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Chapter 22: The Autumn Gala predicament

Author: Serena Vale
last update Petsa ng paglalathala: 2026-07-18 04:49:28

The executive elevator inside the Brooks Group headquarters climbed silently to the top floor, the digital floor indicator flashing with a smooth, expensive blue glow. Nathaniel Brooks stood inside the small mirrored enclosure, his gaze fixed on the reflection of his own shoes. He was wearing a fresh dark navy suit, his right hand now wrapped in a thin, flesh-colored medical brace that fit discreetly beneath his starched white cuff.

When the doors slid open, Victoria Sloan was already waiting i
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  • Too late, Ex. NOW WATCH ME RISE   Chapter 65: Grace

    Grace Harper Brooks was twenty-one, a third-year nursing student at uptown university — the university that had once tried to block Lillian's accreditation because of Arthur Vance.She had Margaret's eyes, William's nose, Edward's serious mouth, and Lillian's habit of biting her lip when she was nervous.She arrived at Global Care at 6:55 a.m., five minutes early, holding two coffees, wearing old scrubs that were actually stained, not performatively stained like Vanessa's first pair.Lillian was already there, having not slept, holding two coffees of her own.They stared at each other across the storage-room office for a long time."You look like Mom," Grace said finally, her voice shaking."You look like Dad," Lillian said. "Both of them. Which is confusing."Grace laughed, a short, nervous laugh that sounded exactly like Margaret's."I grew up with the Hendersons," Grace said, sitting down, handing Lillian a coffee. "They told me I was adopted when I was ten. They were kind. They ar

  • Too late, Ex. NOW WATCH ME RISE   Chapter 64: The Locket

    Lillian sat on the floor of William's study, holding the locket, her back against the desk where Patricia had once sipped her tea and threatened her with vitamins.The photos were old, faded, but clear.Margaret, young, maybe twenty-two, laughing on a picnic blanket.Edward Harper, young, maybe twenty-three, in army uniform, holding a baby wrapped in a white blanket, his face serious and proud and terrified all at once.A baby that was not Lillian. Lillian had seen her own baby photos. She had a full head of dark hair at birth. This baby was bald, tiny, with Margaret's eyes and William's nose.William's nose.The words hit her like ice water.William Brooks's nose. The same nose Nathaniel had. The same nose Patricia had.Lillian's hands shook so hard the locket rattled.She closed it and shoved it into her bag and ran out of the estate, not bothering to lock the study, not bothering to close the front door.She drove to Margaret's house, her knuckles white on the wheel.Margaret was i

  • Too late, Ex. NOW WATCH ME RISE   Chapter 63: Global Care

    The Global Care Alliance office was not an office. It was a converted storage room in the basement of St. Jude pavilion that Lillian had cleaned herself with Maya and Priya, with James's toolbox and Edward's terrible chair-assembly skills and Margaret's soup.It had two desks, three chairs, one expensive green plant, one small succulent, and a hand-painted sign that said Director: Lillian Harper that Maya had made and that Lillian had immediately crossed out and written Nurse: Lillian Harper under.On its first official day, it had four volunteers: Maya, Priya (who was now on probation but trying very hard), James, and — to everyone's shock — Vanessa Clarke.Vanessa arrived at 8 a.m., not in a cream dress, but in old scrubs that were actually stained this time, her blonde hair pulled back without extensions, no makeup, holding a box of donuts."I know you have no reason to let me stay," she said to Lillian in front of everyone, her voice small but clear. "But I have a nursing certific

  • Too late, Ex. NOW WATCH ME RISE   Chapter 62: Eleanor's Diary

    The woman on the bench stood up as Lillian and Nathaniel passed."Lillian Harper?" she asked, her voice soft and careful.Lillian stopped. "Yes?"The woman held out the diary. "My name is Eleanor Whitfield. I was James's mother. I think... I think you need this. Margaret told me to give it to you if anything ever happened to William. I have been keeping it since William died."Lillian's blood ran cold. Eleanor Whitfield was supposed to be dead. James had told her his mother died five years ago."I thought—" Lillian started."I know what James told you," Eleanor said quickly, her eyes flicking to Nathaniel. "I asked him to tell people I was gone. I have been living quietly in Oakfield since... since William died. It was safer. For him."Nathaniel frowned. "Safer from who?""From Patricia," Eleanor whispered. "Just like Howard."Lillian took the diary with numb fingers. It was old, leather-bound, the pages swollen with years of ink."Read page 47," Eleanor said. "The night William chang

  • Too late, Ex. NOW WATCH ME RISE   Chapter 61: The Roster

    Lillian did not sleep after the estate.She sat in Margaret's kitchen at 1 a.m., the deed for 50% of Brooks Group folded on the table next to the photo of her cohort, Nathaniel asleep on Margaret's couch in the living room because Edward had insisted he shouldn't drive back to the city after what happened, his sweater still dirty from the steps.Margaret made tea with shaking hands."That text," Margaret whispered, looking at the photo on Lillian's phone — Vanessa with her arm around Maya — "is that a threat about your exam tomorrow?""It's a threat about all of us," Lillian said, zooming in on the photo. The exam roster was taped to the wall behind them in the photo. Someone had taken it from inside the skills lab after hours. "Patricia said one of us is going to fail no matter how well we do. She has someone inside the school administration now. Not just Vanessa."Margaret sat down hard. "Lillian, call the police—""No," Lillian said, standing. "Call Adrian, call Gerald, but not the

  • Too late, Ex. NOW WATCH ME RISE   Chapter 60: The third Letter

    Catherine Brooks was waiting in William's study, the same study where Lillian's tea and threatened herShe held a small, cream envelope, identical to the first two, but with a single initial on the front: L."I was supposed to give this to you only if you did what you just did," Catherine said, her eyes red from crying, but proud. "William told me, 'If Lillian protects Nathaniel after she learns the truth, she is the daughter I always wanted. Give her this.'"Lillian took it with shaking hands. Nathaniel stood by the fireplace, giving her space, his hands in his pockets.Inside was not a letter. It was a deed.Deed of Transfer: 50% Controlling Shares of Brooks Group of Companies, and Full Ownership of Brooks Foundation, including Global Care Alliance, to Lillian Harper, effective immediately, irrevocable, regardless of divorce status.And underneath, in William's shaky handwriting:You passed, Lillian. You chose compassion over power when you had every reason not to. My son is safe wi

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