Surprise Marriage to a Billionaire
Chapter 421: Important News

Chapter 421: Important News

As the hours dragged on, doubt began to creep into her mind. Why hadn’t anyone come to see her yet? Why was she still locked in this cold, suffocating cell?

She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. "They won’t leave me here," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Grandpa Saul will wake up soon. He’ll fix this. He always does."

Yet, deep inside, she knew the situation was different this time. Her mind raced as she tried to find a way out. If she could just talk to her father... if she could explain everything. But would he even believe her? After everything that had come to light?

Carla shook her head again, more forcefully this time. "No," she whispered to herself. "I am Carla Cartier. I am their daughter. They will not abandon me."

But as the day stretched on, and the silence of the detention center wrapped around her like a suffocating blanket, the sinking realization took hold.

No one had come for her until a guard finally approached her cell and called out, "Carla Cartier, you have a visitor."

Carla’s heart leaped with hope. It had to be her father. He would take her out of this place. He had to...

But as she stepped into the visiting room, her excitement faded instantly.

"Ma’am," Maria greeted her with a half-smile, approaching swiftly. The moment the guard stepped back to his post, Maria pulled Carla into a quick embrace.

"He’s doing everything he can to get you out," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "But you need to stay put and don’t do anything reckless."

Carla’s fingers clenched against Maria’s sleeve.

"He knows everyone has abandoned you," Maria continued. "And he found out that your place was ransacked by the field marshal’s men. It’s likely they discovered your involvement in your mother’s poisoning."

Carla’s body stiffened. Her father knew. "But I didn’t mean for her to-"

"Don’t speak," Maria interrupted sharply, gripping Carla’s arms. "Keep your mouth shut. He won’t abandon you, no matter what."

Then, as if nothing had happened, Maria gave her a gentle push back and smiled as she spoke in a normal tone, "Ma’am, I brought some of your favorite dishes. Please hang in there. You’re innocent, and I’m sure you’ll be out of here soon."

Carla swallowed the scream building in her throat. Every part of her wanted to throw the table, to demand answers, to refuse to be treated like a helpless pawn.

But instead, she nodded, keeping her face perfectly composed, just as she always had.

Carla kept up the act, engaging in conversation with Maria, offering encouragement and casual remarks, just for show. She knew the visiting room had cameras, and playing along was her only option.

"Do you have any news about my mother and father?" she asked, feigning curiosity.

Maria nodded subtly. "Sir Renzo is handling things. You don’t need to worry. He’ll see you soon."

With that, their meeting ended, and Carla was escorted back to her detention cell. If there was one small relief, it was that she had a private cell, separate from the others. At least for now.

Meanwhile, William sat in a monitoring room, his eyes fixed on the surveillance feed. Every interaction Carla had was being tracked.

"So far, her only visitor has been her personal assistant," Brandon reported, rewinding the footage of Carla and Maria in the visiting room.

William leaned forward. "I want someone tailing that assistant. And Renzo too, anyone who’s checking on Carla or trying to intervene in her case. Keep it discreet. No mistakes."

"Got it," Brandon confirmed before immediately making the necessary calls.

William gave a few more instructions to his men inside the detention center and to Brandon before heading straight to his car. Just as he reached for the door handle, his phone rang.

Seeing his father’s name on the screen, he quickly answered.

"Dad, are you alright over there? You should have told me-"

"Scold me later, Son. There’s something important you need to know," his father interrupted, his tone urgent.

William immediately fell silent, sensing the gravity of the situation.

He heard his father take a deep breath before delivering the shocking news. "Summer was poisonedan d it was Carla’s doing."

"Fuck that bjtch!" William cursed, his grip on the phone tightening.

"Watch your language!" his father scolded.

William exhaled sharply, trying to rein in his temper. "Sorry, Dad," he muttered.

