Once a Doormat Now Untouchable (Caleb and Sydney) novel Chapter 717

The palm covering Hugo's eyes carried the same faint chill as everything else about Diana.

Hugo blinked. As the coolness faded and his vision returned, he touched his earlobe with a faintly self-conscious gesture. "I'll... I'll go right now."

'Still such a boy, really,' Diana thought.

Hugo strode out, and Diana turned back to Helen.

Helen lay on the floor, her plan in ruins, her face drained of color from the pain. Diana couldn't find any satisfaction in the sight. The blood running down Helen's legs was too stark for that.

Sweat dampened Helen's face, fine beads gathering across her brow, but the pain had not robbed her of her voice. "Did you do something again? Where's Leon? Why did Hugo come instead of—"

"Diana!" Before she could finish, Hugo returned. His long, clean fingers closed lightly around Diana's wrist and drew her back a step. "The doctor's here."

The attending physician already knew Helen's case, so they took her straight to the operating room.

Diana watched the doors close, then looked up at Hugo, who had been a full head taller than her for years. "Where's your brother?"

Helen had sacrificed the child. She would never have done that without a complete plan in place. If nothing had gone wrong, Leon should have been the one walking through that door.

The tips of Hugo's ears were still slightly red. The hand that had held her wrist shifted faintly at his side, the movement so small it was almost imperceptible.

"My father came to Jouleston." He spoke as though none of it concerned him. "Word reached the family early this morning about Helen kneeling outside your gate last night. Grandpa was furious. My father had no choice but to come straight here. By now, he's probably dragging Leon over your family to apologize in person."

Diana blinked. "Early this morning?"

Even Marvin had only learned about it after she had already left the house. The Kingstons had known sooner.

Leon had been on his way to the Huttons to apologize. The moment he heard about Helen, he would do exactly as Hugo predicted. He would leave his own father sitting in the Huttons' living room and rush straight to the hospital.

After this, the Kingstons would find it much harder to oppose the divorce. And Leon would end up even further from the inheritance.

The elevator doors slid shut. Then something occurred to her.

She looked up at Hugo, choosing her words carefully. "Hugo. How do you feel about the Kingston family business?"

Even as the designated Jillson heir, no one ever refused more assets. She had simply never thought to ask him before. In her eyes, he had always been a boy.

Hugo held her gaze, those perceptive almond-shaped eyes meeting hers without the slightest avoidance.

He stayed quiet for a moment. Then he said, each word measured and deliberate, "Diana. I only want what's mine."