Chapter 10
The Twitter drama died down after two days, with people gradually losing interest.
Ivy kept switching to fake accounts to stir shit up, but it was already fading from everyone’s memory.
Ryan and Ivy hadn’t come home at all the past few days.
Stella knew exactly where they were from Ryan’s Instagram.
Ryan used to post maybe once a year, but now he was spamming his feed with Ivy content – dozens of posts in just two days.
He’d even changed his profile picture to a photo of Ivy.
Stella vaguely remembered begging Ryan to make her his profile pic once. He’d just called her “childish.”
She clicked on one of his videos.
Moonlight shimmered across the ocean while Ivy twirled in some flowing white dress, grinning like she’d
won the lottery.
The wind caught her dress as they ran barefoot on the beach, screaming “I love you” at the waves.
Behind them was this elaborate dinner setup – fancy food, candles, champagne.
From the plating, Ryan had definitely cooked everything himself.
The caption read: “Surprised her with a candlelit dinner on the beach. She was happy like a little kid.”
Stella kept scrolling. Mountains, deserts, fireworks, fancy restaurants.
In two days, they’d hit every romantic spot imaginable. Ryan was documenting Ivy’s every smile.
Stella and Ryan had always talked about traveling together, but work kept getting in the way.
Now he’d done it all with Ivy in just a few months.
Stella could see all the comments of their mutual friends.
People went from confused about Ryan’s sudden Ivy obsession to congratulating them. Everyone knew she and Ryan were history.
A few people joked about how Ryan used to never post anything, but meeting the right person changes
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Chapter 10
everything.
Stella scrolled all the way back through Ryan’s old posts.
Every trace of her had been deleted.
Like she’d never existed at all.
Right then, Ivy sent her a bunch of photos of her and Ryan together.
On crisp white hotel sheets, Ryan was passed out while Ivy curled up against his chest.
His neck was covered in hickeys – dark red marks everywhere, making it crystal clear what they’d just been
loing.
Stella actually smiled. Weirdly, it didn’t hurt at all anymore.
he typed three words back.
Happy for you.]
And she meant it – a genuine goodbye to her former business partner.
t was finally over.
ime to head to the airport.
Without a second thought, she deleted Ryan’s contact.
Then she logged out of every app that connected her to him.
When that was done, Stella dialed a number.
The homeless couple she and Emma had met on the street, looking for their lost daughter.
After getting home that day, she’d double-checked the childhood photos of Ivy around the Reed house. It was definitely her.
After months of Ivy’s bullshit, it was time to return the favor.
The phone rang twice before someone picked up. She could hear street noise in the background – they were probably still out there begging.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Stella smiled slightly: “Hi, I have information about your daughter.”
Chapter 10
“Our daughter? You know where our little girl is?!” The voice got frantic. “Who are you? Where are your
“Who I am doesn’t matter. But my information is solid.”
