All Chapters of The Forgotten Heiress Returns: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Edward laughed, releasing a deep breath, the sound easy and content, the kind of laugh a man allows himself only when an evening has gone far better than he expected it to."Um... it's late." he said, turning to his wife beside him before looking ahead, his gaze sweeping once more over the emptying hall as though satisfied with everything he'd witnessed that night. "Oh, I'm calling it a night. Amber, we'll have a car drive you to Sag Harbor tomorrow.""Thank you." Amber said with a nod, smiling happily.The warmth of the moment settled into her chest in a way that felt almost unfamiliar after the humiliation she'd spent the whole evening bracing herself for. Zoe and her mother were watching in shock and fury, their earlier gloating replaced now by something far more brittle, their eyes tracking every word passing between Edward and the girl they had spent months dismissing as beneath consideration.There was a particular sting in watching someone you've mocked for weeks be handed, in

"When did I ever say that?" Amber asked, turning to him, her eyes flashing with fresh anger despite the fear still coiled tight in her chest. "I am engaged to your brother. If you have any decency left, you will let me go!" She continued struggling against the locked door, her fingers scraping uselessly at the handle.'I've kissed you." Oliver said, gripping her hand tightly, his voice low, certain, entirely unmoved by her protest. "Marked you. That makes you mine. And my woman can't marry some other guy. I don't even want you engaged to him."There was a strange, unshakable logic to the way he spoke, as though the world simply bent itself around whatever he decided to want.The same way it had bent around him inside that ballroom not an hour earlier, guards moving at his word, guests falling silent at his footsteps, his own father laughing off whatever he chose to do. It should have frightened her more than it did, and some small, stubborn part of her hated how little it actually d

"You ungrateful brat!" Malcolm snapped furiously as he rose from the couch. "I thought life in the countryside would have knocked some manners into you."Amber stood before him, her face down while Zoe and her mother giggled silently in excitement, clearly enjoying the show far more than they were bothering to hide."You're out of control." Malcolm continued, his voice fierce, his finger jabbing the air between them. "You're acting like a slut!""I don't see the problem, father." Amber cut in, her head tilted, calm despite the sting of his words. "Oliver simply gave me a ride home because I'm part of his family."There was something almost theatrical in how steady she sounded, given everything her body had actually been through in the last hour alone. She'd learned long ago that the fastest way to survive a storm in this house was never to flinch first, no matter how hard the wind came at her."Oh! Don't be ridiculous." her father snapped, laughing mockingly. "This engagement is over

At Sag Harbor, Edward was seated with his mother, and beside the old woman sat Elizabeth.They were all talking and laughing over cups of tea set out on the polished patio table, the morning sun catching softly against the silverware and the tall glass windows behind them.A lady in a black and white house help uniform approached them, her steps quiet and practiced against the tiled floor."Madame Winchester, the Shaws are here." she said warmly, turning slightly toward the entrance where the guests had just appeared, waiting to be received. Her tone carried the easy politeness of someone well used to announcing visitors in a house where every arrival mattered.Zoe and Marian walked in, all excited, their heels clicking with a confidence that suggested they'd already rehearsed how this morning was meant to unfold in their favor. Behind Marian trailed Amber, quiet and composed, her hands folded loosely in front of her, taking in the grandness of the estate without a flicker of intimi

"Move, you stupid child!" Zoe snapped furiously as she rose, pushing Amber away with both hands. "Stop trying to be the hero. You're going to kill her!"Amber stumbled sideways, catching herself against the arm of the couch, torn between her family's reckless outbursts and the urgent, ticking need to save the dying old woman still slumped just a few feet away from her."Mom!" Edward cut in, reaching for the old woman whose breathing was gradually slipping further and further away from her. "Wake up, wake up."His voice cracked hard on the second word, his hands trembling as he cradled his mother's face between them, willing her eyes to open with a desperation raw.Even Zoe paused for half a second, some flicker of guilt passing quickly across her face before she smothered it.That caught Amber's attention again, and she turned swiftly from Zoe back toward the old woman, shoving Zoe firmly aside as she reached into her handbag.She pulled out something small, shaped like a pen marker,