Chapter 133
The car pulled smoothly up to Juliana's apartment building.
Lucas leaned down and scooped up the still-sleeping Juliana in his arms.
She drowsily opened her eyes and saw his sharp jawline. "We're here?"
"Yeah." Lucas carried her into the elevator. "Go back to sleep."
He used her fingerprint to unlock the door, carried her to the bedroom, and set her down on the bed. He took off her shoes, pulled the covers over her, then straightened up and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I need to handle something. Get some rest."
Juliana nodded, her eyelids already drooping heavily.
Lucas closed the bedroom door behind him. When he turned to leave, the small trace of warmth on his face had completely vanished.
……
The Sharp estate.
Ashley sat on the main couch, her face ashen, the coffee table in front of her covered with scattered documents.
The moment Lucas walked in, the butler approached him, hesitant to speak.
Lucas ignored him and walked straight to Ashley, picking up one of the documents. It was a report on overseas asset transfers, signed by Logan.
Over the past few years, using various methods, he'd been moving choice assets from the Sharp family holdings—bit by bit, like ants relocating—into shell companies he controlled overseas.
Now those companies had grown wings and formed a business empire not to be underestimated.
Lucas flipped through page after page, his expression blank.
He'd already cut off all Logan's domestic funding sources and connections long ago, turning him into a hollow trust-fund kid who could only survive on Sharp family dividends.
These complex asset transfers involved approval processes and legal documents that would be impossible to complete without authorization from the highest levels within the Sharp family.
Lucas's gaze fell on Ashley.
Under his stare, Ashley felt a wave of guilt. She picked up her teacup to take a sip, but her hand shook so badly the tea spilled out.
"Lucas, that troublemaker is beyond my control. You—"
"Mom." Lucas cut her off. "I remember the three seals for overseas asset transfers—one's with me, one's with the family trust fund, and the other is with you."
Ashley's movements froze.
Lucas gently placed the stack of documents on the coffee table with a soft "thud" that echoed particularly sharply in the silent room.
He stared at her. "Tell me what's really going on here."
All color drained from Ashley's face.
"I..." She opened her mouth, her throat seemingly blocked. Not a single word came out.
Lucas just watched her. He didn't rush her or press her.
That silent scrutiny was more oppressive than any harsh interrogation could be.
Finally, Ashley seemed to deflate, collapsing back against the couch.
"I didn't want to give them to him! How could I really give him those things!" She finally spoke, her voice shrill with a touch of hysteria. "I just... I just wanted to make him and David fight each other! Make them keep each other in check!"
She thought she'd set up the perfect scheme.
David was her loyal dog, devoted to the end.
Logan was wildly ambitious.
Lucas had already slipped beyond her control. If she could get those first two to compete, to grab at each other, to tear each other apart, she could sit back and reap the benefits. Only then could the Sharp family holdings be firmly secured in her hands.
She'd given Logan a little sweetener, a little authority, let him think he had a chance. In reality, David held all his lifelines.
"I never thought David would just up and leave for that sickly girl!" Ashley's voice was full of venom. "The moment he left, Logan was unrestrained. He... he got a top legal team and found loopholes in the family trust!"
So that was it.
Not an inside job, but inviting a wolf into the house—only to get bitten.
Ashley grew more agitated as she spoke, her chest heaving violently. She pointed at the documents, her finger trembling. "That ungrateful wretch! He's trying to hollow out the Sharp family! I..."
Before she could finish, something sweet rose in her throat and she began coughing violently.
A mouthful of blood sprayed directly onto the black-and-white documents, a shocking crimson.
"Mrs. Sharp!" The butler cried out and rushed over.
Ashley's vision went dark and she collapsed.
Lucas's expression didn't waver. He pulled out his phone and calmly called his private doctor, concisely explaining the situation and giving the address.
After hanging up, he glanced at his mother slumped on the couch—whether truly unconscious or faking—picked up the blood-stained documents, turned, and walked out.
Someone had to clean up this mess.
……
Meanwhile.
At the hospital back home.
The hallway outside the operating room was suffocatingly tense.
Logan had just gotten off his flight and came straight here without even going home. He looked travel-worn, that flashy white suit now wrinkled, his hair disheveled, dark circles heavy under his eyes. His whole being radiated volatile aggression.
"Where is she?" He grabbed a passing nurse by the arm, squeezing hard enough to nearly crush her wrist.
"You... you mean Ms. Hale? She... she's in the ICU..." The young nurse's face went white with fear.
Logan shoved her aside and strode toward the ICU.
The attending physician had just emerged, removing his mask, looking exhausted. He ran right into Logan, who resembled a vengeful demon.
"How is she?"
The doctor sighed, about to launch into the usual cautious, diplomatic explanation.
"The truth." Logan's eyes were so dark they could drip ink. "Don't give me any bullshit."
Intimidated by his intensity, the doctor gave it to him straight. "The situation is very bad. The patient has fallen into a deep coma. Her will to live is weak. We—"
"I don't care what methods you use." Logan cut him off. "You keep her alive."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a bone-chilling madness.
"If she doesn't make it," he pulled his lips into a smile—one colder than a Siberian winter—"everyone in this hospital will go down with her."
……
The light went out.