Chapter 250 Exposing Helen's Little Schemes

Chapter 250 Exposing Helen's Little Schemes

Helen's face went chalk-white, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her eyes instantly filled with panic. "You... you're talking nonsense!"

"If Amanda were critically ill, you could pin all the blame on me and destroy my reputation in the Collins family." Audrey ruthlessly tore away her hypocritical mask, her voice cold as ice. "But if she recovers, my position as the real heiress in the Collins family will be unshakeable. Your calculations are so loud, do you really think everyone else is deaf?"

Helen was so choked up she stumbled back a step, her lips trembling, unable to form a single word of rebuttal.

The darkest corner of her heart had been ruthlessly dissected by Audrey and exposed to the air.

"Don't mess with me." Audrey straightened up, her eyes returning to their usual cold indifference. "I don't have time to play these petty games with you. Get out of my way."

With that, Audrey shoved past her shoulder and headed down the stairs without looking back, entering the underground lab.

The hallway fell into a deathly silence.

Helen leaned against the cold wall, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

She stared fixedly at the direction of the basement, her nails digging so hard into her palms that thin trails of blood seeped out.

Audrey was right.

She was scared.

Truly scared.

If Amanda really was cured by Audrey within a month, their hearts would absolutely turn completely toward this biological granddaughter.

By then, with Ethan protecting her, Lucienne doting on her, and even the most influential elders of the Collins family backing her up—what would she, Helen, be? An adopted daughter with no blood ties who only caused trouble! She would have no foothold in this family and could be thrown out like garbage at any moment!

A crazy, vicious thought quietly took root in Helen's mind and rapidly spread.

Amanda couldn't be allowed to recover.

Absolutely not.

As long as something happened to Amanda during Audrey's treatment, Audrey would be the Collins family's criminal.

She would be the one who was blindly overconfident, who recklessly used medicine and killed her own grandmother! At that point, no matter how biased Ethan and Lucienne were, they absolutely couldn't protect a murderer. Audrey would be completely kicked out of the Collins family, maybe even sent to prison!

As long as Amanda died, all the problems would be solved.

But...

Helen closed her eyes, and Amanda's kind face suddenly floated into her mind.

For the past twenty years, Amanda had truly treated her like a biological granddaughter, cherishing her like a treasure.

When she was sick as a child, Amanda stayed by her bedside all night. Whatever limited-edition handbags she wanted, Amanda bought them without hesitation. Even when Lucienne scolded her, Amanda would shield her.

That love had been genuine.

Could she really go after Amanda?

Helen stood in the dim hallway, her breathing growing rapid.

On one side was twenty years of nurturing and unconditional indulgence; on the other was the extreme terror of losing all her wealth and privilege.

She bit her lower lip, tasting the strong metallic flavor of blood.

Her eyes alternated wildly between painful struggle and extreme malice, unable to take that decisive step.

In the underground lab, shadowless lights blazed brightly.

Audrey, wearing a white lab coat, stood at the workstation, her gaze intensely focused on the pale blue liquid in the centrifuge.

The mutated adenovirus infecting Amanda was extremely stubborn. Ordinary broad-spectrum antibiotics were completely ineffective—she had to work through the night to purify a targeted base solution.

To achieve optimal efficacy, she had even driven to a private pharmaceutical facility in New York at dawn to retrieve an extremely scarce chemical stabilizer, not returning until evening.

McLean, the Collins Mansion.

As the lights came on, the spacious European-style dining room's long oak table was laden with a sumptuous dinner.

Ethan, dressed in a dark gray loungewear set, pulled out the chair at the head of the table and sat down.

He scanned the dining room, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Where's Audrey?" Ethan looked at the butler standing nearby, a hint of worry in his tone.

She'd just performed an intensive puncture procedure at the nursing home last night, then stayed up half the night in the underground lab. Today she'd been running nonstop—how could her frail body handle all that?

The butler bowed respectfully. "Master Ethan, Lady Audrey left early this morning, saying she had business to attend to and wouldn't be back for dinner."

Ethan's frown deepened.

He looked up, his gaze landing on Helen sitting diagonally across from him.

"Do you know where Audrey went?" Ethan asked in a low voice.

Helen was cutting the Beef Wellington on her plate with sterling silver cutlery. At his words, her movements paused slightly.

She looked up, her eyes clear and innocent, her tone even carrying a hint of grievance. "Ethan, I don't know. Audrey never reports to me when she goes out. Why would she tell me her schedule?"

Ethan looked at her innocent expression, but his mind uncontrollably flashed back to last night at the nursing home, when she'd been hysterical, desperate to pin a murder charge on Audrey.

Not only that, but from the first day Audrey returned home—the lubricant in the hallway, the slander in the security room—which incident hadn't had her, Helen, fanning the flames behind the scenes?

Ethan suddenly found this dinner completely unappetizing.

He set down his cutlery, picked up his napkin and wiped his hands methodically, his cold, hard gaze piercing straight toward Helen.

"Helen, come with me to the study." Ethan stood up, his tone brooking no argument. "We need to talk."

Helen's heart lurched, her fingers tightening around her cutlery.

But she quickly adjusted her emotions, even feeling a glimmer of hope.

This might be an opportunity.

As long as she acted cute, softened up a bit, and played on twenty years of sibling affection, Ethan would surely feel sorry for her and forgive her like he always had.

Second floor, study.

Helen pushed open the heavy oak door, tears already precisely welling up in her eyes.

She walked to the desk, looking at Ethan standing by the floor-to-ceiling window smoking, her voice soft and aggrieved, filled with dependence. "Ethan, are you still mad at me? Last night I was just panicking for a moment, I was so worried about Amanda that I spoke without thinking..."

As she spoke, she stepped forward, trying to grab Ethan's sleeve.

Ethan didn't turn around, only shifted slightly to the side, coldly avoiding her touch.

Helen's hand froze in midair, her expression nearly cracking.

"Drop that fake act." Ethan turned around, his deep eyes devoid of any warmth, his voice ice-cold. "Your tactics against Audrey have gone too far."

Helen's face went white, tears instantly streaming down.

She bit her lower lip hard, her face full of resentment and humiliation. "Ethan! How can you say that to me! How have I targeted her? She's the one who's been guarding against me from the moment she got back! She's the one who can't tolerate me!"