The True Heiress Reborn And Slays (Alicia Delaney) novel Chapter 312

Chapter 312 Alexander’s Scandal

Riley took the bottle from him, her fingers closing tightly around it.

Sebastian watched her, his expression softening even further.

“Riley, keep yourself safe.

“I’ll always be waiting for the day I come to bring you home.”

The small glass vial in her palm still seemed to carry the warmth from Sebastian’s hand.

But as the car slowly pulled up to Ashford Villa, Riley carefully tucked away all that warmth and tenderness.

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The car had barely come to a stop when she stepped out and almost collided with Lucas, who had just returned from the hospital.

Lucas looked exhausted, faint red lines visible in his eyes.

One glance was all Riley needed to understand–his condition was almost certainly from scrambling since early morning to manage the public firestorm surrounding Sophia.

To suppress those practically bulletproof exposés, he must have spent a fortune on PR and called in every favor he had.

They met at the foot of the steps outside the villa. The air between them felt stiff, uneasy.

Finally, Lucas broke the silence.

“How’s your ankle?”

“It’s fine,” Riley replied smoothly, having anticipated the question. “I had Lydia find me a really good chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries. He sent someone to pick me up, put some muscle relief gel on it–feels much better now.”

To sell the story, she deliberately shifted her weight onto the injured ankle, moving it slightly in front of him. The motion was still cautious, but it looked convincing enough–like she could walk normally without much trouble.

The explanation neatly covered her whereabouts from the night before.

Some of the tension seemed to leave Lucas‘ posture, but then his frown returned, his displeasure evident.

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you answer my calls? Do you have any idea how long I looked for you? I thought. I thought something might have happened to you.”

Riley didn’t feel like keeping up the pretense with him any longer. Her face showed clear irritation.

Lucas, you tell me to trust you, and I always have. But what about you? At the first sign of trouble, I’m the one you suspect.”

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11:36 Thu, Jun 4

Chapter 312 Alexander’s Scandal

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She let out a quiet, humorless laugh. “You don’t trust me that much, yet you expect me to explain every little detail to you. Honestly, I find that pretty exhausting.”

Lucas immediately thought of the media storm that had blown up around Sophia that morning.

Even though none of the reports had named names, he was afraid Riley might have seen them–that maybe that was why she was being so sharp with him now.

The thought alone wiped away whatever confidence he had left, leaving nothing but guilt behind.

His tone softened completely. “I’m sorry, Riley… I care too much, that’s why I overreacted. I was just really worried about you.”

The apology sounded half–hearted, but it fell right into the track Riley had laid out for him.

She hadn’t really expected him to change overnight–to suddenly let go of all the suspicion and distrust he held toward her.

That kind of deep–seated bias would take time, and more than a little pain, to undo.

Now that she’d successfully used the sprained ankle as her cover, Riley saw no reason to go to the hospital.

She was more than happy to enjoy some peace, curled up on the sofa in her room, resting her not–so- serious injury.

She had expected the next act to involve watching Sophia continue playing the victim–finding some respectable fall guy to claim paternity of her secret child, anything to quiet the rumors and weather the media storm.

But life often turns out more dramatic, and more surprising, than any screenplay.

While she was sipping her coffee and calmly waiting for the next scene to unfold, a breaking news alert blew up her phone–instantly grabbing headlines across every major news outlet.

“EXCLUSIVE!!! Alexander Ashford, Relative of Ashford Group Board Member, Caught in Major Scandal. Suspected of Involvement in Illegal Parties and Drug Use–Taken into Police Custody for Questioning!”

Riley glanced at the shocking headline on her screen, the blurred photo blown up for emphasis, and the short clip of a disheveled figure being guided into a patrol car with a jacket draped over his head. She raised one eyebrow slightly.

Alexander–the eldest grandson of the Ashford family’s second branch. He’d always been mediocre at best, spending his time hopping from one nightclub to another, burning through his trust fund, rarely involving himself in family business.

The only reason he was still on the list of potential heirs to Ashford Group was that his father had made significant contributions to the company in its early days.

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