The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 185

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE CLAIRE’S POV

The drive to the hospital felt endless.

Rain hammered violently against my windshield, and my pulse refused to settle properly beneath my ribs.

Margot was awake.

Actually awake!

This wasn’t another false alarm, or another flicker of movement.

She was fully awake.

My hands tightened around the steering wheel as I switched lanes too sharply, barely hearing another driver’s angry horn somewhere behind me.

God.

After everything- after the accidents, the lies, the attacks- Margot waking up felt almost unreal.

By the time I reached the hospital parking lot, my breathing was uneven.

I hurried through the entrance, ignoring the curious glances from nurses and visitors who clearly recognized me from the news coverage.

The private floor where Margot had been kept under security was quieter than usual tonight.

Two armed guards stood outside the corridor entrance- guards hired by Lucian.

Of course.

One of them nodded immediately when he saw me approaching.

“Ms. Moreau.”

I barely acknowledged him before moving quickly down the hallway-

Then I stopped abruptly.

Lucian stood outside Margot’s room, tall and still.

I could tell he’d come here in a hurry.

His head turned toward me immediately, and suddenly, everything felt strange.

Different- dangerously different.

Because this was the first time we had stood this close since the gala.

Since his speech,

Since Nathaniel broke up with me.

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Since the article,

Well, since everything.

No buffer existed between us anymore- no safe distance, no need to pretend.

His eyes searched mine quietly.

“You came quickly,” he said softly.

I swallowed hard. “So did you.”

“The security called me.” Lucian stated.

Right.

Of course they had.

He had stationed men on this floor for nearly three weeks now.

Paid for entirely by him.

I looked away first. “How is she?” I asked, trying to seem unaffected by his presence.

“She’s weak,” he answered quietly. “But conscious.”

Good.

I nodded once before pushing the door open carefully.

Tears burned behind my eyes the moment I saw Margot sitting partially upright in the hospital bed.

She still looked pale and fragile.

Tired, but alive.

Actually alive.

“Margot,” I whispered.

Her gaze shifted toward me slowly before softening.

“Well,” she rasped weakly, “you look terrible.”

A startled laugh escaped me despite my tears.

Then suddenly I was beside her bed, holding her hand carefully. “You scared me to death.”

“That wasn’t intentional.”

Her voice was so rough you could tell she hadn’t used it for a while, but the dry humor underneath it sounded exactly the same.

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And somehow that made me even more emotional.

Lucian remained near the doorway quietly while the doctor adjusted a few machines before eventually leaving us alone briefly.

Margot looked between both of us slowly.

“You two look worse than I do.”

Neither of us answered.

Because honestly?

She wasn’t wrong.

Margot exhaled carefully before speaking again.

“I remember enough.”

Lucian’s expression sharpened instantly.

“What do you remember?”

Margot’s eyes hardened faintly.

“Eva.”

The room fell completely silent.

“She orchestrated the infertility diagnosis,” Margot said quietly. “The report Claire received was never

hers.”

My throat tightened immediately.

Lucian went still beside me.

“It was Eva’s diagnosis,” Margot continued. “She’s infertile. Dr. Ramon was one of her associates.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

Even hearing it again felt surreal.

Like saying it aloud somehow made the damage more horrifying.

Margot looked at Lucian directly.

“She paid him to falsify Claire’s medical records.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened violently.

For a moment, I genuinely thought he might break something.

Instead he asked quietly,

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“How long did you know?”

“Not long enough.”

Her voice carried frustration now.

“I was still building evidence.”

Lucian exchanged a quick look with me before saying,

“We think Eva also orchestrated the crash.”

Margot’s eyes narrowed immediately.

“The event crash?”

“We can’t prove it yet,” I added quickly. “But there was a man. The same man who later entered your hospital room pretending to be a nurse.”

Lucian’s expression darkened instantly at the memory.

“He fought military,” he said coldly. “Not amateur level.”

Margot frowned deeply.

“The file,” she murmured suddenly.

Lucian looked at her immediately.

“What about it?”

“If he’s connected to Eva, he’s probably in the file somewhere.”

My stomach twisted painfully.

Lucian glanced toward me.

And we both knew.

I swallowed hard.

“The file was stolen.”

Margot stared at me.

“What?”

“The man broke into Sinclair & Co,” I explained quietly. “He stole the file and my phone.”

A long silence followed.

Then Margot muttered a curse under her breath.

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“I knew I should’ve hidden it better.”

“I saw him,” I said suddenly.

Both of them looked toward me immediately.

“The man. I saw his photograph in the file before it was stolen.”

Lucian stepped closer instantly.

“You’re sure?”

I nodded slowly.

“I didn’t know who he was at the time, but I remember his face.”

Margot leaned back weakly against the pillows.

“Good.”

Then-

despite everything-

she smiled faintly.

“There’s another copy.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“I would never keep something that important in only one place,” Margot said dryly. “There’s another file locked in my home safe.”

Relief crashed through me so fast my knees almost weakened.

Lucian exhaled sharply beside me.

For the first time in weeks, it felt like we weren’t completely losing.

But then Margot looked at me again.

Really looked at me.

And her expression changed.

Softer now.

Sad almost.