The Stand-In Who Burned the Script novel Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Based on the information they had gathered so far, Harvey was a local from Northside. Right after Vivian’s devastating car accident, his bank account had mysteriously grown by fifty thousand dollars.

It was that exact sum that had funded his lazy, unemployed lifestyle all these years.

Vivian had just booted up a game on her computer. Her finger paused on the mouse.

“A woman?”

“Yes.”

“He has a high school sweetheart. According to Harvey’s childhood friend, he spent almost every cent of that money on her.”

Vivian nodded knowingly and clicked ‘Start’ on the game.

“If he loved her so much, why is she just a ‘high school sweetheart’?”

No wedding?

“Her parents hated that he was an orphan with no real job. The girl couldn’t handle the family pressure, so she broke it off. But she clearly still had feelings for him, so they kept in touch

off and on.”

Vivian nodded with faux sympathy. “Star-crossed lovers.”

Zoe dipped her head, waiting in silence for her instructions.

The Minesweeper game was muted. The only sound in the office was the rapid, rhythmic clicking of the mouse.

About ten seconds later.

Vivian finally stopped.

Interlocking her slender fingers on the desk, she looked up at Zoe. “There’s only one reason Harvey refuses to tell the truth. Whoever paid him has serious power and wealth. Or, at the very least, he thinks they’re more powerful than us,”

“He knows that if he rats them out, he’s a dead man walking.”

Zoe connected the dots. “Then should we…”

She bit her lip, hesitating before finally blurting out the rest.

“Should we grab the girlfriend?”

Vivian gave her a long look, remaining silent.

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12.07

Chapter 187

She reached out and started another round of the game.

Reading her boss’s expression, Zoe knew she had crossed a line, but she forced herself to keep speaking. “Miss Fairchild, we finally found a solid lead. If we don’t act on this, Harvey might just skip town-”

“Stop.”

Vivian sounded completely out of patience.

With that single word, she nearly slammed the mouse down on the desk.

“Zoe, I remember telling you a million times. No matter what we do, or what our endgame is, we do not touch innocent people. Especially not other women.”

“But-”

“No buts.”

The glow of the computer monitor reflected in Vivian’s eyes, making her light brown irises shimmer with a kaleidoscope of colors.

“Harvey is a piece of trash, yes. But his little girlfriend has nothing to do with this. If we drag her into it, we’re planting a toxic seed. Nobody can guarantee we’ll be able to handle the fallout when it grows.”

Under the soothing rhythm of her voice, Zoe’s erratic breathing slowly leveled out.

Two seconds passed.

She whispered a quiet, “Understood.”

“No need to look so defeated.”

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