The Hidden Empress Stripping Her Secrets After Divorce novel Chapter 434

Charles de Gaulle Airport, early morning.

The departure terminal was bustling with travelers, the PA system alternating between French and English flight announcements. Serena Sterling dragged two heavy suitcases, standing in the economy check-in line. Her complexion was terrible—dark circles bruised her under-eyes, and her lips were severely chapped, the undeniable marks of a sleepless night. Her fingers gripped the luggage handle so tightly her knuckles were white.

Her phone rang. She glanced down—it was Mrs. Vance. Her finger hovered over the screen, trembling slightly, before she finally answered.

"Serena!" Mrs. Vance's voice was shrill and frantic. "Are you at the airport yet? Why is Leo's phone still turned off?"

Serena opened her mouth, her voice raspy. "Mrs. Vance, Leo... something came up at the last minute. He told me to head back first. He'll fly back in a couple of days."

Silence stretched over the line for a second. "What do you mean, something came up? He told me yesterday he was flying back. Are you hiding something from me?"

"No, Mrs. Vance, it really was just a last-minute—"

"Enough, enough." Mrs. Vance cut her off, her tone dripping with impatience. "I knew you were unreliable. I never agreed to Leo dating you in the first place. What good is an illegitimate daughter anyway? You can't even keep an eye on a man."

Serena's fingers tightened around the phone.

Mrs. Vance kept talking. "He didn't come back and sent you back alone? What exactly is he doing? Is he with Piper Brooks? He told me about her. She's Christian Lancaster's cousin—great background, good character, and beautiful. That kind of girl is exactly what the Vance family needs in a daughter-in-law. If you had any self-awareness, you'd stop clinging to him."

Serena listened to those words, a loud buzzing ringing in her ears. She thought of Piper's face—her luminous skin, her carefree smile, living a life devoid of worries. Great background, great education, stunning. Yes, perfect in every way. And that perfect girl had just been ruined. She should be happy.

Leo and Quinn had done this sort of thing before. Back in college, it had happened, and they had paid their way out of it. They had told her about it once, and she hadn't thought much of it. If they succeeded this time, Piper was tainted, and there was no way she could ever look down on anyone again. If they hadn't succeeded, Christian would never have let them leave France alive. The fact that she hadn't heard from them meant they must have pulled it off.