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Chapter 48: A Trap in the Spotlight
Last Updated:
2025-08-30 00:18:53
Latest chapter
Wounded Rose of Garden Metro Chapter 50: The Interrogation
The car ride to the police station felt longer than it should have. Garden Metro’s skyline blurred past the tinted windows, but Elara barely saw it. Her palms were clammy, and her heart thudded with a rhythm she couldn’t calm.She had been inside plenty of cold, sterile rooms during her school years — counselor’s offices, principal’s rooms — places where her side of the story never mattered. Today felt like an echo of those humiliations. Only this time, it was louder, sharper, more dangerous.Vincent sat beside her, silent but steady, his presence a pillar she could lean on. Damien was already ahead of them, arranging things quietly. Lena had squeezed her hand until the very last second, whispering reminders that Elara could hold her own.Still, when the car pulled to a stop in front of the looming police building, Elara’s breath caught. A crowd had gathered — reporters, opportunistic bloggers, even curious onlookers. Cameras flashed as soon as she stepped out, and microphones shoved
Wounded Rose of Garden Metro Chapter 49: Shadows of a Crime
The morning after the gala, Garden Metro buzzed with whispers. For once, Elara’s name wasn’t buried in hushed speculation — it blared across gossip columns and anonymous blogs that thrived on scandal.“Foundation Guest Linked to Bizarre Altercation.” “Unstable Past or Dangerous Present?” “Elara Quinn: Victim or Villain?”Elara sat at the long table in Vincent’s study, papers strewn before her. The air smelled faintly of coffee, though hers sat untouched, cooling in its cup. Each headline tightened the knot in her chest.Damien leaned against the wall, arms folded, a rare frown pulling at his usually unreadable face. “This isn’t coincidence. Someone fed them details. Someone engineered this.”Vincent flipped through the tabloids with icy precision. “Cassidy,” he said simply, his tone devoid of surprise.Elara’s throat tightened. “But the things they’re saying…”She pushed one paper forward — a photograph of her standing at the gala, caught mid-expression, brows furrowed, mouth slight
Wounded Rose of Garden Metro Chapter 48: A Trap in the Spotlight
The Rosemont Hall glittered that night, chandeliers bathing the grand ballroom in golden light. The city’s elite had gathered for the annual Foundation Gala — a showcase of Garden Metro’s most powerful families and philanthropists. To Vincent, it was a battlefield no less dangerous than the streets. To Elara, it felt like walking into Cassidy’s den.Elara’s dress was understated compared to the jeweled gowns around her — sleek black with a subtle silver trim. Lena had insisted simplicity was her strength; it let her stand apart without seeming desperate to belong. But as the doors opened and eyes turned, Elara felt the weight of a thousand silent judgments.“They’re waiting for you to stumble,” Lena whispered from her side. “Don’t give them the satisfaction.”Vincent wasn’t far behind, his presence a silent shield, though he kept his distance — appearances mattered tonight.Cassidy made her entrance minutes later, dazzling in crimson silk, dripping in diamonds that caught the chandeli
Wounded Rose of Garden Metro Chapter 47: Ghosts in the Spotlight
The morning air in Garden Metro carried a deceptive calm, but Elara’s phone shattered it within seconds. Notification after notification pinged, each one carrying a fresh wound disguised as a headline or a gossip thread.Lena slammed her palm against the table as she scrolled through the trending tags. #WoundedRose, #BrokenElara, #DamagedGoods.“This is vicious,” Lena muttered. “She went personal.”Damien leaned closer, his eyes narrowing. “Not just personal. She went digging. Cassidy must’ve sent people to your hometown, pulled up old classmates, maybe even bribed school staff.” He clicked open one article. The words cut like shards of glass:‘Elara Quinn, the supposed rising star of Garden Metro’s social scene, has a history riddled with instability. Reports from former peers paint her as a fragile, broken girl who frequently lashed out under pressure. Sources recall episodes of crying fits, suspected therapy sessions, and rumored suicide attempts.’Elara’s breath caught.It was as
Wounded Rose of Garden Metro Chapter 46: Twisting Shadows
The article spread like wildfire across Garden Metro before dawn, flooding social media feeds and gossip circles. By breakfast, Elara’s phone was already buzzing with thinly veiled inquiries from acquaintances she had only just met at the Santori reception.Some messages were polite but cautious — “Hope you’re doing alright, Elara, strange things being said.” Others were sharper, blunt: “Are you involved with fugitives? Need to know before moving forward.”The speed of it chilled her. The whispers had traveled faster than bullets.Damien slammed a laptop shut on the dining table, his jaw tight. “This was no coincidence. They didn’t just catch you in a bad angle — they set this up.”Lena paced, arms crossed. “I told you. Marla Vance’s fingerprints are all over this. The tone, the phrasing, the way it pushes innuendo without outright stating facts. Classic poison gossip.”Elara sat still, sipping her tea slowly though her stomach churned. “Can we trace the origin?”Damien exhaled hard,
Wounded Rose of Garden Metro Chapter 45: After the Spotlight
The morning after the hearing, Garden Metro’s gossip cycle had a new star.Front-page headlines bore Elara’s name alongside still shots from the chamber — her sharp black suit, the silver rose at her lapel, her calm gaze fixed on Councilman Harris. The most replayed clip on the local news was her remark about fear making people reckless. It was the kind of line that stuck in people’s minds, whether they agreed with her or not.At breakfast, Damien tossed a stack of newspapers onto the table. “You’re officially trending. Half the city thinks you’re the woman who put the council in its place. The other half thinks you’re the reason the docks are ‘crawling with criminals.’”Elara sipped her tea without looking at the papers. “Both sides are useful.”Lena glanced up from her phone. “Useful how?”“If they see me as dangerous, they’ll be cautious,” Elara said. “If they see me as competent, they’ll be curious. Either way, they’re paying attention — and attention is leverage.”Vincent entered
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