Chapter 21
Ashton frowned. “Why would anyone dig into Briar’s background? She’s just eighteen. What could be worth 15 million dollars to find out?”
Xavion looked puzzled as well. “Yeah, I don’t get it either. She only came back a few days ago. Do you think it’s got something to do with her acupuncture
skills?”
Still, even though acupuncture and traditional medicine weren’t that popular in Dasmieca, if one looked hard enough, they could find a few decent practitioners.
“Don’t turn the job down yet,” Ashton said. “I’ll have Brandon check if this is connected to my grandfather.”
He was thinking the same thing Xavion was. To him, Briar seemed like a normal girl–quiet, a little headstrong at times–but if she was being targeted because she helped Griffin, then Ashton felt responsible.
Xavion nodded. “Got it. I’ll stall them for now. But if they reached out to us, they’d probably already don’t care who they sell info to as long as the money’s good.”
Ashton grabbed his keys and headed for the door. “Give me thirty minutes.”
Just the thought of dealing with the Hacker Alliance gave him a headache.
ontacted the Hacker Alliance as well. Those guys
At 6 AM, Briar went out for her usual morning run. The house staff was used to her routine by now and got back to work once she left.
But today, Halle and Beatrice were up early too.
Trying not to repeat her past mistakes, Halle didn’t start with any snide remarks. She turned to a servant and asked, “Is Briar up?”
“She went out running,” the servant replied.
Beatrice rolled her eyes. “Seriously? She thinks getting up early makes her special, huh? Please.”
After growing up in the Jennings family and mixing with other rich girls in Shoneport, Beatrice had learned one thing: no one did anything without a
reason.
She figured Briar was trying to win favor. With her mom and grandpa gone and no one else in the family supporting her, Briar must’ve been trying to get on Edgar’s good side.
“Watch what you say,” Halle warned quietly, waiting until the servant left. “Don’t forget what your dad told you last night.”
“I know,” Beatrice muttered. “We’re supposed to play nice for a few days so she shows up at the party on Saturday.”
“Exactly. Things are finally moving forward. Don’t screw it up now. If your dad gets mad, there’s nothing I can do,” Halle said, patting her daughter’s hand like it was all out of love.
“I get it, Mom.” Beatrice knew how things worked in this house. Edgar called all the shots. Even after all these years, Halle still had no real say. Edgar kept her on a tight leash.
Halle got a monthly allowance of maybe 10 thousand dollars. If she wanted more–for a dress or a party–she had to ask for it. Sometimes she even had to rent outfits and jewelry just to show up at high–society events looking halfway decent.
Other rich women laughed behind her back for being cheap. They didn’t know how hard it was for Halle and Beatrice to keep up appearances.
Even Camden, Edgar’s own son and future heir of Jennings Group, couldn’t make a move without Edgar’s approval.
Everyone in the Jennings family knew one thing: if they wanted to stay, they did what Edgar said, Cross him, and they’d end up like Rosalia–wishing they
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Chapter 21
were dead, or worse, not even knowing what hit them.
Beatrice glared at the front door. Ever since Briar came back, she’d been going against Edgar at every turn. Beatrice was just waiting for the day Brian pushed too far and vanished.
Just then, Edgar came downstairs and saw them chatting on the living room sofa. “What are you two doing up so early?” he asked, smiling
Beatrice’s expression instantly switched to a smile as she walked over and took Edgar’s arm. “We’re waiting for Briar. Dad, you look great this morning
Edgar chuckled. “Yeah, I actually slept well for once.”
He was in a good mood, thinking about how things would fall into place once the partnership with the Hargreaves family went through–and how Briar wouldn’t be able to stir up any more trouble after that.
Camden came downstairs a moment later, and the four of them headed to breakfast.
They didn’t wait for Briar since she never liked eating with them anyway. Honestly, it made things more pleasant for everyone.
After breakfast, Edgar and Camden left for work. Halle and Beatrice stayed behind to wait for Briar so they could take her shopping.
But Briar didn’t show up until almost 8 AM. Halle and Beatrice were starting to get annoyed. If Briar’s bag hadn’t still been on the couch, they might’ve thought she’d snuck out again without saying anything.
“Briar, what took you so long? We’ve been waiting forever,” Beatrice said with a forced smile.
Briar glanced at her watch and acted confused. “It’s not even 8 yet. Why were you waiting?”
Beatrice’s smile faded fast.
Halle jumped in before Beatrice could blow up. “Briar, didn’t we agree yesterday to go shopping for dresses today?”
Briar tilted her head like it had just come back to her. “Oh, right. Well, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. I’m gonna shower and eat first.”
Without another word, she headed upstairs.
Beatrice was ready to chase after her, but Halle stopped her just in time.
“Mom! Why’d you stop me? Did you hear how she talked to us? Like we’re her maids or something!” Beatrice fumed.
Halle kept her voice calm. “Let it go. Just hang in there a little longer. Once the Hargreaves family breaks off the engagement and she’s got no one backing her, she’ll be the joke of Shoneport.”
That made Beatrice feel a little better. She flopped back onto the couch, still stewing.
What they didn’t know was that Briar had paused just around the corner on the stairs. She’d seen everything–and she could read lips. She caught every word Halle had whispered.
It was exactly what she expected. After all, this pathetic plan was the best they could come up with.
AD
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