?Chapter 34:


    Ellie doubted Demi’s dramatic im about Kaiden’s danger.


    If Kaiden were truly unstable, it was unlikely that someone as shrewd as Jerome would remain in his alliance.


    Curious about Demi’s motives, Ellie decided to see what ploy she had in store.


    Late at night, at exactly eight o’clock, the Thorpes’ house was shrouded in quiet solemnity.


    Ellie navigated the moonlit hallways, passing ornate doorways, to the location Demi had specified.


    The area was dedicated to guest rooms, but one room, distinctively lit, caught her attention.


    Upon entering, she found Demi seated, with two sses of wine on the table.


    Demi offered her a ss. “Let’s talk over a drink.”


    “I don’t drink,” Ellie replied, eyeing the ss.


    “Ellie, you won’t even honor me by sharing a drink, and yet you expect me to share the Thorpe family’s secrets?” Demi sneered, implying that she would withhold information if Ellie refused to drink.


    Ellie, masking her suspicion, took the ss.


    Demi’s impatience surpassed Ellie’s expectations. Wasn’t it tantly clear that the wine had been drugged?


    As Ellie was about to drink, she paused, pretending to hear something at the door. “I think someone’s outside.”


    Startled, Demi set her ss down and hurried to check.


    She couldn’t risk anyone overhearing their conversation.


    Seizing the moment, Ellie quickly switched the sses.


    Upon returning, Demi said, “There’s no one there.”


    “I must’ve just imagined it,” Ellie said, urging Demi to drink first.


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    Demi, confident in her n, took a sip from her ss.


    She didn’t drug her own ss.


    “Can you tell me now?” Ellie asked, sipping her wine.


    “You’re so gullible, Ellie. I don’t know anything. If there’s someone to me, it’s you! You brought this on yourself!” Demi taunted, dashing out of the room and locking it from outside.


    She anticipated the effects of the drug to take hold of Ellie soon, eagerly awaiting the ensuing drama.


    In the room, tranquility settled once more, only to be broken by distant snoring from behind the bookshelf.


    Curious, Ellie tiptoed over.


    There, sprawled on arge bed hidden by the bookshelf, was a middle-aged, overweight man, deeply asleep.


    The man, reeking of alcohol, was one of the Thorpe family’s distant rtives.


    Demi’s scheme became clear: Ellie was drugged and locked in a room with a drunk man. If she had sex with the man under the influence of the drug, it could ruin her reputation, painting her as unfaithful to Kaiden and attracting the scorn of both the Thorpe family and the public.


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