Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

Every eye in the room turned toward the young woman rolling slowly forward in her wheelchair. She looked to be in her early twenties, dark hair braided into two long plaits, her face carrying none of the brightness her age should have granted her, replaced instead by something weathered, older, harder-won.As she approached, the reporters caught on fast, cameras swinging toward her almost in unison.Instinct for a story. They can smell one coming.Vivian's expression cracked wide open; she clearly hadn't expected Sienna to show up here, of all places, tonight of all nights.Panic bled through despite her best efforts to mask it. "Who are you? Who put you up to this?"Sienna's voice stayed level, ice-cold. "Everything I'm about to say is true. Nobody sent me. I'm here to make sure no one else gets fooled by you."She wheeled herself to a stop in front of Muddy Waters. "I did paint this. And it was never about despair. It was about finding the courage to grow toward the light even from

Once Sienna's flight was safely in the air, Nora wasn't in any hurry to head back. Bea's flight would land within the hour, and Nora planned to pick her up herself.She sat in the car scrolling her phone while she waited, every app flooded with coverage of tonight's exhibition.Vivian thought a solo show would save her career. Instead, it just finished her off completely.At the same time, Amanda's true identity had exploded across every major outlet, dominating headlines everywhere she looked.Tonight had been an unqualified victory.Not long after, Miles called, insisting they all go out to celebrate the three of them, and drink until nobody could see straight.Nora, riding high and glad to have Bea back in the country, didn't need convincing. A rare night to actually let go for once sounded perfect.Right on schedule, Bea came through the arrivals gate, pulled off her sunglasses, and barreled straight toward Nora with enough momentum to nearly knock her flat."Nora, you absolute me

The past few days had been unusually calm for Nora. She'd picked one interview request out of the dozens flooding in and scheduled it three days out.Once Sienna was settled, she'd sent word that everything was safe and proceeding exactly as planned.Nora spent the afternoon in her hotel room catching up on financial news. The Ashford family's stock had cratered in the wake of Vivian's scandal, wiping out hundreds of millions in a matter of days.That's a serious hit for the family. Walter's going to make sure Vivian hears about every dollar of it.Her phone buzzed a moment later a message from her private investigator, asking to meet at a nearby coffee shop.She got up, pulled a white casual suit from her suitcase, dressed quickly, and headed out.The coffee shop was a ten-minute walk from the hotel. She spotted a man in a black baseball cap seated in the back row and approached quietly. "Detective Cross?"He nodded. "Miss Amanda. Owen Cross."Three months ago, Nora had hired Owen to

Under cover of darkness, Nora's unconscious body was loaded into the back seat of a car. Vivian glanced at her once, then slammed the door shut.She climbed behind the wheel and hit the gas.Half an hour later, the car rolled to a stop outside a hotel.Vivian caught sight of Nora in the rearview mirror, lips curling into something gleeful. "This is all on you, Nora. Should've minded your own business. At least you're still good for something tonight."She pulled out her phone and dialed. "I'm downstairs. Come get me."She hadn't originally planned to be here in person for this part. But thinking back on every humiliation Nora had handed her lately made it impossible to stay away.Tonight, she intended to watch it happen herself, get the footage, and finally settle the score.Five minutes later, a middle-aged man with an oily, self-satisfied look about him stepped out of the hotel and spotted the woman waiting by the car.She wore a mask, a plain white shirt, and light-wash jeans. He w

Felix was out celebrating with friends, in no mood to field calls from anyone except his junior sister.He found a quiet corner and picked up. "Junior sister, it's only been a few days since we last saw each other. Already missing your Second Brother?"He came across as smooth-talking, a little too charming for his own good, the type most people assumed was a serial dater. In reality, he'd never had a girlfriend in his life.Nora skipped the small talk. "Second Brother, does your family still own a shipping company?""We do," Felix said. "Business has been rough, my mom's been talking about selling it. Why the sudden interest?""Sell it to me at market rate. I need it for something.""Oh? Getting into shipping now?"Something like that.Felix wasn't the type to nickel-and-dime her. "If my junior sister's asking, consider it done. We can sort out payment whenever it works for you."Nora laughed. "Do I look like someone who's short on cash?"Before leaving her old life behind, she'd liq