Chapter 6

Jade's POV

The day I was discharged, no car from the Reynolds family came to pick me up.

I took a taxi back to the hillside villa myself.

My throat was wrapped in thick bandages. My left hand carried a large bag of anti-inflammatory medication from the hospital. My right hand still ached faintly.

The villa was silent.

A few maids polishing vases saw me, their eyes evasive, quickly lowering their heads as if seeing something unlucky.

I ignored them and went straight upstairs.

The moment I pushed open the study door, I froze.

This was my private domain, originally filled with my architectural models, blueprints, and that drafting table I'd used for five years.

Now the room was empty.

Everything was gone, replaced by several huge packing boxes labeled "To Be Cleared."

I rushed over and tore open a box. Inside, my life's work was stuffed haphazardly. Only the vintage crystal inkwell was missing.

I frantically tore open the tape with my fingernails.

The boxes were a mess of my heart and soul.

Broken models, crumpled design drawings, and carelessly discarded professional books.

I searched through every box.

The inkwell was gone.

That was the bottle I'd used to dip ink and write letters in the dark chamber. Beneath the heavy crystal base, my initials were engraved.

It was the only physical evidence that could prove my identity.

I grabbed a passing maid, pointing at the empty room, making urgent sounds from my throat.

The maid was startled by me and shrank back timidly.

"Mr. Hayes ordered the clearing."

"Mr. Hayes said Vivian needed a south-facing studio. This room has the best light, so it was cleared for Miss Vivian."

I stared at her, my hands tracing a square in the air.

The maid understood.

"You're looking for that old inkwell?" Her eyes wandered. "Mr. Hayes said even though it's old, it's still an antique, so he gave it to Miss Vivian for calligraphy practice."

Gave it to her for practice?

My name was engraved on the bottom of that inkwell.

If Vivian used it, if she cleaned it, that engraving would be exposed.

Then all her lies would collapse.

But if she discovered that engraving...

She would destroy the evidence.

This was my last chance.

I pushed past the maid and ran toward the studio at the end of the hallway.

Even if I had to fight for it, I had to get that evidence back.