She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 716

"I am a little curious about one thing, though."

Watching Edgar and Alicia being shoved into police cruisers, Loyce pondered out loud, "Sybil is her biological daughter. There's decades of shared history and dependency there. Why did Alicia choose to leave her to die at the end? Was she really just that afraid for her own life?"

After handing Sybil off to the paramedics and assigning bodyguards for round-the-clock protection, Morris guided Loyce to his car.

"What about Horace?" he asked, starting the engine to trail the ambulance.

"Dead," Loyce replied. "He fell when the ground caved in. That ancient tomb was lined with mercury traps to deter grave robbers. A man his age? He's dust by now."

"The police will notify his family immediately. We'll probably find out the motive soon enough," Morris noted.

Sybil had inhaled a massive amount of toxic gas, resulting in severe lung infections, on top of heavy trauma. Her condition was critical and life-threatening.

As the true owner of Blossom Hospital, Loyce personally scrubbed in to perform the life-saving surgery. She purged the toxins from Sybil's system and meticulously repaired her shattered sternum and arm.

Even Loyce was slightly impressed. Sybil had lived a pampered life. With fractures that severe, the pain should have paralyzed her. Yet, fueled by pure adrenaline and blinding hatred, she had pushed through the agony just to confront her mother.

Just how deep did that hatred run?

After finishing Sybil's operation, Loyce rotated into the ER to help stabilize the flood of casualties from the banquet collapse. She and the rest of the medical staff didn't get a break until the early hours of the next morning.

Her brothers and grandfather rushed to the hospital—partly to check on her, and partly to see the battered cousin who had just nuked her own parents on live television.

Looking through the glass at the comatose Sybil, Gordon sighed heavily. "You reap what you sow."

Hank's expression was complicated, though devoid of much sympathy. "Alicia really shot herself in the foot this time."

Sybil stayed in the ICU for three full days before waking up and being transferred to a regular ward.

The moment she regained consciousness, the police arrived to take her official statement. But she just stared at the ceiling with empty eyes, refusing to speak a single word to anyone.

Unable to force her, the officers had to leave.

Behind the one-way glass in the monitoring room, Hank rubbed his chin. "She's hesitating. She's terrified right now, and she's probably regretting what she did in the heat of the moment."

"It makes sense," Morris said softly. "They've completely severed ties with us. If she testifies, she won't have a husband or parents. She'll lose her entire support system. For someone who's relied on others her whole life, facing the world completely alone is terrifying. It's only natural she's having second thoughts."

Just then, Forrest walked into the room, accompanied by Larry. "Horace's children still haven't shown up, even though the police notified them days ago."

Hank turned around. "Forrest? Why did you bring a lawyer?"

Larry placed a document folder on the table and tapped the monitor displaying Sybil, a slight smile on his face. "I'm usually based abroad, but since Mr. Lonsdale hired me, I took a little trip to visit Mr. Fremont's children on his behalf. I discovered a rather shocking truth."

Hank pulled the documents from the folder. As the brothers gathered around to read it, a collective, dark chuckle filled the room.

"No wonder," Morris murmured. "No wonder Alicia was so quick to abandon her daughter. It wasn't because Sybil was an embarrassment or useless. It was precisely because she still had one final, massive use left."

Loyce walked out of the adjoining resting room, rubbing her eyes with the languid grace of someone who had just woken up. She opened the door and asked, "What are my brothers looking at?"