From His Invisible Wife to the World's Icon novel Chapter 99

After she left, Frederick shielded Mildred as they walked out. Suddenly, Mildred grabbed his hand.

"Freddie, you have to find a way to cure Lydia. And you need to make sure that maid rots in a cell."

Frederick nodded, his face an emotionless mask.

Standing right behind them, Sierra ground her teeth in silent fury.

Mildred was ridiculously biased. Lydia was practically barren, yet instead of telling Frederick to divorce her, she was demanding he hire specialists and get revenge for her?

Watching them leave, Seraphina lowered her phone, her eyes practically glowing with malice.

"Why didn't you actually tell Charles?" Trenton asked, completely confused.

"We leak the news to the press first. Once it blows up, then I'll tell him."

"But you always say we keep family scandals locked down," Trenton argued, still lost. "If this gets out, we'll be a laughingstock."

"You're an idiot. Frederick wouldn't necessarily throw Lydia out just because she can't breed." Seraphina's eyes were pitch black with hatred. "We let the public rip them to shreds first. Force his hand."

"But Frederick's obsessed with the bloodline. There's no way he'd..."

Charles Foster had lusted over his best friend's wife for decades.

He had given Seraphina the title of Mrs. Foster to keep up appearances, and she had tolerated his indifference.

For the sake of the Foster dynasty's prestige and Charles's reputation, she had planned to take the secret to her grave.

But she hadn't realized that Charles had been stalling the Foster-Sutton arranged marriage just waiting for Madeline Sterling's daughter to show up.

He was even planning to hand over all his equity to their future child, leaving absolutely nothing for Seraphina's own son and daughter.

Hatred boiled over in Seraphina's veins. "Just do it."

"And make sure that maid keeps her mouth shut!"

Trenton nodded.

"But how the hell did that bitch figure out it was Mary? Did you say something to her?!"

"She's smart! She probably just figured it out herself!" Trenton shot back, instantly defensive.

Seraphina gave a curt, dismissive nod.

...

When Lydia arrived at the Zane property, she found Harrison tending to the garden. "Harrison, where's my mom?"

"In the lab," Harrison smiled warmly. "She hasn't taken a break since she got back from the hospital yesterday. She thinks the imported meds are too expensive and that not everyone can afford them, so she's trying to synthesize them herself."

"Go in and talk some sense into her."

Seeing Madeline's phone resting on the coffee table, Lydia breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was cut off from the news.

"I'll go check on her..."

She pushed open the heavy laboratory doors.

The room hummed with the sound of machinery and various monitors. One of the screens was broadcasting a breaking news alert: 'Wife of The Foster Group CEO Poisoned, Left Permanently Infertile...'

Madeline had been staring blankly at the screen. At the sound of the door, she snapped out of her daze. Her eyes darted from her hands to Lydia's face.

A drop of liquid slipped from the test tube she was holding.

Lydia felt the entire world shatter beneath her feet. Just then, she spotted a man radiating an icy authority down the hall. Behind him, a team of nurses was rushing a gurney toward the OR. Eleanor Michel lay pristine on the bed, with Alistair Vaughn walking briskly beside her.

Lydia lunged forward and grabbed Xavier's arm. Her eyes darted frantically between the frail elderly woman and the horrifying image of her mother covered in blood. Finally, she tipped her head back and looked into Xavier's merciless eyes.

"Mr. Ford..." The second she spoke, a sob choked her throat.

She was literally about to beg him to sacrifice his grandmother's life to save her mother.

Who would ever agree to that...

And how could she be so monstrously selfish to steal an innocent woman's chance at life just for her own mother?

Paralyzed by guilt and terror, her vision blurred with tears. Her grip on his arm failed, and her legs gave out.

A powerful hand suddenly seized her arm, yanking her back up with brutal force.

Then, he instantly let her go.

Xavier leaned down, softly comforting his grandmother, entirely ignoring Lydia's existence.

Lydia watched the dying woman use the absolute last of her strength to grip Xavier's hand and whisper to him.

Two steps away, the ER doctor and Harrison were staring at her, waiting for a decision.

Her heart violently contracted. Pure, unadulterated agony ripped through her veins.

"Ms. Sterling? What happened? Why are you covered in blood?" Wesley had just hung up his phone and rushed over, his face pale. "Please don't cry. What do you need?"

At that exact moment, Xavier turned his head. His freezing gaze locked onto her for a fraction of a second before he looked at Wesley. "Are they here?"