Chapter 215
Chapter 215:
Anson looked into her eyes, searching for the scared little girl he had known — the one he had shaped. But she wasn’t there. Instead, he found pity.
The realization burned him more than any anger could. He released her wrist as though it had scorched him.
“You’ll come back,” he whispered, dark conviction trembling in his voice. “When he breaks you. When you realize you can’t survive without me p>
“If I break,” Eliza said, smoothing her sleeve, “I’ll fix myself p>
𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘯
She walked away. She didn’t look back.
Anson watched her go. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the terrace. His obsession didn’t fade with her departure — it curdled, turning into something black and heavy in his gut.
He pulled out his phone.
“Find out where she’s going tomorrow,” he said to the private investigator on the other end. “I want to know every move she makes p>
Eliza woke the next morning feeling a strange, unfamiliar clarity. The liquidation was done. Anson was — managed.
“I want to visit Mom and Dad,” Eliza told Dallas over coffee, tracing the rim of her cup. “I haven’t been in… a long time p>
Dallas set his mug down without hesitation. “I’ll drive p>
Eliza smiled softly. “It’s time I introduced you properly p>
Across town, in a dimly lit, upscale bar that smelled of expensive leather and quiet desperation, Sienna Solomon adjusted the hem of her dress.
She spotted him in the corner booth. Anson Hyde, nursing a hangover, staring into a glass of water as though it were a crystal ball. Sienna slid onto the stool beside him.
“Rough night, Anson p>
He didn’t look up. “Go away, Sienna p>
“My family’s money bailed me out, but it didn’t buy me an alibi. I’m a social leper.” She signaled the bartender for a martini and settled in. “It seems Eliza left us both in the dust, didn’t she? The princess and her billionaire p>
Anson stiffened. “Don’t say her name p>
“My mother — Margo — she told me something interesting before the police took her away.” Sienna leaned in, dropping her voice.
“I don’t care about your mother,” Anson said, waving her off.
“She tried to ruin Diana’s marriage. Years ago,” Sienna whispered. “She sent photos to Arthur. Photos of Diana with another man. A boy, really p>
Anson paused. He turned his head slowly to look at her. “Why are you telling me this p>
“Because I hate them too,” Sienna said, her eyes flashing. “My parents. They made me a pariah. I have nothing, Anson. No money. No status.” She placed a hand on his arm. “I can be useful. I know Eliza. I know her fears. I know where she goes when she’s hurting p>
Anson looked at her hand, then at her face. He saw the naked ambition. He saw a tool.
“You want to be her replacement?” he asked, the words deliberately cruel.
“I want to be Mrs. Hyde,” Sienna said, her voice stripped of any romance. “I don’t care about love. I care about security. Just like you p>
Anson laughed — a dry, humorless sound. “At least you’re honest p>