Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 1273

Connor guided Lydia into Victoria’s room with a gentle hand at her elbow. Victoria was lying in bed, her face almost ghostly pale, eyebrows drawn tight, still lost in the shock of it all. Lydia sat at her bedside and called out softly, “Mrs. Bland.” Her voice was quiet but so steady, the kind that made you pay attention.

Victoria’s eyes opened slowly, rimmed red and glassy. The moment she saw Lydia, panic took over and she started to scream. “Who are you? Help! Somebody, help me!”

Lydia stayed calm and said, “There’s no point calling for anyone. Your son isn’t here. He can’t hear you.”

At those words, Victoria froze. She remembered what Krista had said upstairs, the disbelief written all over her face. Tears started to pour down her cheeks. “What’s happening? How could my son —” She tried to speak but her voice cracked, her grief swallowing her words.

Lydia let out a quiet sigh, her tone as calm as ever. “Mrs. Bland, you need to take a breath and listen. The Erik you saw isn’t your real son. He’s a clone, part of something much bigger, something dangerous.”

Victoria shot up in bed, suddenly wild-eyed. “That’s impossible! How could I not know my own son? You’re lying. Erik is fine. He can’t have been replaced!” Her voice was sharp, desperate, as if saying it out loud could make it true.

Lydia didn’t flinch. “Think about it. Has Erik ever changed in ways that didn’t make sense? Did his personality shift, did he start handling things differently, almost like a stranger? That barcode is proof. This isn’t some sick joke. It’s real, and it’s awful.”

Victoria sat there, stunned, eyes clouded with pain. All those little things she’d brushed aside over the years suddenly came rushing back, each memory cutting her deeper.

She broke down, sobbing openly. “My son… my Erik… where is he? What’s happened to him?” Her cries were raw, her heartbreak impossible to hide.

Lydia’s voice turned firm. “Crying won’t bring him back. Right now, you need to pull yourself together. We can only help your son if we work together. That’s the only way to expose what’s really going on.”

Something in Lydia’s words seemed to anchor Victoria. She looked up, still sniffling, but now there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “Can you really save him? Is there a way?”

Lydia nodded, steady and sure. “I promise, we’ll bring him back. But you need to keep up the act. You can’t let that clone see anything’s wrong. Pretend everything’s normal, like you always have. That gives us time to find proof.”

Victoria’s voice shook. “I… I don’t know if I can do that.”

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