His father cleared his throat before continuing. "The toxin they found in Summer’s system, it’s a neurotoxin. Engineered in a way that doesn’t kill immediately but induces deep, prolonged paralysis. The victim appears to be in a coma, but their body remains fully functional, capable of recovery... if treated properly."

William’s eyes widened with a mix of shock and hope. "So... Aunt Summer can wake up?"

"If the antidote can be synthesized in time," his father confirmed. "That’s what the head researcher and doctor said. Your uncle Arlan will be focusing on Summer, but he’s already ordered a DNA test between him and Carla. Thank God he finally listened."

William clenched his jaw, his fury boiling over. "I hope Carla isn’t their real daughter! That would explain how evil and wicked she is! That bitch deserves the death sentence! I can’t believe she’s even human, poisoning Aunt Summer, who’s done nothing but treat her well?"

His father sighed on the other end of the line. "We’ll know the truth soon enough. For now, focus on your task. Make sure Carla doesn’t get away."

"Oh, don’t worry, Dad," William growled. "Carla’s going to pay for every damn thing she’s done."

After wrapping up his discussion with his father, William drove straight home. Despite it only being late afternoon, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. His brother and sister-in-law were still at the office, but thankfully, his wife was home, right where he expected her to be, busy in the kitchen.

As usual, Sanya was immersed in cooking, with the chef and kitchen staff assisting her. She was so focused that she didn’t even notice William entering. Smirking, he quietly signaled the staff to leave, ensuring they didn’t alert her to his presence.

"Chef, do you think this tastes good enough?" Sanya asked, stirring the pot as she turned to get feedback.

Before she could react, William grabbed a spoon and scooped up some of the soup.

Sanya frowned, noticing the silence. She turned, only to find the kitchen empty, except for him.

"Hmm, this is so good as usual," William commented with a smile, savoring the flavor.

Sanya’s eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in suspicion. "William! When did you get here?"

He chuckled. "Just now. I had to check if my wife’s cooking is still as amazing as ever."

Sanya sighed, shaking her head. "You scared the staff away, didn’t you?"

William grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Maybe. But I just wanted a moment with you."

She huffed but didn’t pull away. "And? What’s the verdict?"

"The best," he said sincerely, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. "Just like you."

Sanya folded her arms and arched a brow. "Flattery won’t get you extra servings, Mr. Lancaster."

William smirked, "Oh, but I’m not asking for extra servings." He trailed his fingers down her arm. "I’m asking for something much sweeter."

He loved how she was blushing so hard yet acting unaffected or frowning. For a while, he forgot that he was so cramped, not just for the day but also for the night since he had to monitor a lot of things in the case. He just wanted some time to bicker with his wife like this. So, William postponed feeding and updating Sanya on the current progress. For now, he wanted to focus on just the two of them for at least an hour.

Sanya bit her lip, her breath hitching as his lips brushed against the shell of her ear.

"William," she murmured, half a warning, half anticipation.

"Mmm?" His hand found her waist, fingers pressing lightly against the fabric of her dress. "You smell incredible. But I can’t decide if it’s you... or the food."

She playfully smacked his chest. "It’s definitely the food."

William chuckled, then, in one swift motion, he gripped her hips and hoisted her onto the kitchen counter. Sanya gasped, her legs instinctively parting as he stepped between them, his palms sliding up her thighs.

"The kitchen is not the place for this," she scolded, though her hands betrayed her by slipping around his neck.

"Oh, I completely disagree," he murmured before capturing her lips in a deep, slow kiss.

"William," she scolded, but he only chuckled. She knew he was teasing her and enjoying it.

"Alright, let’s go," he said as he effortlessly carried her in his arms.

"You can put me down! What if someone sees?" she protested, but William had no intention of letting her go.

"Stay still. I have some important news," William said, making her stare at him as he walked toward the elevator.

"What is it?" she asked curiously. But just as the elevator started moving, Sanya suddenly felt dizzy then everything went black as she passed out in William’s arms.