The True Heiress Reborn And Slays (Alicia Delaney) novel Chapter 315

Chapter 315 Family Accusations

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Just then, the front door of the villa swung open once more. Sophia hurried inside, supporting both Julian and Anthea as they rushed back. Her face was etched with clear anxiety.

When her eyes landed on the fresh cut near Lucas‘ mouth. Sophia let out a sharp, dramatic gasp. Her eyes welled up instantly, her expression crumbling into something fragile and heartbroken.

“Lucas! What in the world happened?!”

She pulled away from Anthea’s arm and reached out, fingers trembling toward the bruise forming at the corner of his lips.

But Lucas recoiled as if her touch were fire, brushing her hand aside.

He kept his voice low, a warning threaded through his rushed words. “Don’t. Riley’s home.”

Sophia’s gaze shot toward the closed upstairs bedroom door in disbelief.

“What? Riley… she’s here?”

After a beat, she added, her tone laced with subtle accusation, “So… she was here the whole time, and just let them do this to you?”

Anthea felt a hot surge of anger flare in her chest.

Lucas was her only son–her precious boy. She’d always babied him, hated to see him so much as stumble. And now here he was, lip split and looking thoroughly roughed up.

And Riley–his own wife–had apparently just stood by and watched coldly, without even trying to calm things down. It was absolutely unacceptable.

Anthea’s carefully maintained composure shattered. Forgetting that Sophia was still leaning on her, she shook off the younger woman’s hand and stormed toward the staircase.

“Riley! Open this door!”

Anthea planted herself outside Riley’s second–floor bedroom and hammered on the wood with loud, impatient thuds

“How could you be so cold–hearted?! You watched Lucas get beaten and didn’t even try to talk them down! What is he to you?! Do you hate him that much?! He’s your husband, for heaven’s sake!”

A few seconds later, the door eased open.

Riley stood there in simple loungewear. Her eyes calmly passed over Anthea to Sophia, who was watching from behind with barely concealed smugness.

Releasing a sigh so quiet it was almost imperceptible, Riley shifted slightly to the side, revealing her bandaged leg.

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11:36 Thu, Jun 4

Chapter 315 Family Accusations

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Then. gripping the doorframe for support, she limped forward toward Anthea. The awkward, pained movement formed a stark–almost ironic–contrast to Anthea’s furious stance.

“Did you really think… in my condition… there was anything I could’ve done?”

The corner of her mouth lifted into a thin, chilly smile. She went on. “Instead of standing here blaming me, why don’t you just say what you’re really thinking… Why wasn’t it me who got hurt instead of your precious son?”

Anthea’s furious outburst cut off abruptly. Shock and then flush of embarrassment flickered across her face.

Just as Anthea stood speechless, her face purpling with rage, Lucas arrived.

He caught his mother—now trembling with anger–by the arm, gently pulling her back a step. His eyes found Riley’s, complex and unreadable.

The cut at his mouth still throbbed, but right then, the cold irony in Riley’s gaze sent a deeper chill through him.

“Mom, that’s enough,” Lucas said, his voice weary but edged with something protective. “Back there, Alexander was completely out of control–like a man possessed. He wasn’t listening to reason. I told Riley to stay upstairs and keep out of sight so she wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire and hurt even more.

“Besides,” he added firmly, “if Riley hadn’t called the police when she did, those guys Alexander brought would still be tearing the place apart.

Lucas‘ explanation gave Anthea a way to back down, and it quietly cleared Riley of the charge of heartless indifference.

Anthea’s expression softened slightly, though she still eyed Riley with clear disapproval.

And Sophia, hearing Lucas defend his wife, let a venomous gleam hide deep in her eyes before schooling her features back into concern.

The scandal around Alexander blew over almost as quickly as it had erupted.

Caleb moved swiftly to draw a line under it. A tersely worded public statement announced that Alexander was no longer an employee of Ashford Group and that his personal conduct was entirely separate from the Ashford family or the corporation.

Between the lines rang the cold, final tone of a wealthy family disowning a problem child.

Two days later, after the doctors evaluated his progress, Caleb’s condition was finally deemed stable enough for him to return home to recuperate.

Perhaps sensing that the inheritance tensions during his illness had turned the family atmosphere sour, Caleb decided to project an image of unity.

To show the world that the Ashfords remained unshaken by a minor internal squall, he personally instructed Lucas to host a family dinner at the house and invite all the relatives–a gesture to lift spirits

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