“That woman? She’s as sly as theye,” Joseph grumbled,unching into stories about


    Patricia–her scheming ways, her sharp mind, all the way back to when they were teenagers in school.


    He kept going, like he knew every twist in her life–her ident, her marriage to Theo, all the drama in the past two years.


    “Didn’t her family’spany get split up by the Martin uncles?” someone asked.


    “Split up? Like they were ever going to leave it all to her. She’s just a girl–no way she could handle that kind of business.”


    Colton raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just say she was ruthless and knew exactly what she was doing?”


    So when you want to insult her, she’s this cold, calcting mastermind, but when there’s something to gain, suddenly she’s just a helpless girl? The double standard was almost impressive.


    Colton tapped his cigarette over the ashtray, not bothering to hide his annoyance,


    /* <![CDATA[ */


    fpm_start( "true" );


    /* ]]> */


    Joseph picked up on it and quickly changed the subject. “Hey, I heard your Uncle Oliver’s bringing hispany back to town?”


    Colton shrugged. “Do I look like someone who keeps up with family news?” He was about to say more when his phone buzzed. He checked the screen, stepped away to answer, then came back and pped Joseph on the shoulder. “Something came up at home. Gotta go.”


    As he walked out, a sleek ck Audi A8 rolled up to the curb. Colton slid into the back seat, still smirking a little.


    A low, easy voice greeted him. “You look pretty pleased. Good news?”


    “Just ran into an old ssmate. If you check the news this week, you’ll probably figure out who.”


    “Ben’s son?”


    Colton snorted. “Yeah, that idiot.”


    “And the Martin girl? Poor thing. I doubt that marriage willst.”


    Colton’s lips twisted. “No way it will.”


    The man beside him spoke quietly. “It’s already over.”


    Colton blinked. “Uncle Oliver, how’d you


    know?”


    Then he remembered–if Uncle Oliver was moving thepany back, he’d have to know everything going on in Riverdale.


    In the vi’s tea room, sunlight spilled across the table where Patricia sat, calligraphy brush in hand, painting neat strokes on soft rice paper.


    13.271


    Marian wandered over and nced at the five characters Patricia had <b>just </b>finished.


    “Counting down?”


    Patricia nodded, eyes never leaving the page.


    She paused for a second, thinking about all the people she had to deal with. Who should she handle first?


    After a moment, she pressed her brush down and wrote: Miller.


    “We’ll start with the Millers,” she said quietly.


    That evening, Patricia picked up her phone and dialed. The man who answered sounded genuinely happy to hear from her, chatting warmly before she cut to the chase. <fn7018> Official source is find?novel</fn7018>


    “Uncle, remember you once told me about an old employee of yours who switched to hotels? Hisst name’s Miller, right?<b>” </b>


    “Ben? Yeah. Why?”


    “His son put his hands on me,” Patricia <b>said </b>with a weary sigh.


    Atticus went quiet, moving away from the background noise. “Tell me everything.”


    So Patriciaid it all out–every detail, including how Nina and Theo ended up together. Atticus listened, silent until she was done.


    “I’ming back right away,” he said atst.


    If he waited any longer, his only niece would be left for others to trample.


    Atticus moved fast. By the next morning, rumors were already swirling at Ben’s hotel–someone big was asking questions about him.


    Ben was confused. “Mr. Owens? Why’s he suddenly interested in me?”


    A coworker shot him a look. “Are you really that clueless? That woman your son went after? She’s his niece. Only family she’s got since her mom passed away…”