Chapter 263

While Richard caused a commotion in the hallway, Liam remained unfazed.

Perched beside Margaret's hospital bed, Liam studied her with quiet intensity. "Mother?" His voice was featherlight, barely disturbing the sterile air.

At the sound, Margaret turned her head with deliberate slowness. Her whisper carried venom. "Finally gracing me with your presence? Come to witness my final moments?"

Liam's expression remained unreadable. "You've still got enough fire to insult me. The doctors clearly exaggerated your condition." His fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest. "Let me guess - you've been mobile for days. Richard fabricated this coma story to manipulate me into visiting."

A shadow flickered across Margaret's face before vanishing behind her practiced mask of indignation. "Richard acted out of concern! Unlike you, abandoning your own mother for that scheming little—"

"Actually," Liam interrupted smoothly, "Richard specifically warned me against visiting. Claimed my presence might...aggravate your condition."

Margaret's lips pressed into a bloodless line. "And whose fault is that? I wouldn't be here if you hadn't arranged that 'accident'!"

Liam's phone screen illuminated his sharp features as he scrolled. "Did I really?" The question dripped with irony.

Margaret's brittle composure shattered. "How dare you! After everything I've sacrificed for you! That Olivia is poison - first seducing Henry, now ensnaring you—"

"Olivia," Liam cut in, voice glacial, "whom you've systematically robbed of everything that was rightfully hers."

"The Blackwood fortune was never hers to claim!" Margaret spat.

A humorless smile touched Liam's lips. "Before Grandfather adopted her, Olivia inherited substantial assets from her parents. Curious how the lawyer managing them...disappeared afterward." His gaze pinned her. "Others might not know what happened that night, Mother. But I do."

The memory struck Margaret like a physical blow. Twenty years ago, a nine-year-old Liam had hidden in the study's secret passage, overhearing his mother's damning phone call. That moment had planted the first seed of doubt in the child's mind.

Liam continued relentlessly. "Father was running Blackwood Enterprises into the ground back then. Yet you were buying Richard a hundred-million-dollar villa in Montecarlo while claiming financial hardship."

Margaret's skeletal fingers clawed at the sheets. The years of bedrest had hollowed her cheeks, making her rage-twisted face resemble a death mask. "What do you want, Liam?"

"It's not about what I want." Liam leaned closer, his whisper lethal. "It's about what you and Richard are plotting."

Three sharp raps shattered the tension. Richard stood in the doorway, panic barely concealed beneath his polished veneer.

Margaret seized the interruption. "Plotting? You're the one who tried to kill me! When the family gathers—"

"Ah yes," Liam murmured, "the grand performance." His chest constricted despite himself. This woman who'd favored Richard since childhood, who'd stolen from an orphaned girl - she was still his mother. The betrayal cut deeper than he cared to admit.

The monitors beeped erratically as Margaret's breathing turned ragged. "You'll regret crossing me, Liam. I'll make sure of it."

Outside, hospital staff scrambled toward the escalating disturbance in the corridor. The game was entering its final act.