Ready to Rule: The Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 897

When Lydia looked over the infection report, her eyes went ice cold. The number of people infected in the hospital alone had shot up to one hundred fifty-two, with forty-nine already dead. She honestly couldn’t believe the numbers were even real. And then there were the hidden cases, the ones showing no symptoms at all. Lydia tried not to think about it. Things at the border were already this bad, and they’d been covering it up the whole time.

“Report everything right now,” she said, her voice sharp. “Contact the local government. Lock down the city.”

Spencer practically jumped out of his skin. “Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what locking down the city will cause? We can’t do that, absolutely not!”

Lydia slammed the report down on the table. The sound echoed off the walls, and the chill coming off her was enough to make anyone freeze. “With this many people infected, and who knows how many cases we haven’t even found yet, if we don’t lock down, what do you want? Let the virus spread to every city in the country? Have the whole nation get sick?”

Her intensity made Spencer shrink back. For a second, he couldn’t get a word out.

“The lockdown’s only temporary. Once we clear the virus, life will go back to normal. But if we don’t do it now, and it spreads everywhere, can you handle the consequences?”

This virus was brutal. It killed fast, spread faster, and worst of all, there was no real treatment yet. The antidote was in short supply. Lydia had come here with just one hundred doses. Only one hundred. She thought that would be enough. She was wrong.

She fixed Spencer with a glare that could have frozen fire. He looked away, voice getting smaller. “Don’t look at me like that. We reported the first case as soon as we found it. Your research institute just couldn’t make enough antidote. What were we supposed to do? If you want to blame someone, blame your own people for not being good enough.”

Lydia let out a cold laugh. “You mess things up, then try to blame someone else?”

Spencer glared right back. “You think you’re some kind of hero just because you brought the antidote? I’m the one in charge here.”

Connor brought her breakfast, setting it down in front of her. He made sure the whole office was disinfected before he’d even let her touch her food.

Lydia let out a long breath and looked at him. “I thought I’d be able to save more of those herbs from Mount Gemspire for you. But now...”

Connor just shrugged. “Write down whatever you need. I’ll have Damien go get it and get it here as fast as possible.”

She paused, then finally said, “Thank you.” Just those two words, but they were heavy.

Connor nudged the food closer. His voice was soft, sincere. “Those herbs growing wild on the mountain—no different than weeds, really. Using them to save lives is the best thing we could do with them. But what about that guy Spencer? What are you planning to do with him? If you ask me, I think he’s a mole.”