Kyra’s POV
"You paid them... to fra ," I said as I stared coldly at the woman across from . Her eyes went wide with panic. Her fingers shook before she quickly hid them under the table.
"What are you talking about?" Diane’s voice broke.
I tilted my head. "That’s also why you ca here alone when I told you to bring your husband. You know the people you hired were caught."
She gritted her teeth. "My husband deserves the inheritance more than anyone! He worked so hard for that company, and now you just walk in to steal everything?"
I smirked. The Foster empire belonged to my bloodline, and we both knew it. "Co on, Diane. We both know who the real heiress is. I’m just taking what’s mine—"
"You gold digger!" she hissed.
I lifted my chin and crossed my legs slowly. She gasped and sat up straight as people at nearby tables began to whisper.
Diane made fists with her hands. "What do you want?"
"Simple," I paused. "What do you know about my mother’s death?"
Her eyes went wide. Attorney Lee’s docunts had shown that my mother hadn’t died in an accident like I’d been told. Soone had planned her death, and I was going to find out who.
"I don’t know anything," she said.
Sylvia growled low inside , sensing the lie. I flipped my hair and laughed coldly. "Then why is your body language telling sothing different? Why do you look nervous, Diane? Scared? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not a bad person like you."
"I am not involved in your mother’s death, Kyra!" Her voice got higher.
"Then tell who is."
"I... don’t know."
I leaned forward a little. "Honestly, I don’t care if you know or not. I’ll give you a week to decide which side you’re on. After that, you’ll face the consequences from the girl who was once kind."
"I’m telling you the truth, Kyra."
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. "I’m not very patient."
I grabbed my bag and gave her one last cold stare before getting up and walking away. My jaw stayed tight as I left the coffee shop. I stopped when that familiar feeling of being watched crawled up my spine. At the far corner of the street, I saw a man with a familiar shape.
It had been three days, and Kieran’s n were still following . I’d been avoiding Nathan because of Kieran’s threats against Phoebe and Snow, but that didn’t an I was scared. I needed to make Kieran think he could control again. Make him feel safe before I brought him down. Even if I had to go down with him.
You’re not going to win, Kieran. I’ve been to hell already. I’m not afraid of the devil anymore.
Sylvia stirred inside , agreeing with fierce determination. We had a plan, and neither of us would back down.
***
"This has been spreading all over the internet, and people are talking about you—"
"MOTHERFUCKER!" I scread with rage, sweeping everything off my desk. My laptop, iPad, and docunts went flying through the air and scattered across the floor. I was breathing hard, unable to control my anger. Yara stood before looking shocked, but I didn’t care.
My head hurt. My blood boiled with fury. Why did waves of problems keep hitting my life? All I wanted was peace and justice for my parents.
"K-Kyra..."
I grabbed my hair with both hands. "FUCK! FUCK EVERYTHING! FUCK EVERYONE! I’M SO TIRED OF ALL THIS BULLSHIT! I WANT PEACE! FUCKING PEACE!"
"Kyra, calm down—"
"How can I?" I demanded. My voice broke. "How can I fucking calm down, Yara? They’re saying my father killed himself because he found out I had a secret relationship with my stepbrother and that Snow is Kieran’s child! How can I possibly calm down?"
She shook her head and tried to co closer, but I stepped back, keeping her away. I fell into my chair and rubbed my forehead, feeling the pressure building behind my eyes.
"I’ll co back later," Yara said quietly and left.
I bit my bottom lip and looked down as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I laughed without humor as I wiped them away, biting my lip harder until I tasted blood.
My mind raced. Was this the Foster family trying to make look bad? Or was it Kieran, trying to isolate further? Either way, I needed to fight back. I grabbed my phone and called Luke. I’d made him my personal assistant because I already knew him and trusted him.
"Hello, Miss Kyra," he answered quickly.
"Tell the dia to take down all articles about on the internet. I want them down now, and if anyone refuses, take them down legally."
"On it, Miss."
My phone beeped with another call before I could put it down. Nathan’s na appeared on the screen, but I ignored it. My chest hurt as I threw the phone onto the empty desk. I couldn’t talk to him, couldn’t risk Phoebe’s safety. Kieran was watching, always watching.
I lifted my chin proudly. I had resources now. I had power and authority, and I would use everything I had to get the peaceful life I wanted so badly.
I wanted to live in peace with Snow. I wanted her to play outside, go to school, make friends, grow up, date, and marry without always fearing I’d lose her to violence or "accidents." I wouldn’t let Kieran or anyone else take that away from her.
When I got ho that night, my heart jumped painfully when I saw Nathan sitting on my couch.
He stood up right away when he saw , adjusting his dress shirt as he faced .
"Snow is asleep, and Ana’s in the bathroom," he said.
I stared at him, keeping my face cool. "What are you doing here?"
He walked toward slowly, as if watching my reaction.
"I was worried about you. Those articles... don’t think about them."
I looked away and forced a laugh. "I think you should go ho."
"We were okay... We were fine together... What made you change your mind?" His eyes searched mine, and it took everything in not to reach for him.
I swallowed hard. Sylvia whimpered inside as I got ready to hurt us both. "I just realized... you don’t matter to anymore."
He slowly shook his head. His minty scent spiked. "You’re lying."
"Why would I lie? We had good sex. You’re great in bed, I’ll give you that. But I don’t feel anything other than lust." The words tasted like poison on my tongue.
He pressed his lips together. "You’re just hurt and... angry because of what’s happening..."
"Great! You know it, so please, leave alone. I need to fix my family, Nathan..."
"You can fix this with . You don’t have to be alone..."
"News flash, I want to be alone," I snapped, knowing Kieran could have eyes and ears anywhere. "Now, if you’ll excuse ... I’m exhausted."
"I’ll co back tomorrow."
"You don’t need to. We’ve been over for a long ti."
"What about us? We slept together. Twice, Kyra. I can’t just forget that." His eyes were pained. His minty scent was mixed with confusion and hurt.
I stared at him, hating myself for what I had to say next. "Those were just one-night stands, Nathan. Nothing special about that."
As he left, I felt Sylvia howling in pain inside . But I couldn’t risk Phoebe’s safety. I couldn’t let Kieran hurt anyone else I cared about. Until I found a way to stop his threat, I had to keep Nathan away, no matter how much it broke my heart.
I sank against the closed door, trying not to imagine Kieran’s satisfied smirk as he watched my world fall apart piece by piece.
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