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Chapter 27

ผู้เขียน: Maryann Brown
last update ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-07-11 21:27:17

{Hailey’s Pov}

Dinner was set like a scene from a movie. A long, polished table. Silver cutlery that sparkled under the chandelier. Crystal glasses filled with red wine. Everything was too perfect. Too quiet. Like the calm before a storm.

I sat between Clara and Kaira, my back straight, my hands in my lap. Across the table sat Julian, his eyes pinned on me like I was something he couldn’t decide whether to protect or destroy.

He hadn’t said a word since I walked in. Just stared.

It made my skin crawl. I picked at my food. Roasted lamb, creamy potatoes, grilled vegetables. Everything smelled amazing, but my stomach was too tight to eat.

Aaron was sipping wine, throwing me glances like he was waiting for something to explode. Luca drummed his fingers against his glass. Marcus stayed quiet, his eyes moving between me and Julian like he could feel the tension thick in the room.

And then Debra Lachlan cleared her throat.

Here we go.

“I must say,” she began, her tone sweet and sharp at onc
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  • The Stripping Heiress    Chapter 72

    I survived dinner without anyone trying to poison me or stab me under the table. That counted as a win. Marcus never showed, though, and that left an emptiness I couldn’t name.When the meal ended, I leaned close to Clara. “I need some air.”She didn’t argue. I didn’t go outside, though. I couldn’t face the cameras or reporters waiting to shout questions at me again. Instead, I slipped into another wing of the museum, Williams trailing behind me like my shadow.This part of the building was closed for the evening. The lights were dim, the rooms roped off, and the air was cool and still. As I walked down the long hall, my heels clicked softly against the floor. Williams’ steady footsteps followed mine.Then, up ahead, a door stood open. A light spilled out, sharp and bright, almost blinding compared to the dark corridor. Someone had pushed the velvet cord aside, leaving the room exposed.I stepped in.The sudden brightness felt like stepping into sunlight after sitting in a dark theate

  • The Stripping Heiress    Chapter 71

    “Hailey, look over here!”“Any comment about Craig Benson’s arrest?”“Can you comment on the future of the Lachlan Foundation?”“Is it true your mother was once arrested for solicitation?”The last question would have knocked me off my feet if I hadn’t been through seven rounds of practice with Adam. Instead of snapping back with the words I wanted—words with plenty of curse words—I kept my face calm. I stood still by the car, waiting.And then came the question I had been prepared for.“With everything that’s happened, how do you feel?”I looked straight at the reporter who asked. “I’m grateful to be alive,” I said clearly. “And I’m grateful to be here tonight.”The gala was inside an art museum. We entered on the upper floor and descended a sweeping marble staircase that seemed to go on forever. By the time I was halfway down, everyone in the huge hall below had turned their eyes toward me—or looked away in that deliberate, heavy way that was even worse.At the bottom of the stairs,

  • The Stripping Heiress    Chapter 70

    After my session with Adam, he left me in my bedroom where a small army was already waiting Clara’s chosen stylists, all sharp-eyed and buzzing with energy. I could have told them to leave. I could have said I wasn’t going to the gala. But Adam’s words echoed in my head. What message would that send if I refused? That I was scared? That I had something to hide? That Kiara was guilty? She’s not. I repeated it to myself like a prayer. She’s not guilty. I was halfway through hair and makeup when the door opened. Kiara slipped inside, her face blotchy, streaked with mascara. She’d been crying. My heart jumped painfully in my chest. She didn’t do anything wrong. She couldn’t have. Kiara froze for a second, just long enough for me to notice the panic in her eyes. Then she rushed forward and threw her arms around me, squeezing like she was afraid to ever let go. “I’m sorry,” she whispered against my shoulder. “I am so, so sorry.” My blood went cold. Just for a moment. “I s

  • The Stripping Heiress    Chapter 69

    Here were the facts, laid out like puzzle pieces I couldn’t fit together:Craig had tried to run us off the road.Craig had a gun in his trunk, and the police thought it matched the bullets Williams had collected.Craig already had a record.The police asked me everything. About the shooting. About Craig. About Kiara. Each question made my chest tighter. Each answer felt like walking on glass.When it was over, they drove me back to Lachlan House. I wanted nothing more than to lock my door and sleep for a year.Instead, the front door flew open before Clara and I even reached the porch.Luca stormed out, his boots pounding against the steps. He stopped short when he saw us, but his eyes were sharp and furious.“You want to tell me,” he said to Clara, his voice a low growl edged with his Southern drawl, “why I’m just now finding out that the police moved Kiara away?”I froze. My stomach dropped like I’d been shoved off a cliff.“They what?” I whispered.Clara didn’t flinch. She lifted

  • The Stripping Heiress    Chapter 68

    We found a dress.The paparazzi didn’t make it easy. Their cameras flashed like strobe lights as Williams pushed us back into the SUV. Shouts followed us down the street. Questions, wild guesses, accusations—all of it blurred together into noise.Inside, the doors slammed shut. Silence fell, broken only by the hum of the engine. Williams checked the rearview mirror. “Seat belts buckled?”Mine was already locked tight across my chest. Beside me, Linda clipped hers in place with a neat click. She smoothed her hair as if nothing outside had happened, then turned to me with a faint smile.“Have you thought about hair and makeup yet?”“Constantly,” I said, my voice dry as dust. “It’s the only thing I think about these days. A girl has to keep her priorities straight.”Linda’s smile sharpened. “And here I thought all your priorities had the last name Lachlan.”“That’s not true,” I shot back quickly.But the words rang hollow. Because wasn’t it? How many hours had I spent thinking about Marc

  • The Stripping Heiress    Chapter 67

    I slept in Kaira’s room that night, though she wasn’t there.Before lying down, I asked Williams to check with her security team to ensure she was safe. He confirmed she was on the estate—but didn’t tell me where. That said enough.No Kaira. No Maya.For the first time since coming here, I felt truly alone.Marcus hadn’t shown his face since storming off that morning. Julian had left soon after we’d uncovered the Davenport clue. And Luca—I hadn’t seen him at all.It was just me, in a giant, haunted house, with three numbers circling in my head:One. One. Eight.That was it. Three digits.It meant Leonard’s tree in the Black Wood really had been just a tree. If there was a fourth number, I hadn’t found it yet. Based on the plastic keychain shaped like a 1, clues could come in any form—not just carvings.The more I thought about it, the more restless I became.Late into the night, when the house should’ve been silent, I heard it: footsteps.I froze.Were they behind me? Above me? Below?

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