Rejected Heiress, Reigning Queen novel Chapter 83

When Carter proposed marriage, Julian saw that the man was genuinely willing to take responsibility. Deciding it wasn't his place to dictate her life, he backed off to let Emma make her own choice.

Emma, however, completely chickened out and avoided the topic.

She hadn't expected Carter to be this traditional. They had merely shared a few kisses, and the worst of it was a few lingering marks on her neck.

But she could somewhat understand his perspective. She had been delirious that night, clinging to him and testing every ounce of his self-control. He was a red-blooded man who had managed to hold back, choosing instead to repeatedly plunge himself into ice-cold water just so she could sleep comfortably against him.

A few heated kisses were hardly the end of the world.

What Emma couldn't wrap her head around was how the situation had escalated to marriage.

"You're looking healthy today. Switched from coffee to milk?"

Levi chuckled as he walked into her office. Emma offered a dry smile at his teasing. "Isn't Julian hosting a press conference today? Why aren't you over there helping him?"

"The Vance Group doesn't need me hovering. Besides, the presentation got delayed. I have no idea what's going on over there, but your CEO has been in a foul mood for two days straight."

Emma's smile tightened. It was no surprise he was in a bad mood, considering he flew back only to find out she had been drugged.

"Anyway, none of that matters right now. Guess what I found?"

Levi tossed a dossier onto Emma's desk.

As she opened it, he lowered his voice. "I looked into the woman who adopted Gillian Lockwood. Her name is Pamela Palmer. The weird part is, just like Gillian, every trace of her past has been meticulously wiped clean. But I did manage to dig up one detail."

Levi slid a specific document to the top of the pile. Emma read the first two lines and froze.

Pamela Palmer had attended the same university, in the exact same department, as Charles and Violet Lockwood?

She remembered her cousin Sebastian mentioning that Violet had likely been manipulated by a college friend into traveling to Garrison City during her third trimester.

"Crazy coincidence, right? Your mother gets into a car accident, gets taken to an emergency room, and somehow there's another mother delivering that exact same day who knows she comes from money. It was the perfect setup to swap the babies. And then, the 'lost' Lockwood heiress just happens to be picked up and raised by Pamela Palmer."

Levi's tone was thick with sarcasm, echoing Emma's own deep suspicions.

She had always felt the baby swap was entirely too convenient. Now, with Pamela's identity coming to light, the whole thing felt undeniably orchestrated.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify