Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 582

Lydia kept her grip tight on the scalpel. One wrong move and the blade would slice through Sandy’s artery. “How are you going to prove you’re innocent?” Lydia’s voice was icy. Regret twisted inside her. Why had she ever let Sandy near her grandmother? She should have had her thrown out. She should never have given Sandy a chance to get close. This was on her. She hadn’t protected her grandmother.

Sandy’s face had gone pale. Her voice trembled as she said, “You can wait until Grandma wakes up, ask her yourself. She’ll tell you if she fell or if I did something. Why would I hurt her? I don’t have any reason to, Lydia. I would never hurt her…”

“Then why did Grandma fall?” Lydia’s eyes were cold, her gaze sharp. Her grandmother was always careful. It didn’t make sense for her to fall down the stairs.

Sandy tried to remember what happened. “I was kneeling in the courtyard, begging her, and then it suddenly started pouring. Grandma saw me from upstairs and told me to get up, she didn’t want me kneeling in the rain. I was so relieved, I rushed upstairs to see her. But right when I got to the top, the lights went out. Someone outside shouted that the transformer blew. Grandma wanted to go downstairs, I tried to help her, but she wouldn’t let me. She said she could do it herself. Maybe it was just too dark. She couldn’t see the steps, and she missed one. She fell, and I froze. I ran down and found her at the bottom, bleeding everywhere.”

Tears welled up in Sandy’s eyes. She looked at Lydia, her voice breaking. “It really was an accident. If she’d just let me help her, maybe none of this would have happened. It’s my fault…”

Lydia stared at her for a long time, her face unreadable. To anyone else, Sandy’s story might sound believable. But Lydia refused to trust her so easily.

“You’d better not be lying,” Lydia said, her words low and dangerous. “If you are, you’ll wish you weren’t alive.” She let the blood-streaked blade brush gently against Sandy’s cheek.

Sandy was shaking now, her words catching on a sob. “You’re a doctor, Lydia. Please, help Grandma wake up. She can tell you what really happened. She can clear my name.”

Lydia just scoffed, stood up, and turned to leave.

“Lydia! Let me out!” Sandy yelled after her.

Connor crouched down. “The footprints are pretty clean. There’s no sign of a struggle.”

Lydia bent over, studying the marks, her brow furrowed. The scene really did look like an accident.

“It rained yesterday,” she said. “Sandy must have tracked water in from outside. Grandma was using her cane. She slipped.”

Connor nodded. “And the power was out. It was dark inside. She probably couldn’t see the steps and missed one.”