Rejected Heiress: My Heartless Family's Regret

nst wood the only sound in the cavernous study. It stopped exactly three inches from

rp, unforgiving line against the roaring flames. He wasn't looking at

ne

ining against her shoulders, her face buried in her hands. The sobbing

e thick with manufactured guilt. "I didn't want

n, his eyes cold a

u aren't going anywhe

at flinty ga

o deep water. "You need to leave. Tonight. Before the

herself years ago, a survival mechanism honed in the shark tank of the Carlisle estate. She felt a strange, hollow s

hat made Eleanor Carlisle flinch. Eleanor was sitting next to Vanessa, staring out the window at th

said. Her voice

, she descended t

e wasn't carrying the limited-edition Birkin bags or the jewelry boxes filled

ld the weight of a high-density server laptop and compressed survival gear. The fabric was worn at the

, his lip curli

g. "Are you playing the martyr? Trying to squee

ay, where a crystal bowl sat on a marble pedest

ainst the cool, sleek metal of the Centurion Card. The black car

lled i

rs, her eyes widening. She expec

middle finger. With a flick of her wris

nt clatter. The sound echoed off the high ceilings

voice barely above a whisper, yet carrying to every corner of the room.

stiffened, but she

River hit her face, biting and cold, carrying the scent of

hut behind her, severing the connection with a fin

mousine waiting. No driver. Just a pile

r thumb hovered over Sebastian's contact.

g loudly in the quiet street, and popped it into her mouth.

k black sedan flashed i

erceptibly. Not yet. Sh

It was Alfred, the butler, holding a large bl

d, holding it out. "It's

ella. It had the Carlis

aid. "I don't want anyth

nd walked toward the streetl

A car was idling nervously near a fire hydrant. It wasn't a Mercedes or a Bentley. It

the private security patrol car passing on the adjace

. Her biolog