The Flower That Grew from Ashes novel Chapter 16

Felix stood there stoically, resembling a lifeless statue as he waited for her response.

Harriet was pale with terror. Instinctively, she stepped between Felix and the bed, as if her small frame could block out the suffocating pressure radiating from the Lehman family's emissary.

Annelise shifted her gaze from Felix's rigid face to the beautifully packaged boxes stacked behind him.

Expensive imported vitamins, rare organic tonics, and high-end health supplements.

Each item cost a fortune, practically serving as hush money disguised as care. Look how incredibly thoughtful and generous the Lehman family was to their weak, grieving daughter-in-law who had just lost a child.

A microscopic, mocking smile twitched at the corner of her lips.

"I understand," Annelise said. Her voice, still raspy from the surgery, was strikingly calm. "Thank you for making the trip, Felix. Please pass along my gratitude to Mom for her concern."

Accustomed to her submissive obedience, Felix simply nodded. But instead of leaving, he turned and gestured for the staff to arrange the expensive gifts on the table.

They moved with meticulous precision, as if performing a solemn ritual.

Once everything was perfectly placed, Felix reached into his black leather briefcase and pulled out a thick, unsealed manila envelope.

"Furthermore, Mr. Lehman asked me to personally hand this to you."

Felix held the envelope out with both hands. His posture was perfectly respectful, yet his eyes bored into hers, silently demanding compliance.

Harriet watched the envelope like a hawk, her palms sweating profusely.

Annelise reached out and took it. It felt heavy.

She didn't open it immediately. Instead, she ran her fingertips over the rough texture of the paper.

Felix remained planted in his spot, clearly under strict orders to watch her read it.

In the past, they might have held back out of a shallow respect for her status as the sole Sargent heir and her marriage to Hackett, trying to keep up appearances.

But now, her baby was gone. They had struck at the exact moment she was recovering from an "ectopic pregnancy," when she was physically and mentally shattered, branded as a "barren" woman, and completely isolated within their household. They had finally ripped off their masks of basic decency and handed her a formalized declaration of robbery.

Annelise's fingertips turned white from her grip, but her face remained an unreadable mask. She sat in total silence, methodically turning every single page until she reached the end.

Then, with slow, deliberate movements, she slid the documents back into the envelope.

"I understand." She lifted her chin, meeting Felix's gaze. "We will discuss this after I am discharged."

Felix's eyes lingered on her face for two long seconds, trying to decipher what was hiding behind her unnerving calm.

He found absolutely nothing. The woman sitting in the hospital bed was deathly pale with cracked lips, yet her eyes were like a pitch-black lake—impenetrable and impossibly deep.