Sham Marriage Quit Real Heiress Strikes Back novel Chapter 303

Chapter 303 A Daughter’s Distance

Evelyn was on the verge of reminding her not to check her phone at the dinner table, but the words died in her throat as the news report sank in.

She shot a glance at Alexander.

Once she’d confirmed the story was true, Evelyn set her fork down. “No matter what’s happened, she’s still your biological mother. With the holidays so close, you really should go see her.”

“I don’t want to,” Elena replied, putting her own fork down. “I have nothing to do with her anymore.

Call it cold. Call it heartless.

She felt no connection to the Harts. Whatever fragile hope for family she’d once clung to had long since been worn away by their treatment of her.

Evelyn studied the woman across from her, her expression unreadable.

“It’s good to stand your ground, but from what they’re saying, Catherine might not make it. Malcolm and Vivian wouldn’t have wanted you to be cruel, either.

“Go see her.”

Elena pressed her lips together.

She thought of what Malcolm had taught her years before.

“Fine.”

Elena didn’t rush to the hospital.

It wasn’t until the next morning that she went, Alexander at her side.

News of Catherine’s accident had already blown up in the media. Her ties to Elena had been dug up, and the Kingsley name had been dragged into the spotlight.

When the reporters camped outside the hospital saw Elena step out of the car, they swarmed forward like sharks catching scent, eager for a statement.

But before they could get close, the opposite car door opened

A man in a tailored black suit emerged, followed closely by two broad-shouldered bodyguards..

The one leading them was Alexander.

The paparazzi who’d been surging forward immediately pulled back:

Not one dared to take another step.

Declan and the other guard fell in behind Elena and Alexander, shielding them as they walked into the hospital.

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16:04 Fri, May 22 d CISA M

Chapter 303 A Daughter’s Distance

Inside the elevator, Elena felt a turmoil she couldn’t put into words.

“We can turn around right now if you’re not ready for this,” Alexander said, watching her carefully.

“No. It’s just… a lot to take in,” she admitted with a faint, bitter smile.

Just half an hour before the crash, this woman had been throwing her weight around right in front of her. Now she was lying on some cold stretch of road, fighting for her life.

No one knew if she’d make it.

The elevator doors slid open.

Elena and Alexander stepped out into the hallway.

The sharp scent of antiseptic hit her immediately. She caught her breath without thinking. Further down, outside the ICU, Camille was slumped in a chair, crying uncontrollably. Nathan stood beside her, a hand on her shoulder.

Richard stood off to the side, looking like he’d aged ten years overnight.

He noticed them first.

“You came,” he said, voice worn thin.

Camille looked up at the sound. When her eyes landed on Elena, it was like someone had flipped a switch. She surged to her feet, stormed over, and swung her hand toward Elena’s face.

She never made contact.

Alexander caught her wrist mid-air.

With a controlled push, he forced her back several steps.

Camille’s eyes burned with rage.

She glared at Elena. “This was you, wasn’t it? Did you hire someone to hurt my family? If Nathan hadn’t pulled me from the car, all three of us would be in there right now. How can you be so vicious Fla

If looks could kill, Elena would have been dead a thousand times over.

Elena met Camille’s frantic gaze coolly. “If it were me, I wouldn’t have waited until now.”

“You-” Camille choked on her own anger.

“Who else could it be? This was no accident!”

They’d run into Elena at the mall less than half an hour before Catherine’s crash.

She refused to believe in coincidenc

like that.

“Then maybe you should ask yourselves who you’ve missed off lately.” Elena shot back, her laugh cold.

Camille spat. “You’re still

16:04 Fri, May 22 M

Chapter 303 A Daughter’s Distance

“Enough!” Richard’s voice cut through sharply.

“Dad, it has to be her-

“If Elena wanted to do something, she wouldn’t have waited for now.”

With Elena here visiting Catherine-and with Alexander beside her-this was a chance to keep things civil with the Kingsleys, Richard didn’t want to ruin that.

More than that, he really didn’t believe Elena was behind it.

Even though this daughter of his kept her distance, he liked to think he still understood her.

“Elena,” he began, choosing his words carefully while watching Alexander’s reaction, “I know you’ve got every reason to be angry with your mom and me. But your mother… The doctors say she might not wake up. You should go in and see her. She’s still the woman who gave birth to you.”

Elena didn’t enter the room. She simply stood outside the ICU window and looked in. Catherine lay motionless on the bed, an oxygen mask covering most of her face.

If not for the steady beep of the heart monitor, she could have been mistaken for gone already.

Elena stayed for only three minutes.

“Let’s go,” she said, turning to Alexander beside her.

“Elena, won’t you go in and talk to your mother? The doctors said she might… she might never wake up.”

“I have nothing to say to her.”

Elena didn’t soften just because Richard was trying to play the sympathy card.

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