?<strong>Chapter 856:</strong>


    “Is that so?” Belinda couldn’t help but let out a soft, almost mocking chuckle.


    “Macie, you do realize who you’re conversing with, correct?”


    Lucas, recliningnguidly on the hospital bed, suddenly interjected, his tone remarkably nonchnt yetced with an underlying tension. Macie shot Lucas a wary nce, uncertainty flickering in her eyes as she tried to decipher his implication.


    Before she could utter a word of protest, Lucas’ frigid voice resonated once more, slicing through the tension in the air.


    “Do you genuinely believe I wouldn’t uncover the truth of this matter? Or perhaps… Do you need me toy out the evidence for you?”


    At that moment, Macie’s demeanor shifted dramatically—her bravado crumbling. A dryness settled in her throat as she swallowed hard. She felt as if all vitality had drained from her body, leaving her weak and vulnerable in the wheelchair.


    After a long pause, she finally said in a trembling voice, “No, it wasn’t like that! I… had no choice! Minna forced me to generate ideas for her. I had no alternative—I was under her influence. I had to obey hermands!”


    As Macie’s words lingered, both Belinda and Lucas exchanged nces, their expressions darkening. So it seemed that what Minna had imed was indeed urate.


    Belinda scoffed derisively, narrowing her eyes slightly. A sharp glint shed in her gaze as she said in a cold voice, “You took the initiative to tell Minna to have Morse drug me. Are you genuinely attempting to tell me now that you were forced to do that?”


    gα?ησν????s??om has it all


    Macie’s face, already pale, seemed to drain off any remaining color. Indeed, the scheme involving Morse had been her suggestion to Minna. Her resentment toward Belinda had simmered, boiling over into spiteful malice.


    She had loathed Belinda for the public humiliation at Minna’s wee banquet, for orchestrating her arrest, and for condemning her to a humiliating night confined to a holding cell. That humiliation had birthed a burning desire for revenge. She had wanted Belinda to suffer. But she had never anticipated that Lucas and his people would uncover this.


    Macie hastily attempted to defend herself, saying, “I was blinded by anger at that time, and I lost control! Ms. Wright, please, I beg for your forgiveness. I deeply regret my actions! I only mentioned it to Minna in passing. I never imagined she would take it seriously and actually ask Morse to do it.”


    Lucas’ expression turned cold, his fierce gaze piercing into Macie’s very soul.


    “You’ve got some nerve. After orchestrating these vile schemes, you dared approach me, seeking my favor. Did you truly believe I’d prove more lenient than Minna?”


    “No, no! That’s not what I intended! I just… I just…” Macie stammered as she grappled for words. In the end, feeling utterly cornered, she could only bite her lip and concede defeat.


    “It’s my fault…”


    After a pause, she quickly added with desperationcing her tone, “Mr. rk, Ms. Wright, please trust me—I truly regretted it afterward!” Realizing there was no point in deceiving Lucas any longer, she figured it would be far wiser to embrace honesty.


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