Chapter 184
She lowered her eyes, forcing down the surge of emotion rising in her chest. When she looked up again, she was smiling. "Got it, Manuel. Go take care of business. I won't starve myself to death."
Manuel let out a soft laugh at that, and the faint shadow in his eyes finally lifted.
He speared another piece of fish and set it on her plate. "Good. That's all I needed to hear."
That afternoon, after wrapping up work at the company, the siblings headed to the hospital together.
As the car pulled through the gates of the Douglas Group's private hospital, Lucinda glanced out the window at the gray-and-white building.
Wide portico. Neatly trimmed greenery. People moving in and out with purpose but no panic—the kind of place where you could tell at a glance that medical resources were never in short supply.
They took the elevator up and walked down a long corridor, stopping outside a VIP room.
The door was ajar. Valencia's voice drifted out from inside.
Lucinda pushed it open.
The room was spacious. Near the window, an elderly woman lay in bed, her silver hair combed neatly back. Her face was gaunt but peaceful, eyes closed as if she were simply asleep.
Valencia sat beside her, gently wiping the old woman's fingers with a damp cloth.
Wesley stood by the window. When he saw Lucinda enter, his eyes warmed with a smile.
Dahlia stood at the foot of the bed, holding a fruit platter. The pieces were cut with precision, arranged into something almost decorative.
When she saw Lucinda and Manuel walk in together, something flickered in her eyes—brief, dark—but she covered it quickly with that sweet, obedient smile of hers.
"Lucinda, you're here." Her voice was soft, pitched just right to sound welcoming. "Grandma's looking so much better today. The doctor said all her vitals are heading in the right direction."
Lucinda didn't look at her. She walked straight to the bedside and gazed down at that aged, quiet face.
This was her grandmother.
Her blood grandmother.
Valencia set down the cloth and stood, reaching for Lucinda's hand. She pulled her closer to the bed, her voice bright with poorly concealed joy. "Mom, look—Cindy's here to see you. Your granddaughter. The one you've been asking about. She's finally here."
The old woman on the bed didn't open her eyes, but her fingers twitched slightly, as if in response.
A nurse came in just then, carrying a tray for a medication change. Seeing Valencia holding Lucinda's hand, she asked casually, "Mrs. Douglas, who's this young lady?"
Valencia turned, her tone easy and matter-of-fact. "My daughter. The Douglas family's heiress—lost for twenty years. We just found her recently."
The nurse's eyes brightened a little. She smiled and nodded. "Oh, your daughter. She's beautiful. You can tell right away she's a Douglas."
Dahlia stood at the foot of the bed, her fingers digging into the edge of the fruit platter hard enough to warp it slightly.
She took a deep breath, shoved down the feelings clawing their way up, and stepped forward with a smile plastered across her face.
"Lucinda, if you ever feel sick or anything, just come to this hospital. Everything's free for you. The doctors and equipment here are top-tier—way better than those little clinics you've probably been to before. Don't worry. Now that the Douglas family's got your back, you don't have to stress about anything."
She finished with a slight tilt of her chin, eyes flicking toward Lucinda as if waiting for that look—the wide-eyed "wow, the Douglas family is so amazing" kind of look.
Lucinda turned her head, gave her one flat glance, and said nothing.
Dahlia's smile froze.
What was that supposed to mean?
Wasn't Lucinda just some small-town hick? Why wasn't she reacting at all?
Valencia's brow furrowed slightly.
She glanced at Dahlia, her tone edged with disapproval. "What are you even talking about? Why would Cindy need to see a 'good hospital' for the first time? Her grandmother's staying at the sanatorium in the south district. There isn't a better facility in all of Starlight City. In terms of medical staff and equipment, it's even better than our own hospital."
Dahlia's smile cracked.
Valencia's tone was casual, like she was just making conversation. But to Dahlia, those words felt like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head.
The south district sanatorium?
Of course she knew that place.
It was called a sanatorium, but it was really a comprehensive medical center.
The doctors were poached from the top hospitals worldwide. The equipment was cutting-edge. The nursing staff was the best in the industry.
And here was the kicker: the place wasn't open to the public. Money couldn't buy you in. It only accepted guests of a certain caliber.
She'd pulled strings through multiple connections just to try and book a full physical there. Couldn't even get an appointment number.
And now Valencia was saying Lucinda's grandmother was staying there?
Which meant Lucinda could just… walk in and out whenever she wanted?
Dahlia's face went through several shades of pale.
How was that even possible?
Someone like Lucinda—a country bumpkin—her grandmother was at the south district sanatorium?
She must be lying. Trying to make herself look better than she actually was.
Clinging to that thought, Dahlia forced her smile back into place. "Mom, really? Who told you that? You don't think… Lucinda might be making it up, do you? Even we have to wait for the right opportunity to get into that place. How could she just go?"
But Valencia's next words shattered everything Dahlia thought she knew.
Valencia's expression darkened further. "What are you talking about, child?"
She reached out and tapped Dahlia's hand, her tone scolding. "That sanatorium belongs to Cindy. Why wouldn't she be able to go in? You really should talk to your sister more."
Dahlia's eyes went wide. Something inside her chest cracked clean in half.
What?
That sanatorium—the most exclusive facility in all of Starlight City, the one money couldn't even touch—belonged to Lucinda?
How… how was that possible?
How could Lucinda possibly own a place like that?
Her mind spun into chaos. Her fingers dug harder into the fruit platter, knuckles going white, the edge of the plate nearly denting under the pressure.
She sucked in a breath. To keep from falling apart in front of the Douglas family, she shoved her expression back down where it belonged.
She lowered her head, pretending to rearrange the fruit.
Lucinda hadn't looked at her once. Her gaze stayed fixed on her grandmother's face.
The old woman's breathing was faint, her chest rising and falling in shallow rhythm.
But after a few seconds, Lucinda's brow furrowed.
Her breathing was too shallow. Almost invisible. The rise and fall of her chest was half what it had been moments ago.
"Mom." Lucinda's voice dropped, suddenly sharp. "Something's wrong with Grandma."
Valencia froze, following her gaze to the old woman on the bed.
And then the heart monitor spiked.
A single, shrill beep cut through the air.
The next second, the line on the screen lurched violently. The numbers shot up from the seventies to over a hundred thirty, then plummeted.
The alarm shrieked through the quiet room.