chapter339

Now that Lydia, the real heiress, was finally back, Tina was determined not to let her walk straight into Lucinda's traps. The last thing she wanted was for Lydia to be clueless while Lucinda snuck around, trying to steal Connor for herself.

From their perspective, once Lucinda found out she wasn't actually the Norwood family's true daughter, she should have either packed her bags and left or at least kept her head down. She could stay. But competing with Lydia at every turn, always trying to come out on top, was just asking for trouble.

Lydia arched an eyebrow, a little higher this time.

"Thanks for letting me know, Tina. I'll keep my eyes open."

"Of course. Try to get some rest."

"You too."

Lydia had always known about Lucinda's crush on Connor. It was impossible to miss. Too bad for Lucinda, Connor just wasn't interested.

She started up the stairs, only to spot Grace slipping out of Lucinda's room on the second floor. Grace froze when she saw Lydia standing there.

For a second, Grace's heart skipped. That was way too close. If Lydia had overheard her talking with Lucinda, who knew what kind of trouble that would stir up. "Miss, you're back?"

Lydia stared at her for a moment, her voice cool and even. "Your face looks better?" Grace felt a jolt of guilt and gave a stiff laugh. Yeah, it's fine. Just a little allergic reaction. I took some medicine and it's cleared up."

Lydia suddenly changed the subject. "Grace, have you had some plastic surgeries?"

Grace nearly jumped. For a moment, her heart pounded so loudly she thought Lydia might hear it.

"Lydia, don't be silly. I'm not young anymore. Why would I bother with that?"

"Oh? Because it seems like your face..." Lydia let her words fade out, leaving the question hanging.

Grace looked embarrassed, her

voice dropping. "You really do have a doctor's eye. I haven't had surgery, but I do get Botox, wrinkle fillers, injections... That's probably why my face looks a bit unnatural

Lydia nodded, like she'd figured out a puzzle. "Makes sense."

Grace tried to laugh it off. "Once you reach a certain age, your skin just isn't the same. We don't have the glowing skin you young girls do. Regular treatments are a must."

Lydia shrugged. "Shame that rash hasn't healed, though. All those treatments for nothing."

Grace almost choked. This girl had a sharper tongue than she remembered.

"Next time, watch what you eat. Otherwise, you might be stuck with a ruined face for life."

Without another glance at Grace, Lydia turned and headed to her room, acting like the whole conversation had never happened.

Grace was left fuming, her face dark with anger. Lydia really was her and Lucinda's worst nightmare.

Once Lydia was back in her room, she took a hot shower, then sat down at her desk to go over Connor's case.

The real challenge was that surgery wasn't an option. The injury was right on his eyeball. If he wanted his vision back to normal, he'd have to do it the hard way, with conservative treatment.

Based on what she'd seen, if Connor didn't start treatment soon, his vision problems would get worse. It Wouldn't just be nighttime aliadiness The longer he waited, the longer he'd be unable to see at all.

Her plan was to use a mix of oral medicine and acupuncture. But there was a problem. The medicine needed a ridiculously rare herb, something called Vision

vei

Rejuvenation Grass the net

to be at

least a hundred years old.

"Vision Rejuvenation Grass... Mount Gemspire?"

Lydia's eyes suddenly lit up. She remembered seeing something like that on Mount Gemspire.

But the mountain was in the Triangle, out near the no man's land. It was a rough, lawless area, crawling with local militias and all kinds of danger.

She grabbed her phone, dialed a number, and spoke in a low voice. "Get ready. We're heading to the Triangle tomorrow night."