I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father-Chapter 302: Your Mother Left Everything To Ms Spade

The room felt smaller with all of them in it.

The study that had once belonged to Ophelia’s mother was large, elegant, lined with dark wood and the faint scent of old paper. But as Ophelia stood frozen in the doorway, staring at Lyse seated calmly beside the solicitor, it suddenly felt suffocating.

"Your mother asked for her to be here," the solicitor repeated evenly. "You are both the recipients of her will."

For a moment, Ophelia could only blink.

The words bounced around her head, refusing to settle into anything that made sense.

Both.

Recipients.

Her lips parted, then closed again. Her fingers curled so tightly around the doorframe that her nails dug into the polished wood.

"That’s impossible," she said finally.

The solicitor gestured toward the empty chair adjacent to Lyse.

"Please sit, Ms Welhaven. This will be much easier if we proceed in an orderly manner."

Ophelia didn’t move.

Lyse, on the other hand, remained perfectly still, hands folded in her lap, back straight, expression serene. She looked like she belonged there.

Like she had every right to be sitting in that chair.

That alone made Ophelia’s blood boil.

"I will not sit," Ophelia snapped. "And I will not listen to another word until someone explains why she is in this room."

The solicitor gave a patient sigh.

"Miss Welhaven, your mother was very clear in her final instructions. Lyse Spade was to be present at the reading of the will."

Ophelia let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh.

"My mother does not even know her," she said. "This is some kind of mistake."

"I assure you," he replied calmly, "there has been no mistake."

Silence stretched.

Finally, with visible effort, Ophelia walked stiffly to the chair opposite Lyse and sat. Her spine was rigid, her chin lifted, her hands trembling slightly where they rested on her knees.

"Fine," she said coldly. "Get on with it."

The solicitor nodded and opened the leather-bound folder in front of him.

"Very well."

He adjusted his glasses and began.

"Last Will and Testament of Eleanor Faye Welhaven," he read. "Dated and signed six months prior to her passing."

Ophelia stiffened.

Six months.

Her mother had been planning this for half a year.

"In the matter of my estate," the solicitor continued, "I make the following provisions."

He turned a page.

"To my daughter, Ophelia Grace Welhaven, I leave the sum of one million dollars, to be paid in quarterly installments over a period of five years."

The room went deathly quiet.

Ophelia stared at him.

"One... million?" she repeated faintly.

"Yes," he confirmed.

She blinked.

"That’s it?"

The solicitor hesitated, then nodded.

"That is correct."

Ophelia let out a breathless, incredulous laugh.

"A million dollars?" she echoed. "From an estate worth hundreds of millions?"

Her voice was rising now.

"That is hardly..."

"Please allow me to finish," the solicitor interrupted gently.

Ophelia clenched her jaw but fell silent.

He turned another page.

"To Lyse Spade," he read, "I leave the Welhaven Estate in its entirety. This includes all property, assets, investments, shares, businesses, and holdings under the Welhaven name."

The words hung in the air like a gunshot.

Ophelia didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

Didn’t blink.

Lyse, to her credit, looked just as stunned.

"I beg your pardon?" Ophelia whispered.

The solicitor met her gaze.

"Your mother left everything to Ms Spade."

For a long, terrible moment, there was no sound at all.

Then Ophelia exploded.

"No."

The word came out low at first.

"No," she repeated, louder.

"This is wrong. This is insane. She wouldn’t do that."

"I’m afraid she did," the solicitor replied.

Ophelia surged to her feet.

"She can’t give my inheritance to a stranger!" she shouted. "I am her surviving daughter! Her only child!"

The solicitor folded his hands calmly.

"Your mother was of sound mind when she made these decisions," he said. "They were reviewed, witnessed, and finalized with full legal authority." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Ophelia shook her head wildly.

"She was manipulated," she spat, turning furious eyes on Lyse. "You manipulated her somehow, didn’t you?"

Lyse finally spoke.

"Ophelia, I had no idea about any of this," she said quietly.

"Liar!"

Ophelia’s composure shattered completely.

"You want to slither into this family like a parasite," she raged. "You turned her against me! You stole everything that was supposed to be mine!"

"Ophelia, please..." the solicitor began.

"No!" she screamed. "No, I will not accept this!"

Her hands were shaking violently now, her face flushed and wild.

"I will never allow her to take anything," she hissed. "Do you hear me? Never."

She turned fully toward Lyse, eyes blazing with hatred.

"You think you’ve won?" Ophelia snarled. "You think you can just waltz in here and steal my life?"

Lyse rose slowly to her feet.

"Ophelia, I don’t want your life," she said softly.

That was the final straw.

With a strangled cry of fury, Ophelia lunged.

Her hand shot out, aimed straight for Lyse’s face.

Before she could make contact, Levi was on his feet.

He moved so fast it was almost frightening.

One second Ophelia was charging forward, the next she was stopped dead by Levi stepping between them, his body a solid wall of protection in front of Lyse.

"Don’t," he said quietly.

There was no anger in his voice.

Just a warning.

A dangerous one.

Ophelia froze, chest heaving.

"Get out of my way," she hissed.

"Touch her," Levi replied evenly, "and you’ll regret it."

The room trembled with tension.

Ophelia looked past him at Lyse, standing safely behind his shoulder, and something inside her seemed to snap completely.

"This isn’t over," she whispered. "None of this is over."

She raised her hand again...

And the study door opened.

"Ms Welhaven," the butler announced calmly from the doorway, "you have visitors."

Ophelia whirled around.

"What now?" she snapped.

Two uniformed police officers stepped into the room behind him.

The air changed instantly.

Ophelia’s bravado faltered.

"What is this?" she demanded.

One of the officers stepped forward.

"Ophelia Grace Welhaven?" he asked.

"Yes," she said slowly.

He held up a folded document.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Edward Hartwell, also known as your husband."

The words crashed over the room.

Lyse gasped.

The solicitor went pale.

Levi didn’t move, his eyes narrowing.

Ophelia stared at the officer as though he had spoken in a foreign language.

"What?" she whispered.

"We have evidence linking you to his death," the officer continued. "You have the right to remain silent,"

"This is ridiculous!" Ophelia shouted. "I didn’t kill anyone!"

The second officer stepped forward with handcuffs.

"Please turn around, ma’am."

"No," Ophelia snapped. "This is a mistake. A setup. She did this!"

She pointed wildly at Lyse.

"She’s trying to destroy me!"

"Ma’am, please cooperate," the officer said firmly.

Ophelia looked around the room desperately, as though expecting someone to save her.

But no one did.

Levi stood unmoving.

Lyse watched in stunned silence.

The solicitor avoided her gaze entirely.

Finally, the officers took her arms.

As the cuffs clicked into place around her wrists, Ophelia let out a scream so full of rage and disbelief it echoed off the walls.

"You haven’t won!" she shrieked at Lyse as they led her toward the door. "Do you hear me? You haven’t won!"

The door closed behind them.

Silence settled over the study.

Lyse exhaled shakily.

Levi turned to her, his expression softening at last.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded, though her hands trembled.

"I think so."