The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 272

Seraphina looked up, feigning innocence as she stared at Beatrice. "But Riley is a living, breathing person. How could she just disappear?" Then, acting as if she'd had a horrifying realization, her eyes widened. "Aunt Beatrice, you don't mean you want to kill her, do you?"

She quickly shook her head. "No, that's murder. It's illegal."

If she could, Beatrice really would have killed the bitch. But trading her own life for a tramp's wasn't a good deal. "Not kill her. Destroy her."

Seraphina looked confused. "How?"

A venomous glint appeared in Beatrice's eyes. "If she became damaged goods, utterly ruined by other men, Pierce wouldn't want her anymore. He'd only be disgusted by her."

Seraphina laughed internally—this was exactly what she wanted. But outwardly, she pretended to be scared. "That... isn't that going too far? What if Pierce finds out? He'll be furious."

"We do it quietly. How would he ever know?"

Suppressing her excitement, Seraphina hesitated, staying silent.

Beatrice pressed on. "If Riley hadn't stolen him from you in the first place, you and Pierce would have been together a long time ago. She bullied you first. If you keep backing down, Pierce will truly belong to her."

Seraphina stayed silent for a moment, then clenched her fists as if making a very difficult decision. "Okay, Aunt Beatrice. Tell me what to do. I'll listen to you."

A triumphant smirk flashed across Beatrice's eyes. She could have hired someone with her own money, but first, it would be expensive, and second, outsourcing to strangers was always risky.

Using Seraphina was completely different. It saved money, and the Sutton family used to be deeply rooted in the underworld. Even though they had scrubbed their image clean, their connections were still there. Using Seraphina to arrange this guaranteed discretion.

When she had checked her phone in the morning, the video was gone, likely scrubbed by Pierce.

But those who had seen it remembered, and given that she was one of the people involved showing up at the hospital, the gossip was inevitable.

Riley was used to this kind of thing. People had mouths; they could say whatever they wanted. As long as they didn't ask her directly, she pretended not to hear.

Before noon, a few colleagues from her department offered to take her out to lunch. They had invited her yesterday, but she had declined because she was eating with Penelope. Since she couldn't refuse again without being rude, she agreed.

They decided to go out for a big meal at a restaurant near the hospital to catch up.

Just as the group walked out of the inpatient building, Riley saw Pierce get out of his car and walk toward her, holding a massive bouquet of roses.