Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Bob sprinted over, yanking Emily behind him. He fixed Lucas with a sharp, wary glare. “What are you going to do, Mr. Bennett?”
Lucas had never seen Bob look at him like that-so stern, so unyielding. Panicked, he stammered, “I-I wasn’t doing anything.”
Bob wasn’t buying it. He’d witnessed Lucas swing the ashtray at Emily with a look of pure, savage rage.
Emily gave his sleeve a gentle tug from behind him. “Bob, can we go see Grandpa Charles now?”
Bob turned to her, his expression softening instantly. “Sure thing. I’ll take you there,” he said. Without even giving Lucas a second look, he gently guided Emily down the hallway.
Lucas stood frozen, stunned. Bob was the Bennett family’s butler, technically, yet even Gale showed him respect. Still, he’d always known his place, addressing the family with unfailing politeness. But this time, Bob had completely shut Lucas out, his displeasure crystal clear.
‘What kind of magic has Emily worked? Even Bob’s turned against me,’ Lucas seethed, anger and confusion churning inside him. Without hesitation, he took off down the hallway, determined to find out how she’d tricked Charles.
When he reached Charles’s hospital room, he didn’t go in. Instead, he stood by the half-open door and peeked inside.
There was Emily, sitting beside Charles’s bed, a soft smile on her face. Her eyes, which had been icy and detached since her return, now radiated warmth and gentleness.
Lucas felt a little dazed. “That look… She used to look at all of us that way. Why did it change after she came back? What happened at St. Gabriel Reform Academy to make her so different?’
Bob spotted Lucas and instantly, his smile vanished. He stepped outside and quietly shut the door, blocking Lucas’s view.
“Can I help you, Mr. Bennett?” Bob asked. The words were polite, but his tone was glacial with anger.
Lucas hurried to answer, “I came to see Grandpa.”
Bob stayed cool. “Mr. Charles Bennett is in a very good mood right now. You’d better come another time.”
Lucas got it-his visit would just tick Charles off. The sting of Charles’s slap still burned on his cheek, and he knew full well Charles was still furious with him.
‘But none of this is on me. If Emily hadn’t gone crazy, I never would’ve lost it and grabbed that damn ashtray,’ Lucas thought, digging in his heels.
“Bob, don’t let Emily fool you,” he rushed to say. “She called Grandpa on purpose to get him back home, then timed her little show perfectly for all of you to see.”
Bob knew the Bennetts had it all wrong about Emily, but he didn’t expect Lucas to say that. He couldn’t help but ask, “You and Ms. Emily Bennett were the closest in the family growing up. Is that really how you see her?”
Disappointment weighed in his voice. “She always says she’s doing fine at home. But if Mr. Charles Bennett hadn’t felt something was off and insisted on leaving the hospital, we’d never have known you’ve been treating her worse than you did
two years ago.
“You say she called Mr. Charles Bennett to complain? If she didn’t show up at the hospital, he wouldn’t be able to contact her
at all.