chapter1297

Juna let out a long, thoughtful sigh, her face a picture of uncertainty. It's not that I don't want you to get married. I just wish you wouldn't rush into it."

She looked away, fidgeting with her hands. "Maybe I'm just not ready for this news. It feels like marriage and kids were always something far off in your future, not right around the corner."

Lydia smiled softly. "Trust me, I didn't expect it to happen this fast either." She tried to sound light, but her words carried a heaviness. She had never imagined she would lose her eyesight, or that it might be three years before she'd be able to see again. It wasn't like she'd have nothing to do in that time, but so many things would be out of reach.

In order to make the most of these years, she had thought about getting married and starting a family now, instead of waiting.

"Even if you round up, you'll only be twenty when you get married next year, Juna said, counting on her fingers, as if wishing she could magically add a few years to Lydia's age.

Lydia just shrugged. "If I'm going to get married eventually, it doesn't really matter to me if it happens now or later. I'm just changing the order of things, that's all. Everyone thinks differently and goes through different things, so of course we make different choices."

If Lydia hadn't lost her sight, she would have saved marriage and kids for later, something for the future. But with the way things were, it made sense to do it now and not have to worry about it later.

Juna went quiet, lost in thought.

She knew it was true. So much of this decision came down to Lydia's blindness.

Lydia, are you sure about marrying Connor? What if he never finds a cure for your eyes?"

Lydia couldn't help but laugh. "If he doesn't, then he's stuck taking care of me for life. Honestly, he's the one who should be worried."

Juna gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, fine. I just want you to be happy every single day, no matter what."

Lucinda was supposed to go back to school the next day, but she really didn't want to leave. She wanted to stick around and find the perfect moment to deal with Lydia. Now that Connor was gone, the urge was even stronger.

The more she thought about it, the more obsessed she became. Recently, she had found some information online about a group of assassins. Supposedly, they were the best in the world. If you had enough money, they could make anything happen. She wanted to hire them. The only problem was the price, especially for something as serious as murder. She had some savings, but to make sure everything went perfectly, she'd need more money.

That's when she remembered the black card Grace had given her. On her way to school, she sneaked into a bank to check the balance.

She expected to see maybe a few million, or at most ten million.

But what popped up on the screen nearly made her heart stop.

One, two, three, four, five..." She stood at the ATM, eyes wide as she counted the zeros, tracing the numbers with her finger.

For the first time ever, she worried

she might have counted wrong. She checked again And again. After the third time, she just stared

ou

stunned.

Ten billion? she whispered, covering her mouth in shock.

Even though she'd grown up in the Norwood family and was used to seeing big money, ten billion sitting in Grace's account was mind-blowing. Ever since she could remember, Grace had bee her nanny, always by her side. Her own father, Frank, was basically broke.

So where on earth did Grace get all this money?

Lucinda stood there, completely lost.

Then she remembered the letter and the phone. She was sure the letter had answers, maybe even the password to the phone.

But the letter had fallen into the sewer. It was long gone.

And Grace was in the police station, so it's not like she could just go and ask her.

All she had left was the phone. Maybe that could help her figure things out.

Suddenly, she thought of Caspian. Maybe he could help.

As soon as she left the bank, she

pulled out her phone and sent him a message. [I have a phone, but forgot the password. The usual ways won't work. Do you know. anyone who can unlock it for me?]