Derek nodded coldly. “We need to discredit them.”
The tabloids soon exploded with venomous headlines: Billionaire Duped by Fake Healer, The Maid Who Manipulated a Paralyzed Tycoon. Paparazzi surrounded the estate. Maria endured insults. Lucas cried at night.
“Did we do something wrong?” he asked.
“No,” Maria whispered, holding him close. “Some people attack what they don’t understand.”
Inside the house, tension grew unbearable. Ethan, consumed by his progress, dismissed their suffering. “Ignore it,” he insisted. “Lucas, let’s try again.”
Then tragedy struck.
Maria collapsed one morning while preparing breakfast. By the time paramedics arrived, she was unconscious. At the hospital, doctors diagnosed a ruptured brain aneurysm. She slipped into a coma. The odds were grim.
Lucas sat in the sterile hallway, shattered.
“I want to see her,” he said.
“They don’t allow children in intensive care,” Ethan began.
“I need her!” Lucas cried.
Ethan turned to the doctor. “Let him in. I’ll take responsibility.”
Lucas approached his mother’s bedside, took her cold hand, and whispered through tears, “Mom… please don’t leave me. I don’t care about the big house. I just want you.”