LOGINThe West Side Racing Track was electric. A massive crowd had gathered, but the cheers weren't for the home team. Fans of Blueberry—fresh off her latest television drama—had swarmed the stands, waving banners and chanting her name. The air was thick with the scent of high-octane fuel and the roar of a thousand voices.Lulu watched from the sidelines as fans showered Blueberry with bouquets of lilies and expensive bottled water. Her heart sank. "When are we ever going to get fans like that?" she grumbled, kicking at a loose pebble.Chloe Bishop reached over and gave Lulu a playful rap on the head. "The race countdown has started. Focus on your training, not the flowers. Once you make a name for yourself on the track, the fans will follow. Blueberry is from the entertainment industry; she’s playing a different game. We’re here to win a trophy, not a popularity contest."But as Chloe stepped out of her car after her final lap, the real world came crashing back. Her phone was blowing up wi
Chloe Bishop pressed further, her voice trembling with feigned vulnerability. "But I really saw it, Martha. It was right there—a woman with blood streaming down her face. It was horrific."Martha’s expression remained stubbornly certain. "You must have been seeing things, Madam. So many of us searched every corner of that basement and found nothing. You were terrified, trapped in the dark—it was a hallucination born of fear.""Was it?" Chloe’s gaze sharpened, her eyes locked onto the older woman’s face. "But I saw her shadow. Shadows don't belong to ghosts, Martha."For a split second, the air in the room changed. Chloe noticed Martha’s breathing hitch, becoming heavy and labored; her nostrils flared slightly—a classic physiological response to a sudden spike in adrenaline. But as quickly as the crack appeared, Martha smoothed it over with a practiced smile."Madam, are you sure you aren't confusing your nightmares with reality? Think about it: if it were truly 'one of those things,'
It didn't take long for an exquisite breakfast to be spread across the table. Martha, the longtime housekeeper, brought over two glasses of fresh milk and placed them before Chloe Bishop and Liam Jr.Chloe stared at the creamy white liquid, a sudden, sharp realization hitting her. She hadn't taken her medication yesterday. Her brow furrowed as she calculated the dates—the night Xavier Grayson had been so relentless, so intimately demanding, was right in the middle of her fertile window.The thought made her stomach tighten with anxiety. She leaned toward Vince, the butler, and spoke in a low, urgent voice. "Get me a morning-after pill."Vince blinked, momentarily stunned by the request. He wondered why the Master hadn't given any instructions regarding this, but he quickly recovered and went to retrieve the medication.A moment later, he returned. Chloe took the small white pill from his hand and swallowed it with a gulp of milk, praying silently that it wasn't too late.The Orchard o
The flashing bulbs of the cameras didn't stop as a reporter shouted, "According to current marriage laws, all assets earned during the marriage are split equally. Given your net worth, that is a massive sum. What could Sarah Vance possibly be dissatisfied with?"Arthur Vance adjusted his microphone, his face a mask of practiced stoicism. "It’s about custody. As you can see clearly on this agreement, I have full custody of our daughter, Maddy. Sarah agreed to this three months ago; otherwise, she never would have signed the document."He leaned in, his voice becoming firm and resonant. "I am holding this conference to state, once and for all, that I will not abandon my daughter. I hope Sarah can honor our original agreement and stop twisting the facts. Using the public’s sympathy to fuel her private greed and hurting innocent people in the process is unacceptable. If this continues, I will have no choice but to take legal action to protect our reputation."With those final, calculated
Sarah Vance turned and fled. She didn't just walk; she ran as if a pack of wolves were at her heels, ducking into a dark, narrow alleyway. She pressed herself into a corner, sinking to the cold ground, and finally let out a jagged, gut-wrenching sob.Once, she had been the pride of Haicheng—a woman of peerless grace and untouchable status. Now, she was a wreck, hiding in shadows because she couldn't bear for him to see her like this. He had returned, and of all the moments for their paths to cross, he had witnessed her pawning a worn-out relic of a failed love for grocery money.He must be laughing at me, she thought, her nails digging into her palms. The proud Sarah Vance, reduced to a beggar.By the time she gathered the strength to stand, her limbs were numb. When she finally peered out from the alley, the charcoal-grey Rolls-Royce was gone. The street was empty, but the ghost of that sharp, piercing gaze remained, unsettling her soul.The Matriarch’s SpoilsAt the Vance ancestral
Sarah Vance watched the front door slam shut behind Victoria Vance. It was a clean sweep. The movers had finished their harvest, taking her jewelry, her cash, her bank cards, her property deeds, and even the keys to her cars. They had even found her wedding ring—the one she had taken off and hidden in a drawer—proving they had come with a detailed map of her life.Arthur had taken the warmth. Victoria had taken the wealth.Sarah was now, in the most literal sense, penniless.She walked back to her bedroom. It was a skeletal ruin. The closet doors swung open to reveal empty shelves; the vanity was stripped of its designer perfumes. She sat on the edge of the mattress, staring at the chaos, and felt a wave of agonizing grief wash over her.She had once been a woman of brilliance, a star in her own right. For Arthur Vance, she had extinguished her own light, trading her ambition for the quiet life of a wife and mother. Why was she now living such a wretched existence? Why had she been so







