The Best Revenge It Wasn't Even Your Child novel Chapter 281

Amanda was on edge, her nerves stretched thin. Catherine felt just as frazzled, her thoughts a tangled mess as she glanced at Aaron.

Aaron’s expression was unreadable. He met her gaze for a few seconds, then handed her a folder. “Catherine, this is for you. Lance is waiting outside. Handle this quickly and come out when you’re done.”

Lance is here too? Catherine’s eyelid twitched. She felt a pulse of anxiety that reached all the way to the corner of her eye.

“Okay, thanks,” she said, taking the folder automatically. She watched Aaron leave, still trying to get her thoughts in order.

Lorinda gawked at Aaron’s retreating figure, her eyes wide, like she was trying to stare a hole straight through him.

Catherine set the folder in front of Amanda. “Take a look. I’m giving you five minutes to think this over.”

Amanda flipped through the documents carefully, checking every page. It was all real. The lawyer who’d drafted everything was sharp, wording things in a way that made her look even more guilty.

Five minutes later, Catherine and Lorinda stepped out into the hallway.

“Here, take this two hundred thousand and pay the fans back right away,” Catherine told Lorinda. “I’m going to see what Lance wants. Handle this for me while I’m gone.”

Amanda would pay back the initial amount now. The rest would have to wait a couple of days.

Lorinda’s eyes shifted to the Rolls-Royce parked outside the orphanage. “Why is Lance here? How did he even find out about… Well, never mind. Is he helping you? What does that mean?”

Three questions tumbled out, but Catherine could only answer one. “I asked Harrell to look into Amanda’s illness. He couldn’t manage it, so he reached out to Lance.”

But really, once the investigation was over, Lance had no reason to stay involved. Catherine rubbed her forehead, trying to sort out her jumbled thoughts.

He sat in the back seat, the upper part of his face lost in shadow. She couldn’t read the look in his eyes, but his stare was intense, focused right on her.

The car door closed behind her and the space felt even tighter. The subtle scent of his cologne seemed to wrap around her, making everything feel close and intimate.

She blinked, realizing she was already sitting beside him. The soft, yellow overhead light turned the inside of the car warm and dim.

She turned to meet his gaze. His eyes felt impossibly deep.

“Lance, thank you. Sorry to trouble you with all these little things again,” she said quietly.

He looked at her, his voice low and steady. “If this is a little thing, then what counts as a big one to you?”