?Chapter 40:


    “Elliana, don’t think you’re untouchable just because Grandpa’s got your back. You’re nothing but a lowlife… Ow!” Before Jeff could finish, a biscuit came flying out of nowhere, smacking him square in the mouth and knocking him off his chair with a yelp.


    Everyone froze, jaws dropping.


    Humiliated, Jeff scrambled up from the floor, ring at Elliana. “What gives you the right to throw stuff at me?”


    Elliana took a slow sip of her milk. “Talk smack about me again, and you’ll wish you hadn’t.”


    “You!” Jeff rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw hands, but one look at his seat made him pause. “Pain’s gone, and now you forget the lesson, huh? You deserve a smackdown from your cousin-inw!”


    With Jeff handled, Elliana went back to her breakfast, not sparing Trinity a nce.


    Trinity squirmed, her face flushing with embarrassment. She swore to herself that once the SAT results came out, she’d put Elliana in her ce.


    After breakfast, Elliana hopped into Cole’s car to head to school.


    Trinity was itching to ride along but too scared to ask. Cole was obsessive about cleanliness and never let another woman in his car. She shot Elliana a jealous re, cursing inwardly. How did that in Jane get so lucky to get into Cole’s car?


    At the school gate, Elliana thanked Cole, grabbed her bag, and started to climb out when he caught her wrist. She turned, expecting a pep talk, but instead, he said, “Don’t forget our deal. Once the exams are done, think hard about the answer you’re going to give me.”


    Elliana was speechless. Shouldn’t he be telling her to keep her cool during the test, not to freak out, and to double-check her work? Nope, all he cared about was his own desires, as if the SATs—his grandpa’s big deal—were just a blip on his radar. He wasn’t even worried she’d bomb it and make him 100k bad!


    “Fine,” she said tly, then got out of the car.


    The next two days were smooth sailing for Elliana—grueling exams by day, chilling at the Evans family’s ce by night.


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    By the afternoon of the second day, she’d made up her mind about Cole’s question. She couldn’t say yes. Her mom’s advice from years ago echoed in her head, hinting at some invisible force behind that fateful fire, pulling strings on her and her mother’s fates. She had to track down that puppet master and unravel the truth, or she’d never find her mom. With so much on her te, getting tangled up in romance would only slow her down. Cole was a catch—charming, tempting, but she had to let it go.


    Her only reason for sticking with the Evans family was to dig into the mystery of that marriage certificate. Beyond that piece of paper, she and Cole had nothing.


    Decision made, she took a deep breath and strolled out of the school gate.


    Cole wasn’t there to pick her up like the day before. Instead, Paulina was waiting.


    Spotting Elliana, Paulina shed a warm smile and opened the car door. “Mrs. Evans, Mr. Evans got tied up in an emergency meeting, so he sent me to get you.”


    Elliana nodded and got into the car.


    Hugh, behind the wheel again, shot her a frosty nce, not bothering with a greeting.


    Elliana had noticed his attitude thest time when he drove her to Paige’s engagement party. He clearly had a chip on his shoulder. She cut to the chase. “You got a problem with me?”


    “Yup,” Hugh said, not sugarcoating it.


    “Because I’m not pretty?”


    “Being in’s not your fault, but being in and not knowing your ce? That’s on you. Mr. Evans, with his talent, looks, and family background, deserves someone on his level. What makes you think you cantch onto him?”


    Just then, Paulina hopped in and snapped, “Hugh, don’t talk to Mrs. Evans like that!”


    Hugh mmed up, clearly intimidated by his big sister, but his stiff neck screamed he wasn’t backing down.


    Elliana smirked. “Rx, I won’t cling to Mr. Evans.”


    Paulina’s eyes widened, worried. “Mrs. Evans, don’t let this idiot get to you.”


    Paulina wanted to say more, but Elliana’s phone buzzed, cutting her off.


    ncing at the screen, Elliana saw Kiara’s name and picked up. “Hello?”


    Kiara’s voice dripped with smugness. “Elliana, think you can overshadow Paige with just an empty title? Keep dreaming! Paige has made a powerfuleback, and she’s unstoppable. Get ready to crash and burn—this time, you’re going down for good!” With that, Kiara hung up.


    Elliana’s lips curled into a knowing smirk. That call was a straight-up battle cry. She hadn’t kept tabs on the Jones family the past two days, so she had no clue how Paige had staged this bigeback.


    Curious, she pulled up Paige’s social media and saw it. Paige had done something that had the whole city buzzing.


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