The Stand-In Who Burned the Script novel Chapter 458

She never said anything about taking care of anyone!

Cynthia stood at the end of the second-floor corridor. Looking out the window, she could clearly see the woman below.

She seemed to be asking Jade a question, her hands clasped behind her back as she leaned forward slightly.

The black dress clung perfectly to her stunning curves. As she walked, the hem fluttered against her trench coat, brushing past her ankles perched on high heels. She moved with effortless grace, carrying herself as though she were the true master of the estate.

Obedient?

If this woman was obedient, then hell had frozen over!

—

Vivian walked a lap around the grounds with Jade and learned that this estate had been purchased many years ago. Although Cynthia didn't live in the country, she had never slacked on its maintenance.

The perfectly square courtyard featured beautiful flowers, trees, and manicured lawns, but the rigid, grid-like layout felt reminiscent of early twentieth-century architecture. Everything was walled in, rigidly adhering to traditional, claustrophobic rules.

"Housekeeper Gentry, are you and Mom related?"

"No, we've just been together for a long time."

"Oh... You look about the same age."

"Madam is three months and ten days older than I am."

"..." That was terrifyingly precise.

Vivian flashed a bright smile, her eyes darting around as she leaned in a little closer. "Even so, I think you look incredibly young. Calling you 'Housekeeper' feels too stiff. Can I just call you Jade?"

"..."

Jade gave her a strange look. "You may call me whatever you wish, Young Mistress."

"Great, Jade it is!"

"How long have you been by Mom's side?"

The way 'Mom' rolled so effortlessly off her tongue made Jade wonder where this girl got her sheer audacity. She was certain Madam wouldn't appreciate the casual familiarity.

But she kept those thoughts entirely to herself.

"I was an orphan. I've been with Madam since childhood."

The middle-aged man's voice was slurred with heavy intoxication, spewing absolute nonsense on the other end of the line.

"You... ungrateful wretch! Why didn't I strangle you when I had the chance?"

"It's all your fault... You ruined Amara..."

Vivian's expression remained completely blank, silently waiting for him to finish ranting.

Just as she was about to hang up, Dominic slurred another sentence. "You've... been looking into your mother's death all this time, haven't you? Why didn't you just ask me? I know the truth... but I'm never going to tell you!"

Vivian shot up in bed the instant those words registered, her breath hitching in her throat.

The window was still open. The biting autumn wind blew in, chilling her straight to the bone.

Fresh out of the shower and wearing only a thin nightgown, the cold seemed to drain all the color from her luminous skin, from her face down to her neck.

Vivian didn't speak for a very long time. Finally—

She got out of bed, her voice lethal and icy. "Where are you? I'm coming to get you."