Please Come Back, My Love novel Chapter 378

Chapter 378

Chapter 255

“A mistake?” Sophia’s laugh was harsh, humorless. “She commissioned a fake death video and sent it to a woman with severe asthma, knowing exactly what

it would do. What part of that sounds like a fucking mistake to you?”,

“She saved my life when I was at my lowest point,” I said quietly. I can’t just—”

‘So that gives her a free pass?” Sophia’s voice rose. “She can do whatever she wants, hurt whoever she wants, and you’ll always find a reason to protect her

because of something that happened twenty years ago?”

“That’s not what I’m doing.”

“Then what are you doing? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re choosing her over my mother. Again.”

“I’m trying to handle this without destroying everyone involved. If I hand her over to the police right now, it becomes a media circus. Your mother’s condition, your family’s situation–it’ll all be dragged through the tabloids. Is that what you want?”

“I want justice.” Her voice shook. “I want that bitch to pay for what she did.”

“And she will. But on my terms, in my time. Not yours.”

The line went dead.

I sat there, phone still pressed to my ear, the dial tone buzzing in the silence.

Better to handle it quietly. Give Claire a chance to reflect, to understand the magnitude of her actions, and then–if necessary–to turn herself in voluntarily.

It was the right call.

It had to be.

The Westchester estate sat on twenty acres of wooded grounds, the main house a sprawling Tudor revival that hadn’t been updated since my grandfather’s time. When I arrived three hours later, Adrian was waiting in the circular driveway.

“She’s in the east wing study,” he said. “Hasn’t said much since we brought her in.”

*Security?”

‘Four men. Two posted at the main staircase, two on exterior patrol. I used the cover story you suggested–told her there’d been a credible threat against

Vanderbilt family members.”

“How’d she take it?”

“Unfortunate?” I took a step forward. “You tried to kill her.”

“I sent a video. What she did with that information was her own choice. If her health was so fragile, perhaps she shouldn’t have been watching upsetting content.”

The sheer lack of remorse was staggering.

“You knew exactly what it would do to her.”

“I knew it would upset her, yes. Make her think twice about encouraging her daughter to interfere in my life.” Claire tilted her head. “But I didn’t hold a gun to her head, Lucas. I didn’t force her to have an asthma attack. All I did was show her a video.”

“You fabricated evidence of her daughter’s death and sent it to a woman with a documented panic disorder and severe respiratory issues.” My hands clenched

into fists. “That’s not ‘showing her a video. That’s-”

“A warning.” Claire’s voice hardened. “One that clearly didn’t work, since Sophia is still breathing down our necks. Still trying to worm her way back into your life.”

“This isn’t about Sophia,”

“Of course it is.” She laughed, the sound brittle. “It’s always been about Sophia. Ever since she came back from the dead, you’ve been obsessed with her. And meanwhile, 1–the woman who actually saved your life–I’m treated like an inconvenience.”

‘Because you tried to kill someone!” The words exploded out of me. “Do you hear yourself? You’re justifying attempted murder because you’re jealous.”

I’m not jealous. But her voice cracked. ‘I’m angry. I’m furious that after everything I’ve done, everything I’ve sacrificed, you still look at her like she’s the only woman in the world.”