Chapter 11: Vivian Returns

Thirty minutes later, a detailed file landed in Ethan's hands.Had Vivian seen it, her jaw would have hit the floor.It was comprehensive to the point of being unsettling, the kind of report that stopped just short of mapping the exact location of every freckle on her body. Everything about her life was there. Her childhood. Her education. Her years in New York before she left.Everything, that is, except what came after.The moment she had stepped onto that plane five years ago, the trail went cold. Whatever had happened abroad and anything connected to a certain small person had been wiped with surgical precision. Not a trace remained."Miss Rong's records from her time abroad appear to have been deliberately erased," the butler reported carefully. "Does the young master wish us to dig deeper?"Information scrubbed that cleanly didn't disappear on its own. Someone had gone to considerable trouble to make sure it stayed gone."No."Ethan closed the file and set it aside."This is eno

Last Updated : 2026-04-25

Chapter 12: She Is No One's Doormat

Vivian had no idea she had already become the subject of someone's very focused interest.She lay in the guest room of the Harlow Residence staring at the ceiling for most of the night, turning the same thoughts over and over until they wore grooves in her mind. By the time pale morning light crept through the curtains, she had given up entirely on sleep. She sat up, caught a glimpse of herself in the vanity mirror, dark circles, tired eyes, hair that had opinions and decided the night had been a complete loss.She dressed quickly and slipped out of the room."Good morning, Miss Rong." The butler appeared at the foot of the stairs with the punctual cheerfulness of someone who had definitely slept."Good morning." She managed a polite smile. A beat. "Has the driver arrived yet?"The butler kept his gaze diplomatically forward. "It's still quite early, Miss Rong. The young master hasn't risen yet, and the driver typically arrives at nine. Perhaps Miss Rong would like to wait and have br

Last Updated : 2026-04-25

Chapter 13: Two Slaps, No Apology

"Sister." Rebecca's voice cracked on cue, soft, trembling, perfectly pitched for an audience. "I didn't do it. You've misunderstood me. I swear, I don't know why you fell. I was trying to catch you""Trying to catch me." Vivian's smile didn't reach her eyes by a mile. "Or trying to figure out why the car didn't finish the job?"Rebecca flinched.Just slightly. Just enough for Vivian to see it.She recovered fast, pressing her lips into a wounded line. "I didn't, sister, that's not fair"Vivian looked at her. Looked at the trembling lip, the glistening eyes, the entire flawless performance, and felt nothing but a cold, clear contempt.Rebecca still had cameras to worry about. Reporters everywhere, lenses already swinging in their direction. She couldn't afford a scene, not here, not in front of Stellar Entertainment's front doors with her image freshly gilded by a national award. She needed to play this soft, play it sympathetic, let Vivian look like the unstable one.Endure, Rebecca w

Last Updated : 2026-04-26

Chapter 14: Rosie Comes Running

"Stop joking, Vivian." Rebecca's smile stayed perfectly in place, but her eyes had gone winter-cold. "If you actually had a recording, you'd have released it years ago. You wouldn't have waited until now." She lifted her chin, steady again, recalibrating. "Let go of me, or I'm calling security."Vivian raised an eyebrow.Released her chin.And smiled. "Go ahead."The confidence did it.Rebecca had been eighty percent certain the recording was a bluff. Now she was sixty. Now fifty.Because that was the thing about Vivian Rong, she had never once in her life bluffed without something to back it up. And the particular quality of her smile right now, unhurried and faintly amused, was not the smile of someone running a gamble.Rebecca's hand stayed at her side.Vivian watched the calculation play out behind her eyes and felt something loosen in her chest, not quite satisfaction, but close enough.She leaned in one last time, fingers pressing just slightly harder against Rebecca's jaw."I d

Last Updated : 2026-04-26

Chapter 15: Didn't Catch Up

Behind him, Victoria Hartwell had been holding up a tiny yellow checked blazer against Rosie's small frame, debating the fit, when the space beside her suddenly went empty.She spun around.The door of the boutique was still swinging."Rosie!" She shoved the blazer into the nearest sales assistant's arms and swept out after him, heels clicking rapid fire against the marble floor. "Where are you going, wait for Grandma!"She turned to the cluster of frozen staff behind her. "Don't just stand there, go after him!"The resulting procession was something to behold, three sales assistants, two bodyguards in black suits, one personal attendant, and Victoria Hartwell herself, all streaming out of the boutique at considerable speed, dignity entirely abandoned in favor of urgency.They made it to the plaza entrance.And stopped.Rosie had stopped too.He stood perfectly still at the edge of the courtyard, his small chest heaving from the sprint, his eyes fixed on a single point across the stre

Last Updated : 2026-04-27

Chapter 16: You Haven't Paid for the Treatment

Nathan's flattery clearly wasn't landing."Are you trying to survive in this industry or not?!" His voice pitched upward sharply. "You couldn't hold back for five minutes? You pushed her, in public, in front of a full press pack! Vivian, I'm telling you right now, the Rong family will not let this go. Your scandals are going to be everywhere before the day is out."Vivian was leaning back lazily in the cab seat, one finger tracing idle circles on the armrest. "No need to wait," she said. "I just refreshed the feed. It's already out there."She scrolled as she spoke.It was thorough, she'd give Rebecca that. A pregnancy test at a hospital when she was eighteen. Allegations of sleeping her way into auditions. A "bullying younger sister" narrative complete with blurry, conveniently angled photos of Vivian raising a hand on what appeared to be a set.Hashtags already climbing:"#PityBecca. #VivianRongGetOut."Rebecca had clearly had the package prepared and waiting. The moment the cameras