Roger and Susan immediately realized something was wrong with Regina. They both jumped from their seats, panic flashing across their faces.
"Regina… Regina, are you okay?" Roger's voice trembled as he leaned toward her.
Regina's face was pale as a sheet, her lips turning an ominous shade of blue. Her body trembled faintly — clear signs of a heart attack.
Susan's composure shattered. "Call Dr. Hopkins! Hurry!" she screamed at the maids.
Dr. Hopkins was the Winston Hansley family's long-time physician. After the old Mr. Winston Hansley passed away, Hopkins didn't leave. He stayed behind to care for Dexie. Even after Dexie married Luke, Dr. Hopkins remained in the Zellweger household, conveniently rebranded as their "family doctor."
The dining room descended into chaos as servants scrambled.
But at the table, Dexie and Luke sat unmoving, their expressions untouched by the panic.
Dexie's eyes were sharp, cold as they swept over the scene. Then, her voice cut through the tension like glass.
"Dr. Hopkins is my personal physician," she reminded them flatly. "I've paid his salary all these years. Who exactly gave you the right to order him around?"
Susan's terrified expression twisted into fury. Gone was her gentle, fake composure. She spun to face Dexie, her voice shrill with frustration.
"Dexie! What are you saying? I've raised you since you were little, worked myself to the bone for you! And this is how you repay me?"
Dexie's gaze hardened, her lips curling in disdain. Her voice was low, steady, and dangerous.
"The servants raised me. They fed me, clothed me, cared for me. You?" She tilted her head. "You wore the clothes we provided and ate our food like a guest. Don't flatter yourself."
Her words were like knives, precise and brutal.
Dexie reached for her phone, casually tapping the screen. Moments later, two short videos played on the screen. The first showed a black horse struggling to pull a heavy cart. The second, a bull ploughing stubbornly through a muddy field.
She held the phone toward Susan, her smile soft, but her eyes merciless.
"That's what hard work looks like. You should watch this… maybe learn something." She clicked off the video. "And if you can't manage even that, stop acting like you've sacrificed everything. It's pathetic."
Susan's face flushed red with rage. Her teeth clenched so tightly they nearly cracked. In that moment, the hatred in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Roger slammed his hand down on the table, glaring at Dexie. "Enough! Don't go too far, Dexie. If anything happens to Regina… I swear I'll teach you a lesson!"
Dexie slowly turned to face him, her eyes narrowing with cool amusement.
"Oh?" she drawled. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
Roger opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His face darkened, but he knew deep down, he couldn't touch Dexie. Not yet.
The Winston Hansley Corporation wasn't his. Not entirely. Until Dexie's shares were under his control, she remained untouchable.
His fists clenched as frustration boiled inside him.
He'd thought after Wendy's death… after the old man passed… with Steven still in a coma… that the company and Dexie would be easy to manipulate. But she wasn't a naive little girl anymore.
She was dangerous now.
And Roger? Roger was running out of moves.
Roger hadn't expected Dexie to be so ruthless. Her words left him stunned, off-balance.
"Dr. Hopkins is here!" someone shouted, snapping Roger out of his glare.
Susan, still clutching Regina, turned toward the doctor in a panic. "Dr. Hopkins, please, check on her. Hurry!"
Regina's face was ghostly pale, lips tinted blue. Her heart condition had always made her fragile, that's why they coddled her, kept her calm, avoided anything that might upset her.
But today? Every word from Dexie had hit Regina like a dagger.
Susan's eyes flicked to Dexie, filled with cold hatred. The kind of hatred that whispered of revenge.
If she could silently get rid of Wendy… what was stopping her from doing the same to Dexie?
"Bring Miss Zellweger to her room," Dr. Hopkins instructed firmly. The servants scrambled to follow.
As the chaos settled, a soft voice broke the tension.
"Matilda. Serve the rice."
All heads turned. Dexie sat there, calm, as if nothing had happened.
Roger and Susan's fury simmered beneath their skin. Even as they helped Regina upstairs, Roger couldn't resist one last jab.
"You'll pay for your cruelty, Dexie," he warned darkly.
Dexie smiled sweetly, unfazed. "Cruelty?" she echoed. "If it weren't for the Winston Hansley family's money… Regina wouldn't have lived this long."
Her smile sharpened, every word deliberate. "In fact, you could say I'm her savior. So really… if I do face retribution, it'll be for doing a good deed, won't it?"
Roger's expression cracked.
Every time she mentioned the Winston Hansley family, it was like twisting the knife. No matter how much power he flaunted, at the end of the day, he was still their son-in-law. A man living under their name… and shadow.
Dexie's smile lingered, knowing full well how much her existence infuriated him.
As they disappeared upstairs, only a few maids remained to serve Dexie, their disapproval written all over their faces.
They didn't dare speak, but their eyes said it all.
So heartless. Even if they weren't real sisters… how could she be so cold?
One maid set a bowl of rice down with a sharp clank, loud enough to be a message.
Dexie's eyes narrowed. Her voice was icy.
"If you feel wronged serving me… leave."
The maid's face paled. No one moved.
Dexie stirred her rice calmly, as though daring them to test her patience again.