Chapter 52
Reginald looked at her, a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "My dad's birthday is tomorrow."
Lucinda nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"He wants to be discharged from the hospital. I came over to handle the paperwork and check on him." Reginald paused. "The doctor said he's recovering well and can go home to rest. I arranged for him to be discharged tomorrow and went to see him in his room—"
He stopped, his mouth twitching slightly. "He asked me if I'd brought my fiancée."
Lucinda looked at him without saying anything.
"I told him no. He wasn't happy. He said it's his birthday and he wants to see his future daughter-in-law, not his son. He sees his son every day. He's sick of looking at me. But he hasn't seen his daughter-in-law in a while, and he misses her."
Francis, standing nearby, couldn't hold back a laugh. Valencia shot him a look, and he immediately stifled it.
Reginald continued. "I left his room, finished arranging everything for tomorrow, and realized I hadn't seen you today. So I went to your office. Ethan said you weren't there—that you'd come to the nursing facility."
He glanced at Lucinda. "So I drove here. When I got to the front desk, they said you were accompanying your parents for their checkup. So I—"
He gestured toward the parking lot. "I saw the Douglas family's car heading this way. I figured you'd come out from here, so I waited."
Lucinda listened in silence for two seconds.
She looked at the dust on the shoulder of his coat, then at his expression—one that clearly said, 'I waited a long time but I'm not going to say that.' Her lips curved slightly. "How long did you wait?"
"Not long." Reginald's tone was casual, but the look in his eyes gave him away.
Standing behind them, Valencia couldn't suppress her smile.
She tugged on Wesley's sleeve and whispered, "He's honest, at least."
Wesley didn't say anything, but he nodded, satisfaction glinting in his eyes.
Francis walked over and clapped Reginald on the shoulder. "Mr. Lancaster, my sister's not that easy to wait for."
Reginald glanced at him but didn't respond. His gaze returned to Lucinda's face, as if waiting for her to say something.
Lucinda looked at him, thought for a moment, then spoke. "Tomorrow's your father's birthday. I'll go with you to see him."
Reginald's eyes lit up instantly.
That spark spread from the depths of his gaze, across his brows, to the corners of his mouth. His whole face seemed to glow. "Okay. I'll pick you up tomorrow."
"Okay."
Valencia, watching from the side, couldn't help but smile. She tugged Wesley along and whispered, "All right, all right. The lovebirds need to talk. Let's get in the car."
Francis followed, glancing back with a grin and a shake of his head.
By the time Lucinda registered what was happening, she realized the Douglas family had vanished.
She blinked, looking around in confusion. Then she saw a familiar car pull up in front of her.
Francis leaned out the window and called over. "Cindy, our car's too small. Can't fit everyone. You ride with Reginald."
Reginald stood beside Lucinda, smiling from ear to ear. He waved. "Dad, Mom, drive safe."
Lucinda turned to glare at him. "Why are you calling them that?"
"It's only a matter of time." Reginald's tone was matter-of-fact.
Before she could respond, the Douglas family's car window rolled up. The engine started, and the car drove off in a flash.
Lucinda stood there, watching the vehicle disappear around the corner. Her mouth twitched.
Too small? The Douglas family's car could seat seven people. How was that small?
She'd just been… abandoned by her own parents?
She pulled her gaze back and looked at Reginald.
He'd already opened the car door, his hand resting protectively on the frame. He was looking at her, smiling, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Come on, my wife," he said, his tone as gentle as if he were coaxing a child.
"Who's your wife?" Lucinda shot him a look but bent down and got into the car anyway.
Reginald closed the door, walked around to the other side, and slid in beside her. Immediately, he leaned closer, his hand naturally reaching over to take hers. "You."
Lucinda didn't respond. But she didn't pull her hand away either.
The driver glanced at them in the rearview mirror, then quietly looked away.
The boss's clingy behavior was really too much to watch.
The car pulled out of the nursing facility and merged into traffic.
Meanwhile, back in the lobby of the facility, Preston was still staring down the corridor.
His legs had gone numb from standing so long. His eyes ached. But that figure never appeared.
He glanced at his watch. Nearly two hours had passed.
He bit down hard, then turned and walked outside.
Once he stepped out the doors, he stood on the steps and looked around. The parking lot was empty. That Maybach was gone.
He walked back to the corner of the lot in a daze. Gemma and Allegra were leaning against the car, waiting.
The moment Gemma saw him return alone, her face darkened. "Where is she? You didn't catch her?"
Preston shook his head, his voice hoarse. "She left. I don't know which way she went. I didn't see her."
Gemma's face flushed red. Her voice turned shrill. "That ungrateful brat! We raised her for twenty years, and now that she has money, she won't even see us? Does she have no conscience?"
"Shut up!" Preston suddenly roared. Gemma flinched, the words dying in her throat.
Preston was breathing hard, glaring at Gemma. "This is all your fault! You bossed her around, yelled at her, gave her dirty looks all the time. Now she doesn't want anything to do with us. Are you happy?"
Gemma's face twisted with humiliation. She wanted to argue back but didn't dare.
She had no idea what Preston had seen in the lobby. She assumed he was lashing out because he'd failed to catch Lucinda.
Allegra, standing beside them, tried to smooth things over. "Dad, Mom, now's not the time to fight. We need to figure something out."
Preston took a deep breath, forcing down his anger. He looked at his daughter. "What do you have in mind?"
Allegra thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Marshall mentioned that Mr. Hayden Lancaster is also staying at this facility. And tomorrow is his birthday."
Preston's brow twitched.
The Lancaster family. The richest family in the world. True elite royalty.
If they could get in with the Lancasters, the Wipere family wouldn't just recover—they'd soar.
"Mr. Hayden Lancaster's birthday—he'll definitely be receiving gifts. We can get something nice and send it to the Lancaster family. As long as Mr. Hayden remembers us, things will get easier from there." Allegra grew more excited as she spoke. "If the Lancaster family accepts us, we'll really have made it."
Gemma's eyes lit up too. She nodded eagerly. "Yes, Allegra's right. The Lancaster family—now that's real power. If we can get in with them, what do we have to be afraid of?"
Preston stayed quiet for a while, then nodded.
He thought back to what he'd seen in the lobby.
Wesley. Valencia. Francis. And that butler, bowing respectfully behind them.
He hadn't told his wife and daughter about it. Because he still wasn't sure.
After all, who could imagine that Lucinda's supposed slum parents had turned out to be the richest family in the country?
It was too absurd.
That image spun around and around in his mind like a thorn stuck in his throat—impossible to swallow, impossible to spit out.
"Fine. Let's do it."
Hope reignited on all three of their faces.
So what if Lucinda wouldn't help them? They had better options.
As long as they could get in with the Lancaster family, the Wipere family wouldn't just survive—they'd fly even higher.