From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress Chapter 59: A Convenient Illness

Her words sounded considerate, but what she said next made Lucas' heart drop.

"But lately... every time I try to focus on something that requires thinking, I get dizzy and feel nauseous."

Her face was pale, utterly drained of color. The way she said it made it impossible not to believe her.

Lucas looked at her, and any further insistence died on his lips. He couldn't push a sick person to work.

So he simply gathered the documents back into the folder, his voice tinged with disappointment. "Just rest, then. I wasn't thinking straight. I'll handle the extra work. You focus on getting better."

As evening settled in, Lucas got up to leave.

"I need to head home and use the study tonight. I won't be able to stay over."

"That's fine," Riley replied, as though he'd just mentioned the weather.

She smoothed the hospital blanket, then glanced up casually and asked in a soft tone, "By the way, I should be discharged in a couple of days. Back at the house... do your parents even know I've been in the hospital?"

Lucas' hand, halfway to the door handle, froze.

His back stiffened. His mind raced, but all he could muster was a lie that sounded weak even to him. "They know. But... Mom's worried that if she visits, she might say the wrong thing and upset you even more. They're both hoping you'll come home soon after you're discharged."

Riley was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips.

"Is that so?"

Lucas returned to the Ashford family home with a grim expression.

At dinner, watching his mother still fussing over Sophia, he deliberately spoke in a firm tone. "Riley will be back in a few days. Be mindful of what you say. Let's not upset her again."

Julian grunted in acknowledgment without looking up from his plate.

Anthea gave an absent-minded "mm-hmm," her indifference obvious.

Sophia, however, set down her fork right away and offered gently, "Don't worry, Lucas. I'll make sure Riley is comfortable."

She sounded perfectly obliging, but beneath her lowered lashes, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.

Late that night, Lucas was in his study, staring frustratedly at his computer screen as he tried to untangle the mess Sophia had left in her work.

Just after ten, a panicked cry echoed from down the hall. "Jeremy! Jeremy, what's wrong? Somebody help!"

Lucas' heart leaped. He shoved his chair back and ran out.

He burst into Jeremy's room to find the boy convulsing slightly on the bed. His eyes were squeezed shut, his small hands clawing at his throat as he mumbled in distress, "Stop following me... go away... you're scary..."

Sophia stood beside the bed, terrified, tears streaming down her face. "Jeremy, baby, wake up! Please, don't scare me like this!"

Julian had been woken by the commotion too. He took charge immediately. "What are you all standing around for? Call the hospital, now!"

Amid the chaos, Anthea stared at her grandson's pained, twitching face. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she let out a frightened gasp.

"Oh my goodness! Look at him... Did he pick up something bad outside? What if he's... affected by something?"

Her superstitious outburst added to the turmoil.

"Mom, stop that!" Lucas snapped, irritation rising. He'd never put stock in that kind of talk.

While trying to soothe Sophia, who was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, he quickly dialed the private hospital's emergency line.

An ambulance arrived shortly after.

But after running a full battery of tests, Isolde emerged looking puzzled. "Mr. Ashford, all of Jeremy's vitals and lab results are completely normal. There's no medical explanation for what happened tonight. It could be night terrors, or perhaps a stress response of some kind."

In the end, they gave Jeremy a mild sedative to help him settle into a deep sleep.

It was past midnight by the time the family brought the boy home.

The car ride was thick with tension.

Anthea watched her grandson's pale face in the backseat and grew more agitated by the minute. She leaned toward Sophia and whispered insistently, "See? Even the doctor couldn't find anything. This isn't normal. Don't go into work tomorrow—come with me to St. Cloud's Cathedral over in the east part of the city. We'll light a candle and get a blessing for him."

Sophia, eyes swollen and red, leaned weakly against the seat. She nodded as tears trailed down her cheeks. "Okay... whatever you think is best."

When the car pulled into the driveway, Anthea hurried out first to check on Jeremy. In her rush, she didn't notice a loose paver sticking up near the garden path.

"Aah!"

She cried out in pain, stumbling hard. Her forehead struck the sharp corner of a stone planter.

By the time Lucas and the driver helped her up, blood was already streaming down the side of her face, covering half of it in a gruesome mask.

Lucas stared at the blood on his mother's face, then thought of Jeremy's strange episode earlier that night. An unwarranted chill crept down his spine.