Chapter 490: Sienna Bennett Had Only Known Lucas Harrington for Three

Sienna Bennett had only known Lucas Harrington for three months. Lucas noticed her silence. His usually icy composure fractured with unease.

“Don’t overthink this, Sienna.” His voice turned gravel-rough. “I’ll handle it.”

“How long?” The question sliced through the tension.

Lucas’s brow furrowed. A timeline? He couldn’t promise one.

“I’m not certain yet. But I’ll expedite it.” Sophia Prescott was drugged. Confronting Valerie Duval without the antidote would backfire. Valerie would make Sophia suffer more if provoked.

Until Sebastian Harrington and his medical team developed an antidote, the situation remained volatile. Lucas refused to make false promises. Especially not to Sienna. A sharp pang pierced Sienna’s chest. His caution was unnerving. The decisive Lucas Harrington was hesitating. For Sophia. He feared for her safety. He worried the antidote might never come. It was simple, really. Had it been anyone else, Lucas would have crushed Valerie immediately. But this was Sophia Prescott. His former lover. Noah’s biological mother. That changed everything.

His concern for the consequences shackled him. That’s why he couldn’t give her a clear answer. Ding-dong. The doorbell chimed again. Both their gazes snapped toward the entrance. Was it Sophia returning? Neither moved. The bell persisted. Faint voices filtered through the door. “Perhaps Sienna isn’t home? Should we wait?” It was Helena Bennett’s voice. Sienna released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Go inside,” she instructed Lucas.

After that scene, introducing him to her estranged parents was impossible. Their future together now felt uncertain, hanging by a thread. Lucas paused, then wordlessly stood and retreated into the house. He respected her decision. He wanted to claim their relationship openly, but now was not the time. The air in the living room remained thick and heavy even after he left. Sienna drew a steadying breath and opened the door.

Helena and Philip Bennett stood there. Their wealthy veneer had completely vanished. They still wore the same clothes from the hospital yesterday, now wrinkled and stale. Helena’s hair accessories were gone, her face bare and weary. She looked plain and diminished. Helena held a delicate matcha cake box. “Sienna…” Her greeting was strained, overly polite. Sienna leaned against the doorframe, her posture cool and closed-off. “Yes?” Her tone was clipped, each word measured and distant, as if speaking cost her a fortune.

Philip and Helena felt the chilling divide. Guilt washed over them. This was their actual daughter. Their flesh and blood. Because of Vanessa Bennett’s schemes, they had ruined any chance with their real child. For twenty-three years, they’d cherished an imposter while their true heiress was scorned as the ‘adopted’ daughter. Helena’s emotions were a tangled mess. She extended the cake. “Sienna, I remember you loved matcha cake. Your father and I bought this for you.” Sienna’s eyes flicked to the offering. Her expression, already frosty, turned to absolute ice.