The Stand-In Who Burned the Script novel Chapter 430

The bodyguard froze, completely baffled by how the situation had suddenly turned.

Capturing them was out of the question.

But letting them go... was also out of the question.

Even if Vivian was technically a hostage, her status meant these bodyguards couldn't just casually resort to physical force.

And so, a bizarre standoff ensued, with no one quite sure what to do next.

Sloan frowned, leaning fully into his rich-playboy persona.

"Move your damn cars. You're blocking the road, are you blind?"

...

They couldn't move them.

Vivian was standing right there.

Silas glanced out the window, then lazily pulled out his phone. A message from Yannick had just popped up: *Old Mr. Vaughan has realized Marcus went rogue. The Vaughan family is in complete chaos again, and the old man's blood pressure has spiked even higher.*

Returning to his home screen, he dialed Marcus.

It was picked up in seconds.

"Speak!" Marcus barked, absolutely seething.

"I imagine when you answered this call, Marcus, you already knew exactly what I was going to say."

Silas's tone was steady, dripping with calm authority. "Your family is currently tearing itself apart. Between dealing with the old man and managing the fallout from the press, you have more than enough on your plate. Finding Darcy right now is functionally impossible."

"You said it yourself—Bayport is your territory. If even you can't track Darcy down, how on earth would Vivian know where she is? She's been under my watch for the past two days, and I can personally guarantee she hasn't contacted a single soul. Keeping her as leverage is entirely useless to you now."

Marcus gritted his teeth. "What exactly is your point?"

"Let Vivian go."

Silas lifted his eyes. Outside, the woman was standing with casual defiance, showing not a sliver of the panic expected of a hostage.

"Otherwise, I don't mind piling a few more massive headaches onto your plate."

Marcus sneered. "Have you forgotten the agreement we made? Don't act like the saint now."

"You haven't exactly held up your end of the bargain either."

Marcus had no counter to that.

Two seconds later, he hung up.

"They let me go! You didn't save me."

It wasn't the same thing.

Before Silas could respond, Scarlett let out a loud, disgusted click of her tongue. "If you two are going to be sickeningly clingy, get the hell out of the car. You're repulsive, Vivian!"

"So what if I'm repulsive? Are you just mad because you have no one to be repulsive with?"

Vivian turned her head, flashing Scarlett an immensely smug look, before wrapping both arms tightly around Silas's arm and burying her face entirely against his chest.

Scarlett: "..."

Dammit, this woman!

Silas's expression remained neutral. He slid his arm free, draped it casually over the seat behind her, and naturally pulled her closer into his embrace. "Alright. Go to sleep."

The familiar, comforting scent of him filled her senses, and Vivian fluttered her eyes shut.

She had barely slept a wink the night before. She really was exhausted.

When she woke up, she was still in a car, but it was a different vehicle.

Scarlett and Sloan were gone, leaving only her and Silas inside.