Family on Their Knees Heart Turned to Ice novel Chapter 249

Sebastian had no deep feelings for Lillian, but she was, after all, the person his father had approved of.

Fortunately, no one else knew about the divorce yet.

If word got out, it would undoubtedly tarnish his reputation.

After acquiring the shares, Bella and Sabrina were busy celebrating, returning home very late that night.

Martin had been anxiously pacing at home like a cat on a hot tin roof, unable to reach Sabrina on her phone.

Colin had also stopped coming home. Without even packing a change of clothes, he moved into a hotel with Brandon so the two brothers could strategize together.

"On my way back, I saw Sabrina and Bella popping champagne in the hotel restaurant," Colin reported.

Brandon's expression was calm.

Colin, however, was furious. "What? They're celebrating with champagne? I never realized those two were so two-faced."

"We can't worry about that now. Our priority is to solve this share problem. If we don't, we'll have endless trouble down the line.

"As for Sebastian, I've already told him Lillian is sick. From his reaction, I doubt he'll divorce her anytime soon.

"As long as they're not divorced, Bella can't move up, no matter what she does.

"We just need to keep her pinned down. If she can't become Mrs. Blake, the shares she holds won't give her much other influence.

"Sebastian lent her money once, but he won't keep bankrolling her.

"That's our chance."

Colin nodded. "In her own way, Lillian is still helping us."

"She's difficult, but she's still our sister," Brandon said. "As long as she's connected to Sebastian, things won't get too bad for us.

"We were fools before, thinking about supporting Bella.

"Now it's clear that if she really married Sebastian, there'd be no room left for us."

Colin was still worried. "Brandon, we can use Lillian to keep Bella in check, but what about the baby?

"Dad doesn't even care about the company anymore. He postponed a critical meeting today, and then just skipped it when he got home.

"Who knows how he plans to carve up the inheritance for his late-in-life child."

"It's just a fetus. Nothing is certain about the future."

"Brandon, are you saying… the baby might not make it?"

"She's having a high-risk pregnancy. It's not that easy. At her age, she should be taking extra care of herself, but I saw her drinking champagne earlier."

"So she doesn't really care that much about Dad's kid, either. Even if champagne has low alcohol content, she should be focused on the pregnancy. She shouldn't be drinking at all."

"Forget about her. We need to focus on our own problems."

***

"Mr. Mercer, would you let my mother and me plan your birthday party this year?"

In previous years, Martin's birthday parties had always been organized by Brandon and Colin.

But given the current situation, the two brothers probably wouldn't be in the mood.

He had a party every year; skipping it this year would surely lead to speculation.

Martin, conscious of his image, nodded. "Alright. But Bella, your mother's pregnancy is hard on her. I'm afraid this will be a lot of trouble for you.

"You're so busy with work. I feel bad asking this of you."

"Don't worry, Mr. Mercer," Bella said. "I'll take good care of Mom, and I'll make sure the party is perfect.

"And even if I can't handle it all, there's always Sebastian.

"He'll help me."

As Bella spoke, a shy expression crossed her face.

Martin saw it and immediately understood.

"Bella, you and Sebastian… you're not… getting serious, are you?"

As he asked, he seemed to have completely forgotten that Sebastian was his son-in-law.

Bella lowered her head and nodded with a smile. "Sebastian has already talked to me about marriage. Mr. Mercer, you won't hold it against me because of Lillian, will you?"