Chapter 12
Charlotte stepped out of the shower, skin still warm and damp, and reached for her favorite cotton nightdress. Her dark hair, wet and shiny, fell over her shoulders as she moved around the room, relaxed and unhurried.
She grabbed her tablet from the nightstand and opened the “Loving Family” group chat. After everything that happened yesterday, the chat was eerily quiet. Everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells.
Nine: Home now.
Charlotte typed a quick reply while searching through her bag for something.
Jackson: [Thanks to the DNA data you gave us, we’ve made huge progress on the malaria treatment. Apex’s lab caught wind of it and wants to buy out the patent for a ton of money
Nine: [My research is only for Eldoria.]
She dumped out the contents of her bag onto the bed, sorting through the mess until she finally found her bottle of pills.
Nine: [Tired. We’ll talk tomorrow.]
With that, she left the group chat and, without thinking much about it, accepted a friend request from someone named “Adonis.”
Charlotte set her tablet aside and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was getting late. She shook two white pills into her palm, swallowed them with a sip of water, and crawled under the covers. Closing her eyes, she tried to let sleep take her.
But sleep was anything but peaceful. Nightmares twisted through her dreams, one after another, until a loud, sharp knock broke through the haze.
Charlotte’s eyes snapped open. She sat up quickly, her breath coming in shaky bursts.
“Charlotte, Mr. Main wants you downstairs for dinner.”
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, still rattled, and looked outside. The sky was dark, and the clock read seven.
“Charlotte the maid called again, her voice a little louder this time.
“I heard you,” Charlotte answered, her voice steady even though her heart was still racing.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting herself regroup, then opened them, calm and collected again.
After washing up, she opened her closet. The shelves and hangers were crammed with luxury clothes, all bright colors and flashy designs. Pricey, sure, but none of them felt right for her.
Her fingers drifted over the hangers until she found a simple white dress. She slipped it on. Against her pate skin and delicate features, the white fabric made her look almost unreal untouched by everything around her.
Downstairs, the rest of the family was already at the table. As she entered, all three looked up at once.
For a split second, Charlotte caught a flash of surprise and admiration in their eyes, but it faded quickly, replaced by something harder to read.
“Charlotte, come sit with us,” Steven called out, his smile extra wide as he gestured to the empty chair.
Charlotte had her mother’s beauty,
that much was obvious, but before, she’d always kept her head down, never bothered to dress up. No one her. Now with her new
attitude, she almost glowed She was even more striking than Olivia.
Steven felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him. Maybe sending her away hadn’t
been such a bad idea after all. At least she had her looks.
Charlotte sat down and started eating, not sparing a glance for anyone else.
Her cool indifference made Elizabeth’s jaw tighten. Seeing Steven beam at Charlotte only made things worse for her.
Elizabeth forced a bright smile. “Charlotte, I hope you enjoyed your time at the sanatorium?”
Charlotte picked up a potato from her plate, not even acknowledging her.
Elizabeth pressed on, pretending not to notice. “Iheard the school out there isn’t very good, and your grades probably suffered. The entrance exams are only about a hundred days away, so your father
and I talked it over
“We wanted to get you into Vanguard High School, but they only take top students.
So I asked around, pulled some favors, and after a lot of convincing, they agreed to
let you enroll at Pathfinder Academy
Pathfinder Academy?
The worst school in all of Cabinda?