Chapter 10
Chapter 10:
Aspen’s eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of Kieran holding Jocelyn’s arm.
“What is going on here?” she demanded, her voice shrill.
Jocelyn yanked her arm free and smoothed her blazer.
“Ask your fiancé,” Jocelyn said. “Goodbye, Aspen p>
She walked out. She didn’t look back.
Kieran sank into his chair, distracted, still processing the news about the trust fund.
Aspen hated being ignored. She slammed the magazine onto the desk. “Why was she here p>
“She claims she’s married,” Kieran muttered, rubbing his temples.
Aspen froze. “Married? So she gets the Hamptons house p>
She didn’t care about Jocelyn’s love life. She cared about the real estate. The Wolfe estate in the Hamptons was the jewel of the coastline, and Aspen had already promised her friends she would be hosting her engagement party there.
R𝘰𝗆an𝖼𝘦 ո𝘰𝘷𝘦𝗅ѕ 𝗼𝘯
“I want that house, Kieran,” Aspen said.
“She won’t keep it,” Kieran vowed, his eyes dark. “I’ll find out who the guy is. I’ll buy him off. Or I’ll scare him off p>
Later that day, at the Schneider Estate.
Aspen was pacing the drawing room. Elouise sat on the sofa, sipping tea, while Aspen’s brother, Cory, leaned against the mantle with his arms crossed.
“She’s going to kick us out of the summer estate,” Aspen said. “I can’t lose that venue, Mother p>
Cory, a thug in a designer suit who managed the family’s less legitimate problems, cracked his knuckles. “Not if she’s incapacitated p>
Elouise shook her head. “No violence yet. We use the law p>
“We contest the marriage,” Elouise continued, her tone shifting into something colder and more deliberate. “We claim she was mentally unstable. Coerced. If we can prove the marriage is a fraud, the trust locks again p>
“I need to know who the husband is,” Cory said. “I’ll put a tail on her p>
“Do it,” Aspen said, her eyes gleaming. “Destroy her p>
At The Plaza Hotel.
Jocelyn was unpacking in her suite, the room filled with pale winter light spilling in over the park below.
There was a knock at the door.
She opened it. A bellboy stood in the hallway, nearly hidden behind a massive bouquet of white roses.
“For you, Ms. Wolfe p>
She took them. Tucked among the blooms was a small card.
Welcome to freedom. — G.
Jocelyn smiled, touching one of the velvet petals. “Thank you, Gaston,” she said softly, to no one.
She felt safe. For the first time in years, she genuinely felt safe.
Across the street from the hotel.
A man with a long-lens camera sat low in a parked sedan — one of Cory’s hires. He snapped a photo of her window, then panned down to the valet zone.
The vintage silver Aston Martin was sitting there, and the valets were treating it like a museum piece.
The man zoomed in on the license plate.
He dialed Cory.
“I found her,” he said. “And the guy she’s with — he’s not what we thought. The car is registered to a ghost corporation, but the valets treat him like a king. This isn’t some broke playboy. This is deep money p>