Chapter 125
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Grace was admitted to the psychiatric hospital, and Noah personally led her to a ward. She was locked inside a spacious room..
“Grace, you’ll be staying here for a while,” Noah said.
She glanced around. Surprisingly, the place wasn’t bad.
Her phone had been taken away by the Lamberts‘ bodyguards back in the car and had probably been handed over to Quentin by now, so there was no way to contact anyone.
Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, the faint sound of a door creaking open broke the silence.
“Grace! I’m here, baby!”
Grace’s eyes snapped open, and she saw Hendricks standing in the bathroom door way. He’d been hiding in there the whole time.
Her expression shifted instantly as she asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Hendricks‘ face was gleaming with sleaze and smugness.
“What do you think? Your loving mother sent me to keep you company. Thoughtful, huh? Haven’t you noticed the weird scent in the room? It’s part of her wedding gift to us!”
Now that he mentioned it, the air did smell strange. She had assumed it was disinfectant.
Hendricks stepped forward slowly, cracking his knuckles with a sick grin.
“Don’t worry, I already took the antidote. That stuff in the room is pure knockout gas. You’ll pass out soon. And when you wake up, well… We’ll be official. I’ll be gentle. You’ll enjoy it.”
After what had happened between them before, he’d been itching for another shot. And now, with no one around to stop him, he thought he could do whatever he wanted.
Grace dodged his first lunge, but the drug was already kicking in, and her limbs were growing weak. She grabbed a chair and shattered the window with one hard swing. Bending down, she picked up a jagged shard and stabbed it into her thigh. Blood poured out instantly.
Hendricks hadn’t expected her to be so ruthless–even toward herself. It caught him completely off guard.
“What the hell? Are you insane?” He lunged again, but she raised the shard to her throat.
“Back off!”
He went stiff, his features contorting into an ugly mess.
Grace swallowed hard, her eyes steady and calm. There wasn’t a flicker of emotion in them as she looked at him. She asked, “Hendricks, you don’t want this turning into a murder scene, do you?”
Hendricks was so frustrated he nearly lost it. She was right there in front of him, gorgeous as ever, and he still couldn’t touch her. It was driving him insane.
“Grace! Don’t be like this! Jesus, are you really that disgusted by me? It’s just sex. What’s the big deal? We’re gonna get married anyway! I’ll treat you right, better than any other woman! You bitch–don’t tell me you’re still hung up on Yancey. You’re mine!”
He cussed her out as he stepped forward again. But Grace pressed the glass shard deeper into her neck, and blood started trailing down her skin.
Hendricks froze.
The pain cleared her vision. Her body was weak, but her mind was focused.
“I’m warning you. Come one step closer, and I’ll slit my own throat.”
Hendricks was losing it. Fine. He’d just wait her out. No way she could stay standing long. The sedative in this room was strong, and no one could fight it for long. He wanted to see if Grace would still be standing after about ten minutes or so.
Grace gripped the shard of glass tightly. She was exhausted, and her legs were giving out. Sleep was pulling at her hard, but her mind stayed sharp. She couldn’t let herself pass out.
Her fingers slowly clenched tighter and tighter until the jagged glass pierced into her palm. Blood trickled down her hand.
She looked terrifying now, with blood trailing down her legs, pooling in her palm, and staining her neck
Every time the haze of sleep crept in, she would squeeze the shard again, forcing the pain to keep her awake.
Hendricks had figured she’d last ten minutes, tops. But half an hour had passed, and she was still standing tall.
Damn it. How could Grace be so ruthless?
He took a deep breath and immediately called Carmen.
“Mrs. Lambert, Grace’s putting up a serious fight. What do you want me to do? I’m afraid she might actually die.”
He didn’t bother lowering his voice as he wanted Grace to hear every word. She needed to know that this was all Carmen’s idea.
Meanwhile, Carmen was still at Alice’s bedside and hadn’t been able to leave. Alice had cried herself hoarse, thrown up several times, and was completely drained.
When she heard what was happening with Grace, her anxiety spiked. She stood by the window, swaying like she might collapse.
“Mom, I really don’t want to hear anything about Grace. I’ll jump from here and end my life.”
Panicked, Carmen snapped back at Hendricks, “Alice’s not doing well. As for Grace, handle her however you want. If she dies, she dies. I can’t care less about her.”
She hung up quickly and rushed to grab Alice’s wrist.
“Alice, don’t do anything stupid. I’ve already sent Hendricks to see Grace. Don’t you want them to get married? It’s happening in no time.”
Alice’s eyes flashed with satisfaction. Her effort to put on such a show and play the victim had worked.
Carmen let out a breath of relief and sat her down gently at the edge of the bed. She said, “Don’t worry about a thing. Mr. Henderson Senior himself approved your marriage with Yancey.” At the mention of Jordan, Alice couldn’t help but think of Ethan–the golden child of the Henderson family.
A flush of heat rose in her chest. She would never forget how, not long after joining the Lambert family, she had been invited to a banquet at Henderson Residence. The moment she stepped in, her eyes had landed on Ethan.
He had been surrounded by looks of admiration, appearing as radiant as a star. He was so perfect he didn’t even seem real.
He had even spoken to her. She’d been so nervous that she didn’t know what to do with herself.
Her feelings toward Yancey were possessive–more about taking him away from someone else. But with Ethan, it was different. She dreamed that even a man as flawless as him would fall at her feet.
Even though he was in a wheelchair now and was no longer seen as the perfect man, he was still far above everyone else.
With her wedding approaching, she couldn’t resist asking about Ethan. “Mom, has Mr. Henderson Senior ever mentioned anything about Ethan getting married?”
Chapter 125
Carmen knew exactly who Ethan was. Frankly, everyone in Druville knew.
Even after vanishing for two years, his name still appeared in international financial newspapers.
Alice might be good enough for Yancey, but no one dared to set their sights on Ethan.
“I’m not sure about this. But all these years, I haven’t heard about any woman around him. Still, his business has nothing to do with us. And from now on, don’t bring him up again. The Henderson family still resents Grace because of what happened to him.”
Alice felt completely at ease. After all, the Henderson family had accepted her while openly despising Grace.
In her eyes, that alone meant she had already come out on top.
