Hillbilly Girlie Marries a Billionaire – Episode 24
Victoria demanded the key to Sophie’s cosmetics case. Sophie laughed and called the contents private medical supplies. The older woman reminded her that privacy ended when she entered the estate claiming to carry an Anderson heir.
Sophie produced prenatal vitamins and hid the vial beneath a false lining. Victoria inspected the visible items, finding nothing suspicious. She warned Sophie that deception would be punished more severely than Emily’s poverty ever could be.
The threat exposed the limits of their alliance. Victoria supported Sophie because she believed the pregnancy protected the family line. Sophie wanted Lucas, with or without family approval. Each woman intended to use the other only until their goals separated.
The next morning, the independent laboratory sent a nurse to collect samples under Adam’s supervision. Lucas provided blood in the estate clinic. Sophie offered her arm calmly, knowing the attending technician had already been bribed to replace the fetal sample.
Noah photographed every seal and serial number. His unusual diligence irritated Victoria, who accused him of helping Emily steal his brother’s heir. Noah replied that a legitimate child had nothing to fear from legitimate procedure.
Emily watched from the doorway. Sophie smiled and invited her closer, asking whether she wanted to witness the moment her marriage ended. Emily answered that truth would not end anything worth keeping.
After the collection, Lucas left for an emergency board meeting. He assigned security to Emily despite her insistence that the estate should be safe. Sophie waited until the guards changed shifts, then arranged an intimate family dinner through Victoria.
The table overflowed with rich food selected for pregnancy. Victoria placed Sophie beside Lucas’s empty chair and seated Emily at the far end. Grandfather Anderson objected, but Sophie claimed scents near Emily’s perfume made her nauseated.
Emily moved without complaint. She recognized the tactic: Sophie wanted every concession to look small until Emily disappeared from her own place. Refusing to fight over a chair preserved dignity, though Victoria interpreted it as surrender.
Sophie praised the imported fish and remarked that country girls probably never saw such food. Emily said fresh trout tasted better when caught from a clean river, and expense could not rescue poor seasoning. Grandfather Anderson hid a smile behind his glass.
Victoria ordered Emily to pour water for Sophie. Noah reminded his mother that Emily was Lucas’s wife, not staff. Victoria replied that farm labor should make the task familiar and demanded everyone remember whose child required care.
Emily reached for the pitcher before Noah could escalate the fight. Sophie deliberately moved her glass, causing water to spill across the white tablecloth. She apologized sweetly and hoped the baby would not inherit her clumsiness.
Then she swept her own plate to the floor and jerked backward. “Emily, why would you do that?” she cried. Victoria rose instantly, accepting the accusation without asking what she had seen.
Emily said Sophie had knocked the plate down herself. Sophie clutched her abdomen and accused Emily of resenting the baby. The family doctor was summoned while servants whispered about jealousy.
Lucas returned to find Sophie reclining on a couch and Emily standing alone near the broken porcelain. His gaze went first to his wife. He asked whether she was hurt, infuriating Victoria.
Sophie claimed Emily had shoved the table toward her. Lucas asked for security footage. Victoria announced that the dining-room cameras had been disabled for family privacy, a coincidence too convenient to ignore.
Noah admitted he had seen Sophie move the glass but not the plate. Grandfather Anderson refused to condemn Emily without proof. Victoria called their hesitation evidence that the country girl had corrupted every man in the family.
The doctor found no immediate danger but recommended rest. Sophie insisted she felt cramping and asked Lucas to stay beside her. He arranged professional nursing care instead and ordered her meals served privately.
Victoria said isolating Sophie punished the baby. Lucas answered that it protected Emily from further staged accusations. He instructed Adam to install tamperproof cameras in every common room, regardless of his mother’s objections.
As Sophie was escorted upstairs, her phone displayed a message from the bribed technician: Sample swapped. Result will confirm Lucas as father. She smiled through false tears—unaware Noah had photographed the original seal closely enough to prove the laboratory received a different vial.