The Stand-In Who Burned the Script novel Chapter 288

Chapter 288

Darcy Cole was one of the students sponsored by the Vaughan family. She had maintained close ties with them during her school years, and after graduating, she stepped straight into the family business, becoming Grandpa Vaughan’s only female assistant.

She was sharp, decisive, and highly efficient. Grandpa Vaughan used to say she reminded him of himself in his younger years.

Because of that, he trusted her with his most important affairs.

One of those tasks was sending Darcy to work undercover by his daughter’s side.

Grandpa Vaughan had assumed-

Since the man his daughter loved was a useless piece of trash, exposing his true colors would inevitably force her to return to the Vaughan family.

It was a solid plan, but Darcy failed to execute it.

Spending day and night together turned Darcy and Sylvia Vaughan into inseparable best friends.

Darcy even tried repeatedly to persuade Grandpa Vaughan to let his daughter go.

True love wasn’t about control; it was about letting the people you cared about live the lives they

wanted.

The old man refused to listen and flew into violent rages over her defiance.

In a fit of anger, he ordered Darcy to stay permanently by Sylvia’s side.

Eventually, a sudden explosion left Sylvia without a trace, and Darcy vanished completely.

The past was like smoke in the wind. Outside the window, the van drove through a tree-lined avenue. The dappled sunlight filtered through the glass, casting shadows across Marcus’s impossibly handsome face, making him look even more rigid and arrogant.

He closed his eyes, hiding the suppressed emotions buried deep within them.

But even then, he couldn’t mask the terrifying aura of coldness radiating from his body.

Vivian had heard whispers about Marcus’s childhood.

At the time, his parents had just taken over the family business. They were so busy flying around the world that they barely had time to breathe. Marcus was practically raised by Darcy Cole, which meant… his attachment to her went far beyond normal boundaries.

“Marcus.” Vivian steadied her emotions, forcing her tone into a neutral negotiation stance. “Taking me away like this won’t help you. If you can’t even track her down, what makes you think I can?”

“You can.”

Marcus opened his eyes, their dark depths impossible to read.

“Darcy isn’t dead. She will definitely investigate your mother’s death, which means… she will contact you.” He cast a sideways glance at her stunning face and scoffed. “Even if she hasn’t yet, it’s only a

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matter of time.”

The stray strands of Vivian’s hair fell across her cheek, casting a veil-like shadow over her profile.

After a long pause, she spoke in a low voice. “If that’s the case, you should let me go.”

“Trade me a piece of information, and I’ll let you go.”

“I don’t have any.”

“Then you’re coming with me.”

If a negotiation failed, he shut it down completely. That was Marcus’s signature style.

Vivian was genuinely running out of options. Seeing the roads outside become increasingly unfamiliar, she braced herself and tried again. “Marcus, even if Silas isn’t madly in love with me yet, I am still publicly known as his woman. Snatching me away like this is a direct slap in his face. Do you really think he’s just going to let it slide?”

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