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Rejected Heiress: My Heartless Family's Regret
img img Rejected Heiress: My Heartless Family's Regret img Chapter 6 6
6 Chapters
Chapter 7 7 img
Chapter 8 8 img
Chapter 9 9 img
Chapter 10 10 img
Chapter 11 11 img
Chapter 12 12 img
Chapter 13 13 img
Chapter 14 14 img
Chapter 15 15 img
Chapter 16 16 img
Chapter 17 17 img
Chapter 18 18 img
Chapter 19 19 img
Chapter 20 20 img
Chapter 21 21 img
Chapter 22 22 img
Chapter 23 23 img
Chapter 24 24 img
Chapter 25 25 img
Chapter 26 26 img
Chapter 27 27 img
Chapter 28 28 img
Chapter 29 29 img
Chapter 30 30 img
Chapter 31 31 img
Chapter 32 32 img
Chapter 33 33 img
Chapter 34 34 img
Chapter 35 35 img
Chapter 36 36 img
Chapter 37 37 img
Chapter 38 38 img
Chapter 39 39 img
Chapter 40 40 img
Chapter 41 41 img
Chapter 42 42 img
Chapter 43 43 img
Chapter 44 44 img
Chapter 45 45 img
Chapter 46 46 img
Chapter 47 47 img
Chapter 48 48 img
Chapter 49 49 img
Chapter 50 50 img
Chapter 51 51 img
Chapter 52 52 img
Chapter 53 53 img
Chapter 54 54 img
Chapter 55 55 img
Chapter 56 56 img
Chapter 57 57 img
Chapter 58 58 img
Chapter 59 59 img
Chapter 60 60 img
Chapter 61 61 img
Chapter 62 62 img
Chapter 63 63 img
Chapter 64 64 img
Chapter 65 65 img
Chapter 66 66 img
Chapter 67 67 img
Chapter 68 68 img
Chapter 69 69 img
Chapter 70 70 img
Chapter 71 71 img
Chapter 72 72 img
Chapter 73 73 img
Chapter 74 74 img
Chapter 75 75 img
Chapter 76 76 img
Chapter 77 77 img
Chapter 78 78 img
Chapter 79 79 img
Chapter 80 80 img
Chapter 81 81 img
Chapter 82 82 img
Chapter 83 83 img
Chapter 84 84 img
Chapter 85 85 img
Chapter 86 86 img
Chapter 87 87 img
Chapter 88 88 img
Chapter 89 89 img
Chapter 90 90 img
Chapter 91 91 img
Chapter 92 92 img
Chapter 93 93 img
Chapter 94 94 img
Chapter 95 95 img
Chapter 96 96 img
Chapter 97 97 img
Chapter 98 98 img
Chapter 99 99 img
Chapter 100 100 img
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Chapter 6 6

3:00 AM.

The sound of a police siren wailed in the distance, closer than it ever would be in the Upper East Side. Aria lay on the wooden slats of the bunk bed. Her back was screaming. The lack of support was aggravating the old injury, sending spasms of sharp pain radiating up her spine. She reached into her bag, dry-swallowing a high-strength anti-inflammatory she kept for emergencies.

She shifted. The bed frame let out a screech that sounded like a dying animal.

Above her, Jenny groaned in her sleep.

Aria froze. She couldn't stay here. She needed to move.

She slid off the bed, her feet silent on the floorboards. She crept into the living room.

The moonlight filtered through the grime on the windows, casting long, distorted shadows.

Someone was sitting by the balcony door.

Leo.

He was hugging his knees to his chest, the glow of a phone screen illuminating his tear-streaked face.

He didn't hear her approach. He was too focused on the screen.

Aria stopped a few feet away. She could see the image on his phone. It was Vanessa's Instagram story.

A picture of a porcelain teacup on a silver tray, overlooking the Carlisle rose garden. Caption: Home sweet home. So blessed.

Leo wiped his nose on his sleeve. "She's happy," he whispered, his voice thick. "She forgot us already."

Aria sat down on the floor opposite him. She didn't try to touch him.

"Look at the cup, Leo."

Leo jumped, nearly dropping the phone. He glared at her. "What?"

"Look at the cup in the picture. Is there steam?"

Leo frowned. He zoomed in. "No."

"Is there tea in it?"

It looked empty.

"It's a prop," Aria said softly. "Eleanor Carlisle makes her stage those photos. That cup has been sitting on that table for three years. No one drinks from it."

Leo stared at her. "How do you know?"

"I lived in that museum for seventeen years."

Leo looked back at the photo. The glamour suddenly looked cold. Staged.

"She... she never mentioned us?" he asked, the vulnerability in his voice breaking Aria's heart.

Aria hesitated. She could tell him the truth-that Vanessa called them "the help" behind their backs. That Vanessa laughed about their poverty to her rich friends.

But looking at Leo's shattered face, she couldn't do it.

"She keeps a photo of you guys," Aria lied. "Tucked in the frame of her mirror. Where Eleanor can't see it."

Leo let out a breath that sounded like a sob. He buried his face in his knees and cried. Not the angry crying from before, but a release. A grieving.

Toby appeared from the hallway, rubbing his eyes. He saw Leo crying and waddled over. He held out the sticky remains of his candy apple.

"Eat, Leo," he said sleepily. "Sugar helps."

Aria watched the three of them sitting in the moonlight-the fake heiress, the angry brother, the innocent child.

The medication was starting to kick in, dulling the fire in her back to a manageable ember.

She stood up and picked Leo up. He was heavy, but to her, he felt light. He was asleep before she even got him to the couch.

She went back to her room. She picked up her phone.

An email notification from Nebula Studios Board of Directors: [Acquisition proposal for Carlisle Media Subsidiary is ready for your review.]

Aria stared at the screen. The hunger in her eyes wasn't for food. It was for justice.

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