Chapter 683 The Poisoned Cups

Lily was already thinking that it didn’t matter if the Silverburgh plot was taken back – once the passports were ready, she’d follow Owen overseas and then find Elsie an even grander burial site abroad.

Peggy accepted the cup Owen handed her, frowning. She was tired of this life. She felt like a crow trapped behind barbed wire – staring at grapes she could neither eat nor fly away from. Lily and Owen both had something to look forward to. She had nothing.

Better to stop wasting her life being at Owen’s mercy. If she could transfer all his money into her own account, she could disappear far away and live free. Her mind spun quickly, sketching out the plan.

She downed the autumn pear syrup in a few gulps, set the cup down, and stood. “Owen, you barely ate earlier. I’ll reheat the food so you and Mom can have a bit more.”

Lily pressed a hand to her forehead and waved weakly. “You eat. I have no appetite.”

Peggy pursed her lips, picked up the dishes herself, and started toward the kitchen. Then, out of nowhere, a wave of numbness swept through her body. Behind her came a heavy thump.

She still had a sliver of awareness – enough to turn her stiff neck and see Lily collapsed over the sofa, unconscious. Her gaze darted to Owen. He sat there, expressionless, as though he had expected this all along.

“You…” was all she managed before the plate slipped from her hands to the floor. Owen caught her from behind as she fell, then smoothly dragged her toward one direction. Through the haze, she realized – he was taking her to the basement.

Her mind flashed on what was down there. Terror twisted her voice into a garbled plea. “P–please… don’t…”

But her willpower was no match for the drug. Darkness took her.

Owen came back from the basement alone. Lily was still sprawled on the sofa, unmoving. He stood over her for a long moment, then pulled out his phone. “You can start our plan now. Once I wake up, I can transfer you the balance.”

“The donor?”

“Her fate’s her own. Let’s see if she survives.”

He hung up, looking down at Lily. “Mom, since you don’t want us and don’t love this family, I don’t want you dragging me down anymore. Give me your liver and save me – just think of it as loving me one last time.”

His voice thickened with bitterness. “I regret it, you know. Regret that back then, to win favor with you and Elsie, I always made Yunice’s mistakes look worse so mine would seem better. I thought if I sided with you and Elsie, you’d accept me. But in the end, the joke’s on me. If I’d been a little more mature, a little more realistic, a little more steadfast, if I’d treated Yunice better… would my life, the Saunders family’s life, be thousands of times happier than it is now? I was even thinking, with New Year’s coming. I’d invite Wyatt and Yunice home for dinner. Wyatt’s got no parents – if he could see the Saunders family as his home, maybe our days would be better. Sigh… just wishful thinking. Mom, I’ve been abandoned by everyone. You too.”

Dawn broke. Sunlight slipped through the curtain gap. Yunice rolled over and reached out – finding the space beside her empty. She opened her eyes. Wyatt wasn’t there.

Shifting to the side, she pulled open her nightstand drawer and took out a bottle of vitamins. She had just shaken one into her palm when his voice came from the balcony.

“Don’t take that.”

He’d been on the phone by the balcony window. Now he stood there, eyes fixed on her. When she stopped moving, he hung up and walked inside.

Her heartbeat quickened. She knew Wyatt wanted a child, and catching her secretly taking pills would anger him. If he stayed calm, she could talk her way out of it – but if she truly provoked him, things could get ugly.

As he crossed the room, she slid the pill back into the bottle and screwed the cap on. When he stopped in front of her, she turned the label toward him. “Vitamins.”

The words came out a little too fast, her tone betraying her guilt. The bottle itself was too obviously a cover; he would surely think it held birth control.

Wyatt reached out, took the bottle from her hand… Without even looking at it, he set it aside.

Her gaze dropped as he crouched in front of her. “You couldn’t get pregnant even without taking anything.” Then he added, “I switched the pills in that bottle a long time ago. Birth control’s too hard on your body."