Chapter 193

Aurora’s life was lived in shades of gray.
Abandoned by her parents.
Betrayed by the man she loved.
Diagnosed with a terminal illness.
In the end, it was fate that crushed her.
Nora tilted her head back, her chest tightening so painfully she could barely breathe.
She couldn’t understand why the heavens had written such a tragic story for Aurora-why every hardship in the world had been heaped onto one fragile soul.
At first, Nora had assumed Aurora’s identity for a practical reason: to make their perfume famous, to give her grandmother a comfortable retirement, and to finally see for herself how cold and heartless the family Aurora had talked about all her life really was.
But fate had a way of twisting plans, and somehow, Nora had ended up staying with the Quinn family.
Now, three years later, she was Nora again.
Louis needed a moment to process everything, but when he spoke, his voice was steady and determined.
“I’ll get you out on bail as soon as possible.”
After the fire three years ago, the police investigation had concluded that faulty wiring in the old building had caused the blaze. As for Nora stepping into the shoes of the deceased, as long as she hadn’t committed any actual crimes, it was a matter of morals, not law.
Now, what mattered was public opinion.
The Quinn family had unleashed an army of online trolls, spinning a narrative that Nora was a murderer, a fraud who had stolen someone’s identity.
She was now the villain in everyone’s eyes.
But Nora had faced online harassment before, and she didn’t care about that anymore.
She only gave Louis one instruction.
“Don’t let Jordan get away with this.”
Louis’s expression was bleak-he hated his own memory loss more than ever at that moment.
He gathered himself and told her quietly, “Daniel’s already on a flight home.” Nora lowered her gaze, staring at the four stark walls of her cell. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “He and I… we belong to different worlds now.”
If Daniel was coming back, it was probably just to make a public statement cutting ties with her.
Too bad he’d recognized Eleanor as his “sister” a little too soon-if he hadn’t, maybe they could have been together.
Louis fell silent. The Chambers Group was in chaos; after all, Nora was the founder of The Almanac of Air.
A murderer, an impostor-those accusations alone were enough to destroy a brand.
The higher The Almanac of Air had soared, the harder it was now crashing down. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by.net
“Maybe it’s better this way,” Nora murmured. After all, that brand was Aurora’s life’s work. The thought of it falling into Eleanor’s hands made her sick.
Louis left, and Nora sat for a long time, alone.
Another night slipped by, unnoticed.
By morning, her face was even paler, her mind foggy with exhaustion. Eleanor appeared in a flowing white dress, all gentle smiles and calculated grace. “Nora, Dan is back. Care to guess whose side he’ll take this time?”
Nora didn’t answer. By her estimate, Daniel must have arrived last night. The fact that he hadn’t come to see her only meant he’d chosen Eleanor’s side-and that was what gave Eleanor her confidence now.
Not that Eleanor cared whether Nora responded.
She took her time, her voice soft and almost lazy. “Oh, by the way, The Chambers Group issued a statement this morning.”
Nora braced herself. No doubt, it was their way of washing their hands of her.
Eleanor toyed with a lock of hair and tucked it behind her ear, then stepped forward with deliberate elegance.
“He” she drew out the word, savoring every syllable “has officially named me
as the owner of The Almanac of Air.”
Nora’s head snapped up, disbelief etched in every line of her face.
“What did you say?”
The words scraped painfully from her dry throat.
Eleanor, radiant and triumphant, watched Nora’s anguish with undisguised delight.
At last, she had won.
“I said, The Almanac of Air is mine now.”