All Chapters of The Heiress in Glass: Chapter 41 - Chapter 45

The fire was still burning when the memory came back. Not slowly. Not gently. It hit Vivienne all at once. The lake. Cold morning air. Wooden docks stretching across perfectly still water. And Margaux standing there like she owned the horizon. Vivienne sat in the back seat of the black SUV as the city lights passed by outside the window in blurred streaks of gold and white. Emergency lights still flashed in her vision every time she blinked. Daniel sat beside her. Close. Too close for the storm inside her chest to stay quiet. His hand rested over hers. Not gripping. Not demanding. Just there. A quiet promise. Marcus drove in silence, one hand on the steering wheel, the other holding a paper cup of coffee he clearly didn’t trust not to spill. Every few seconds he glanced in the rearview mirror. Checking the road. Checking them. Checking that no black cars suddenly appeared behind them. The night felt wrong now. Too quiet. Like the world wa

The cabin smelled like dust, old wood, and lake water. Vivienne stepped inside slowly, her eyes fixed on the black envelope sitting in the center of the table. Sunlight from the tall windows cut across the room in pale gold beams, illuminating floating particles in the air. Everything looked untouched. The same rough wooden shelves. The same stone fireplace. The same desk where her father used to sit while she played outside on the dock. Except now— There was Margaux. Not physically. But in the way the room suddenly felt claimed. Daniel stepped in beside her, his eyes scanning every corner automatically. Windows. Doorways. Ceiling beams. Instinct. Protection. Marcus followed last, closing the door behind them quietly before leaning against the wall. “Well,” he muttered, “I officially hate mysterious envelopes.” Vivienne didn’t answer. She walked toward the table slowly. Her name stared back at her from the front of the envelope. Vivienne. Ma

The city felt different. Not quieter, exactly. London was never quiet. Sirens still echoed down distant streets, taxis still splashed through puddles from the night’s rain, and somewhere nearby a train groaned along the tracks. But something in the air had shifted. For the first time in months, Vivienne Laurent woke without fear sitting heavy in her chest. Morning light slipped through the tall windows of Daniel’s apartment, painting soft gold across the bedroom walls. She lay still for a moment, watching dust drift lazily through the sunlight, her mind catching up with reality. No messages. No threats. No shadows waiting around every corner. Just peace. Or something close to it. Beside her, Daniel slept deeply, one arm draped across her waist as if even in sleep he refused to let her go. Vivienne smiled faintly. She carefully turned to face him, studying the quiet strength of his features—the sharp line of his jaw, the dark stubble that had grown overnight, the s