Chapter 241 241

Chapter 241 241


The double doors of Brooks Manor slammed open, the heavy wood rebounding off the walls with a sound like a gunshot.

“Olivia!”
Blair’s voice ripped through the foyer.

Everyone turned instantly. Olivia, standing by the foot of the staircase beside Lucas and Patricia, felt her body go rigid. For a single, unscripted second, raw panic flashed across her face.

And from the furious, tear-streaked fire in her eyes, Olivia’s stomach plummeted through the floorboards.
Oh my God. She found Mom.

Olivia’s hands curled into fists, her manicured nails biting deep into her palms. What the hell do I do now?

In a fraction of a heartbeat, the panic vanished under a smooth, expertly crafted layer of innocence.

Blair stormed across the floor, stopping just inches from her. “How dare you!”

Olivia took a  step back, her hands coming up defensively. “What are you talking about?”

“How dare you do this to Mom!” Blair’s voice cracked, thick with rage.

Olivia blinked, her eyes wide and guileless. “To Mom?” She glanced at Patricia, then at Lucas, looking completely lost. “Blair, what are you even saying?”

“How dare you treat your own mother like a prisoner!”

Lucas’s brows pulled tight, his hand resting against his wounded side as he stepped forward. Patricia’s jaw set, her expression shifting between annoyance and deep confusion.

“Blair, what is going on?” Lucas asked, his voice low.
Blair didn’t even glance at him. Her eyes were locked onto Olivia like a sights on a target. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Olivia shook her head, letting out a small, breathless laugh that sounded entirely bewildered. “No, Blair, I really don’t. You suddenly barge into this house screaming at me, accusing me of crazy things—”

She got to her, Olivia’s mind was screaming. She actually got to her. Think, damn it, think!

Patricia stepped between them, her tone sharp. “Blair, enough. You are making an absolute scene in my home.”

Blair snapped her head toward her. “A scene?”
“Yes,” Patricia said, her posture stiffening. “Whatever personal grievance you have with Olivia, you will not come into this house yelling like a—”

“The woman you’ve been defending this entire time…” Blair’s voice trembled, burning with quiet venom, “…is the same person who had my mom locked away and tried to destroy my life.”

The foyer dropped into dead silence.
Patricia paused, the color slowly draining from her face. “What?”

Olivia immediately pushed forward, her eyes brimming with sudden, practiced tears. “See? Look at what she’s doing!” She turned to Lucas, her hands trembling. “She’s trying to poison you against me. I don’t know what kind of episode she’s having, but she’s clearly out of her mind!”

Blair let out a cold, bitter laugh. “Cut the crap, Olivia.”
Olivia flinched.

“I have taken your hits for years,” Blair said, stepping directly into Olivia’s space, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “And honestly? I am ashamed to share your blood.”
Olivia’s jaw tightened, the sweet façade cracking just around the edges. “Blair—”

“What is this?”
Blair yanked a thick folded document from her bag and slapped it into the air between them.

Olivia’s eyes locked onto the official letterhead of the medical report. The temperature in her blood plummeted to absolute zero. No. No, no, no.

She reached out instinctively. “Give me that.”
Blair snatched the papers back out of reach. “Not a chance.”
“Blair, those are private records—”
“Were you really that desperate to marry into this family?” Blair’s voice rang clear across the hall. “You told everyone you were the rare blood donor who saved Patricia’s life five years ago.”

Olivia’s skin went ghostly white.
“You let them build you a pedestal for a miracle you had nothing to do with,” Blair whispered. “It wasn't you.”

Olivia swallowed, her throat completely dry.
“It was me.”
Lucas’s eyes narrowed into dark, dangerous slits. “What did you just say?”
Blair turned to him. Without a word, she handed the stamped medical audit directly into his hands. “Read page two, Mr. Brooks.”

Lucas looked down. His thumb traced the embossed seal of the hospital archive. His eyes scanned the ink, row by row, until they stopped dead at the bottom of the page.

His breathing shallowing. His posture froze.
Memory rushed back over him—the monitors, the emergency alarms, the doctor telling him his mother had minutes to live unless a matching donor miraculously appeared. 

He remembered the nameless donor who had refused money, refused recognition, and vanished into the night before he could say thank you.
Lucas’s eyes widened, his chest heaving. “No…”

Patricia stepped beside him, her hand trembling as she reached out. “Lucas? What is it?”

Lucas couldn't speak. He simply turned the paper toward his mother.
Patricia’s eyes scanned the bold text.
DONOR IDENTIFICATION: BLAIR RIVERS HERNANDEZ.
MATCH CONFIRMED: 100%.

Not Olivia’s .

Patricia’s hand flew to her mouth, a sharp gasp escaping her lips. She stared at the paper, then looked up at Blair, her mind completely reeling as the past five years shattered into pieces right in front of her. “Blair…”

Olivia made one last desperate, lunging grab for the documents, but Blair pulled them back smoothly, tucking them against her chest.

“Your game is over, Olivia.”

Olivia stared at Blair, her chest heaving behind her blazer.
Then, low in her throat, Olivia started to laugh.

It wasn't a joke, and it certainly wasn't funny. It was a thin, dry sound that rattled off the high ceilings.

Patricia took a step back, looking at her like she’d suddenly turned into a stranger. “Olivia?”

Olivia brushed a stray tear from the corner of her eye with her thumb, her smile stretching thin and sharp across her face. “You caught me.”

Blair’s posture didn't yield an inch.
“Congratulations, Blair,” Olivia purred, her eyes shining with something dark and slick. “You actually managed to dig up something you can use.”

Lucas’s jaw worked, his posture going terrifyingly rigid despite the agony in his side. “Olivia. What the hell did you do?”

She didn't even turn her head to acknowledge him. Her gaze was locked onto her sister like a blade. “You always were so damn stubborn.” She took a slow, heavy step forward, her heels snapping  against the stone floor. “But do you really think one piece of old paper breaks me?”

Blair squeezed the audit reports in her fist until the edges crumpled. “This isn’t just paper, Olivia. And you know it.”
“Oh? Enlighten me.”

“You locked Mom away,” Blair spat, the raw venom in her voice echoing through the open space.

Olivia’s smile flashed , then died.

“You bought off the staff. You paid off the doctors,” Blair continued, taking a step right back toward her, refusing to give an inch of ground. “You made sure everyone thought she was losing her mind so that if she ever tried to speak up, nobody would take her seriously!”

Patricia’s hand crept up to her throat, her face draining of every drop of color. “Olivia… tell me she’s lying.”

“And whenever she tried to get a message to me…” Blair’s voice cracked, thick with five years of swallowed grief, “…you made sure it vanished.”

Olivia’s jaw set into a hard, white line. “That is enough.”

“No,” Blair fired back, her eyes burning bright through her tears. “I am done being quiet! I spent years giving you the benefit of the doubt.

I defended you! I felt guilty every single time I questioned your motives because you were my sister!” She shook her head, a bitter tear finally slipping down her cheek. “I hated myself for thinking you were capable of something like this. But you were.”

“Blair—” Lucas started, stepping up beside her.