Before Madeline could even pack up to leave Oralia, her phone buzzed with a call from Edith."Madeline, Felicia whipped up some chicken soup. How about coming over and having dinner with me?"Her voice was soft, no hint of blame for Lydia's unfortunate miscarriage.Madeline knew Edith to be a reasonable soul and quickly accepted the invitation. After all, it was high time she paid Edith a visit.Edith's first look at Madeline was filled with concern. "You've gotten so thin."The early stages of pregnancy had been rough on Madeline's appetite, but that was not something she wanted to delve into with Edith."The seasons are changing, and my appetite's been off," she said. Edith gave her a knowing look. "You girls and your dieting, you think I'm clueless? Take it from me, those slim waists and stick-thin legs aren't what make a girl healthy. A little meat on the bones, that's what counts."Madeline chuckled. "Grandma, I'm impressed you know about modern beauty standards.""Well,
Somehow, Bella found a strength that made her unstoppable, even for three or four nurses.Madeline hurried over and grabbed her. "Mom! Mom, it's nighttime, we can search for him tomorrow. Let's go home now, okay?""Nighttime?" Bella froze, but instead of calming down, she grew more frantic."It's nighttime, and Kayden hates the dark! I have to find him!"Kayden was her brother's name.In desperation, Madeline tried to pull her back. "Mom, please, let's stay calm. We'll find Kayden at dawn."Bella was not listening, whispering to herself, "He'll be gone by daylight!""Out of my way! Out of my way!" she cried, shoving people aside.Madeline, right by her side, was pushed out of the way and slammed against the wall with a loud "thud," her head striking it hard.In the midst of the chaos, she went unnoticed as everyone was focused on restraining Bella. Caleb rushed in, signaling for additional nurses to assist. Together, they managed to get Bella onto the bed and gave her a sedati
Madeline was all business, checking over Bella.The Sanders household was a different story—total disarray.Lydia had not seen that mess coming. She had come out empty-handed, which was bad enough, but Madeline? She walked away unscathed and even snagged a piece of the Sanders Corporation pie.Back home, Lydia clung to Skylar, sobbing her heart out."There, there, no more tears," Skylar soothed, wrapping her in a comforting embrace.Cilix's voice cut through the air, icy and sharp, "Crying won't fix anything. Better start figuring out your next move!"She had botched a winning hand and still had the gall to weep over it!Lydia, scolded, dissolved into even louder sobs. Skylar's head throbbed with the onset of a migraine, and she rushed to calm Lydia down. It took an eternity, but once Lydia's tears had dried up, Skylar escorted her upstairs to rest.Stepping out, Skylar caught Yale zipping up his pants as he emerged from his room, where other noises hinted at recent activity.
Cilix's heart twisted as he saw the look in her eyes, and a wave of feeling washed over him.Once upon a time, he might have convinced Madeline to hold onto her shares. But the Madeline of today? That seemed like a lost cause.Skylar watched him, panic rising, and tears spilled over. "You promised everything would go to Yale," she sobbed."Now what? First, you're handing over all that money to Madeline, and now shares too. What's going to be left for Yale? Might as well sign over the whole Sanders fortune to her!"Cilix rubbed his temples, her complaints drilling into his skull. "I never intended to give her the money."Those shares? He had not planned on giving those away either. The real headache was the twenty percent stake Madam Gibson had mentioned. Cornered like that, it looked like he had no choice but to give in.Upstairs, Lydia lay exhausted from crying, her bed offering no comfort, her eyes fixed on the ceiling, unblinking. How had her life turned into that mess? She wo
That was Edith's personal wealth, so Tristan, her private financial planner, was the one lending a hand. There was something about him that reminded Madeline of Daniel. Tristan had a softer touch than Danie. "Daniel's my nephew," he revealed.He was the one who had brought Daniel into the fold of the Gibson Group. Everything clicked for Madeline."Mr. Harris, grandma intends to pass the shares on to me, but they're her personal assets. It doesn't feel right for me to accept them. I'm thinking they should go to Trevon. Is that something we can do?"Tristan gave her a surprised look, then his face broke into a smile. "You and Mr. Gibson are married. It doesn't matter if the shares go to you or to Mr. Gibson—it's all shared between spouses, no difference at all."Madeline paused for a second, then shook her head. "No, that won't do. Can you put Trevon's name on it?"Tristan gave her a once-over. "If that's what you want, we'll need Mr. Gibson's signature. Trouble is, he's out of th
"No way!" Cilix dismissed the idea instantly. After the listing, 200 million would be worth at least 5 percent of the shares if converted. That would give Madeline nearly a quarter of the company, edging her right up to the top as the second major shareholder. Well, she was already pretty much there. Madeline's smile widened. "Just don't forget, you're still on the hook for that money." Cilix scowled, his eyes boring into her. "It comes with strings attached." With Lydia out of the picture for the Gibson family, Madeline could kiss that money goodbye. Madeline just laughed it off. Contract done, she passed the share transfer papers to Tristan and hailed a cab to Oralia. Pausing, she glanced back at the Sanders Group skyscraper. The electronic billboard cycled through the latest collection. Totally uninspired. Nothing like the spark it had when Bella was around. Shaking her head, she slid into the cab and rode away.She spent the entire day in Oralia, lost in her art, eit
Andrew's hand came down hard on the table again. "You're not about to tell me that the woman Trevon got involved with is your aunt's daughter, are you?"Stephen shot a surprised glance at Andrew.The old man's mind was sharp, having built the Ferguson family empire from the ground up. His guess was a little off though.Stephen let out a sigh. "Aunt was raised by you and grandma. How could she ever allow her daughter to wreck someone else's family?"He had planned to confirm everything before breaking the news to his grandparents, to spare them another disappointment.Today, with Trevon's arrival stirring up his emotions, Stephen had not kept his cool, and Andrew had put two and two together.Andrew's expression turned even darker."So Lydia is Madeline's half-sister on their father's side..." Stephen tried to clarify."Her last name is Sanders?" Andrew pressed.Stephen paused, caught off guard. "Yes."Andrew gripped his cane tightly and rose swiftly. "Follow me."They headed
Stephen, too scared to continue, rushed to Andrew's side, about to call for the butler and a doctor."I'm okay," Andrew rasped, the metallic taste of blood on his tongue. "Keep it down, don't alarm Grandma."Sophia had just calmed down with her meds and gone to bed, shaken by Stephen's earlier words.Another shock could do some real harm."But you've got to look after yourself." Stephen said."It's nothing," Andrew insisted, his anger having forced a clot of blood from his chest, which oddly made him feel a bit better. The thought of Cilix brought the fury rushing back."I always said that Cilix was no good, but your aunt would not listen and married him anyway!"I figured he was just a pushover, not cut out for much. But to think he was already married with a kid! And then he has the nerve to come asking for her hand in marriage! He's a fraud!"Damn him! Damn him all to hell!" He spat out the curses as another coughing fit took him.Stephen was right there, helping him brea