471

"Just looking at the three of you makes me too disgusted to stomach a meal."

With that, Sebastian casually took a seat on the sofa, crossing his long legs. "Who wants to confess first? What else are you hiding that I haven't unearthed yet? I highly suggest you drop the act. At this point, hiding is entirely meaningless."

Bella scoffed, lifting her chin defiantly. "Hmph. Sebastian, you may have status and power, but that doesn't mean you can blot out the sky with one hand. You want to lock us in here? That's unlawful detainment. Believe it or not, I will call the police right this second."

As she spoke, Bella yanked out her phone, putting on a fierce show of dialing emergency services.

Sebastian merely watched her with a look of supreme, icy detachment, entirely unbothered by her empty threats.

He wasn't stupid. He had long connected the chaotic string of recent events, realizing with chilling clarity that they all traced back to Bella in one way or another.

He sat in silence, making no move to stop her. Predictably, Bella's thumb hovered over the call button, completely paralyzed.

Of course she didn't dare make the call.

"Let me go. I am a patient, and I need to return to my room to rest."

Sebastian's voice was dangerously soft. "And if I refuse? I happen to be incredibly curious about exactly how much Debbie's severed hand has to do with you. And precisely how much that $1.2 billion sitting in her account has to do with you?"

At the mention of the money, Debbie lost her mind, shrieking at the top of her lungs, "Sebastian, you're worse than an animal! Where is my money? Where the hell is my money?"

Sebastian immediately shifted his lethal gaze to her. "It seems losing your hand was entirely voluntary. Since you willingly sacrificed a limb, why on earth should I pay the price for it? The money was always mine, and it rightfully returned to me. That is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"

If he had known she was pulling this stunt, he would have just locked Debbie away under his absolute control from the very beginning.

He wouldn't have had to worry about public humiliation, nor would he have wired such an astronomical ransom while under threat. Debbie wasn't worth $1.2 billion even if he sold her on the black market.

Of course he was going to claw that money back.

Bella was genuinely taken aback that Debbie would throw herself into the line of fire to cover for her.

Of course, it was highly likely she was doing it because they were all trapped in the same sinking ship, and Debbie didn't want the conspiracy exposed.

But given this catastrophic failure and Debbie's ruined physical condition, she shouldn't have cared about exposure anymore.

Why on earth would she actively shield Bella and Lucas?

Was there some twisted, lingering scheme she still needed them for?

Or did she simply hate Sebastian with such blinding intensity that she would do absolutely anything to deny him a victory?

Bella seized the opening. "Did you hear that? I merely stepped in to help your mother check her bank balance. Now, can you let me leave? Sebastian, we are in a hospital. Even in the dead of night, there are other patients, families, doctors, and nurses. You don't want to make an ugly, public scene, do you? The Prestige Wing is filled with highly influential people."