Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 227

Aiden was still trying to dig up information, but whoever he was looking into had done a great job covering their tracks. He hadn’t found a single clue yet.

Connor frowned at him and just said, “Useless.”

Aiden felt like banging his head against the wall. Seriously, when did he become known as useless? That word had nothing to do with him before, but now it felt like it was stuck to his forehead.

When Lydia got back to the main house, Tina, her maid, hurried over with a respectful smile. “Miss Lydia, you’re home. I’ll go bring your dinner from the kitchen.”

“No need, I already ate. Thanks for waiting up for me. You should turn in early tonight.”

Tina looked a bit surprised. “Are you sure you don’t want a little something? There’s still some chicken soup and ginseng tea, Mrs. Norwood made sure the kitchen prepared them for you.”

Lydia shook her head. “No, really, I’m good. You have them instead. No point letting it go to waste.”

As Lydia walked upstairs, Tina felt a wave of warmth in her chest. Lydia was always so kind to the staff, just like Mr. and Mrs. Norwood. She was nothing like Lucinda, who barked orders all day and treated them like they were invisible, except for Grace. Grace always got special treatment.

Lydia took a long, relaxing bath before picking up her phone to respond to her messages.

Grandpa Samuel had sent her a giftcard, telling her to buy snacks. She couldn’t help but smile. The old man was probably already asleep, so she typed back, [Thank you, Grandpa Samuel. I already have some spending money. I’ll come visit you in a few days. Goodnight.]

Then she checked Juna’s messages.

[Oh my god! You told me not to ask for a deposit, and now they think we’re scammers!]

Heading downstairs, Lydia heard Grace’s sharp, angry voice echoing through the hall. “Tina! How dare you? Mr. and Mrs. Norwood aren’t home, and you’re stealing chicken soup and ginseng? Do you have any idea how expensive those are? You shouldn’t even think about touching them.”

Tina’s voice trembled as she tried to explain. “Grace, we didn’t steal anything. Miss Lydia gave them to me last night. I didn’t touch them, and I thought the soup would be good for the younger girls, so I gave it to Judy and Alexis. It’s not what you think.”

Grace snorted. “Miss Lydia drinks every drop of that soup every night. She barely gets enough herself, and you expect me to believe she just handed it over to you? All three of you are shameless liars. Pack your things and get out. I don’t want to see you here another minute.”

In Grace’s mind, Lydia came from some tiny rural town, probably never even tasted something as pricey as ginseng tea before. Mrs. Norwood had it made for her every night, and Lydia always finished it, so there was no way she’d give it away to Tina.

Judy and Alexis never thought that just drinking some soup Tina gave them would get them fired. Tears started streaming down their faces.

“No, we didn’t steal anything. Grace, please, don’t fire us...”