Chapter 278
Panic slammed into Celeste.
She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be permanently paralyzed in front of everyone.
The sheer agony had almost exposed her lie.
She froze mid-air, instantly softening her expression before collapsing weakly back onto the bed, flawlessly playing the role of someone just returning to consciousness.
Blinking slowly, she dragged a bewildered gaze around the room.
“What… what happened to me?” she whispered, her voice rough and dazed, perfectly mimicking the grogginess of waking up.
“Celeste!” Helena was the first to launch herself at the bed. “You’re finally awake! You terrified me p>
Celeste tilted her head, maintaining her glassy stare.
Feigning intense dizziness, she massaged her temples, her eyes sweeping over the crowd as she projected pure, fragile misery.
“Didn’t Grandpa fall? Why are you all crowded around me? Where is he? Is he okay p>
The instant she said that, a wave of deep sympathy washed over the room.
One of the elders muttered in a low voice, “Could… could the shock have given her temporary amnesia p>
The moment the word dropped, the atmosphere in the room shifted entirely.
The matriarch and Helena simultaneously whipped their heads to glare at Sienna, looking like they wanted to execute her on the spot.
As far as they were concerned, if Sienna hadn’t used such extreme methods to torture her, Celeste would be perfectly fine.
Sienna took it all in, a cynical smirk tugging at her lips. She saw the whole script.
She saw right through Celeste’s pathetic little plot.
She was faking amnesia to dodge the interrogation and instantly win everyone’s pity.
It was the perfect diversion to get the heat off her back regarding Grandpa’s collapse.
Well, let’s see just how far she’s willing to take this performance.
“Temporary amnesia?” Sienna stared at Celeste’s tragic little face and nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s just a minor nerve block from the shock. Easily fixed.
I just need to pop one more needle right into your temple. Guarantee you’ll remember everything instantly p>
Before anyone could react, her hand. clamped down on Celeste’s forehead, dropping a knee directly onto Celeste’s wrist to pin her.
Her movements were so terrifyingly fast that no one had time to blink.
She leveled the razor-sharp needle directly at Celeste’s temple, preparing to drive it in.
Celeste completely locked up in sheer terror.
She tried to shove Sienna off, but her upper body was totally immobilized.
The needle was about to pierce her skin.
Celeste’s pupils shrank to pinpricks, pure panic flooding her system.
“Sienna Sloan, don’t you dare!” Helena shrieked, lunging forward.
The matriarch dropped her cane and practically threw herself at Sienna, desperately tearing at her arm.
The rest of the elders gasped, holding their breath in pure horror.
Bang—
Just then, the bedroom door was shoved open.
A maid came stumbling in, completely out of breath. ‘Grandpa… the resuscitation is over! Dr. Clayton just came out
Everyone froze dead in their tracks.
Instantly forgetting about Sienna and abandoning Celeste entirely, the elders poured out of the room, sprinting toward the old man’s ward:
Sienna pulled her hand back and stood up, casually strolling out with the rest of the herd.
Jarred’s intense gaze remained glued to her, a complicated, heavy look in his eyes as he followed in silence.
Left with no other choice, Helena and the matriarch hurriedly threw a few comforting words at Celeste.
They ordered Greta to watch over her closely before scrambling out of the door to catch up with the others.
The second the door clicked shut, the tension completely drained from Celeste’s shoulders.
She collapsed flat against the mattress like a puppet with cut strings.
Her perfect, delicate mask finally shattered into pieces.
Greta rushed forward in a panic, trying to prop her up. “Ms. Carlyle, are you alright? Should I grab another doctor p>