Chapter 4
I stepped out the back gate of the Sterling estate-wearing nothing but my underwear.
Somehow, a swarm of reporters had already gathered outside. The moment they spotted me, they surged forward like a
tidal wave.
“Ms. Hart! How does it feel to be kicked out by the Sterling family?”
“Is it true they wouldn’t even let you leave with your panties?”
Flashes exploded in my face, so bright I had to squint.
“Move,” I said hoarsely, my voice barely recognizable as my own.
A ripple of laughter broke out.
One male reporter even lowered his camera lens and deliberately aimed it toward my most private area.
His face looked familiar-he must’ve been at one of Vanessa’s birthday parties.
I clutched my chest and pushed forward.
Then, someone shoved me hard from behind.
I fell. My hip slammed against a jagged piece of stone, and warm blood immediately began seeping from the wound.
I pressed a hand over it, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Gritting my teeth against the pain, I forced myself to get up and run.
The reporters, smelling blood like sharks in the water, chased me relentlessly.
I didn’t lose them until I turned into a narrow, deserted alley.
Just as I emerged from the other side, a sleek black Maybach screeched to a stop in front of me.
The window rolled down, revealing a strikingly handsome face.
“Miss Hart,” he said. “I’m Liam Ashford, from Ashford Group.”
He took off his jacket and gently draped it over my shoulders.
“My grandfather would like to see you, if you’re willing.”
I stood frozen.
Liam Ashford-one of the most powerful heirs in the capital.
The Ashford family wasn’t just wealthy; they were legacy. Untouchable. A true dynasty.
In my past life, I’d spent ten years trying to build a connection to them. Barely succeeded.
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And now… they were the ones seeking me out?
I straightened my spine and nodded solemnly.
“It would be an honor.”
The next day, back at the Sterling estate, Julian sat motionless, staring at his phone screen.
Trending Topic #1: Sterling Family’s Orphan Bride Kicked Out, Paraded Half-Naked in the Streets!
[Shameless!]
[She didn’t even get to keep her underwear? Savage!]
[Yesterday, she was the lead designer of Sterling Jewelry. Today, she’s worse off than a beggar.]
[Not surprising. Rich families treat their pets the same way.]
He tapped the video without thinking.
The image of a near-naked, stumbling figure made his heart lurch.
When the camera panned across Noelle’s waist, blood running down her side, and revealed an old scar across her abdomen-his fingers froze mid-air.
“What are you watching?” Vanessa’s voice purred behind him.
She leaned over his shoulder and, spotting the video, burst out laughing.
“Oh my God, that’s even better than I imagined! Totally worth hiring those dozens of media outlets!”
Julian’s head whipped toward her. “You set that up?”
“Of course I did.” Vanessa grinned and pecked him on the cheek. “Now the whole city knows what a joke she is.”
“No one’s going to criticize your choice anymore.”
Julian forced a smile, but his stomach turned.
His mind kept replaying the image of Noelle bleeding, her body trembling.
A few seconds later, he suddenly grabbed Vanessa’s wrist and pulled her into his arms.
Thinking he was turned on, she smiled coyly. “What’s wrong, Julian? Didn’t we go three rounds last night? Already ready
for another?”
He didn’t reply.
Instead, his hand brushed along her waist-once, twice, three times.
Something felt… off.
With a sinking heart, he reopened the video and studied Noelle’s body carefully.
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Vanessa noticed his focus and narrowed her eyes. “Seriously? She paraded around half-naked in public and you’re still
watching her?”
“Good thing we cut ties with her when we did-otherwise it would’ve been the family’s reputation on the line.”
But Julian wasn’t listening.
He couldn’t find what he was looking for.
After a moment of hesitation, he abruptly let go of Vanessa and bolted up the stairs.
He rushed into Noelle’s now-empty bedroom. The closets were bare, the drawers cleaned out-as if she had never existed
there at all.
He dug through a storage trunk, flipping through old photo albums from their childhood.
Page after page, photo after photo… only one contained Noelle.
It was taken over ten years ago at a beach in Charleston.
In the picture, Julian was sitting on the sand, holding Vanessa’s hand and laughing like he hadn’t a care in the world.
Noelle stood alone in the background, holding his swim ring.
She looked like a housemaid-forgotten, out of place.
But if you looked closely, her shoulders and waist were wrapped in gauze.
Julian’s body went stiff. And just like that, the memories came flooding back.
That summer, he’d snuck off to play in the hills and had tumbled down a slope, slamming his abdomen onto a jagged
rock.
Just as he was losing consciousness, a girl had carried him down the mountain.
The path was rough and uneven. In agony, he had instinctively bitten her shoulder-hard.
She bled profusely. Her skin split open.
But she didn’t cry. She just whispered softly, “Don’t be afraid. The hospital’s close.”
When he woke up, the first face he saw was Vanessa’s.
The nurse had said he’d suffered internal bleeding. His kidney had nearly ruptured.
He’d been saved because a girl had carried him down that mountain…
and donated one of her kidneys to save his life.
That girl had a bleeding disorder. She almost died on the operating table.
From the hospital bed, he had asked Vanessa if she was the one who’d saved him.
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She hesitated-for just a moment.
And then… she didn’t deny it.
Julian felt the blood drain from his face.
Now, everything made sense.
All these years… he’d thought it was Vanessa who saved him.
That was why he’d felt so drawn to her. Why he’d always felt like he owed her something. Why he couldn’t let go, even
after her death.
But the truth?
He’d been wrong.
So, so wrong.
