The True Heiress Reborn And Slays (Alicia Delaney) novel Chapter 317

Chapter 317 The Setup Backfires

Chapter 317 The Setup Backfires

+20 Free Coms

Once everything was in place, she switched off the main light, slipped quietly out of the room, and hid herself in an unused storage closet across the hall. She left the door slightly ajar–just enough to peer through the narrow gap and keep an eye on the corridor outside.

It wasn’t long before Harvey’s sneaking figure appeared at the far end of the hallway.

He glanced around guiltily, and once he was sure no one was watching, he crept straight into the trap that had been laid for him.

The door shut softly behind him.

Riley stayed still in the darkness, listening intently. Soon, muffled sounds drifted from inside the room+ the rustling of fabric, followed by… the unmistakable, vulgar noises of a man and a woman together.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust but forced herself to stay put and wait patiently.

Minutes ticked by.

When Riley estimated the two inside were just finishing up–and at their most careless–she stepped out from the storage closet. She pulled out a lighter and lit a strip of oil–soaked cloth she’d prepared earlier, then carefully tucked it beneath the wool rug laid outside the guest room door.

The dry rug caught fire instantly. The flames were small, but thick, choking smoke began billowing upward.

Downstairs, the party was still in full swing.

Lucas was mingling with a few uncles and older relatives, wearing a polite, practiced smile.

Then, suddenly, a maid came rushing down the staircase, her voice shrill with panic. “Fire! There’s a fire on the second floor!”

Chaos erupted immediately.

Guests began murmuring and shifting uneasily.

Lucas looked up and saw dark smoke spreading along the second–floor hallway–right in the direction of Riley’s room.

Riley had said she wasn’t feeling well and had gone up to rest earlier.

Forgetting all decorum, Lucas shoved past the people beside him and sprinted up the stairs.

“Riley!”

Julian and Anthea were also startled by the commotion. Along with Caleb, whose expression had turned grim they hurried after him.

But as the group reached the smoke–filled doorway, they were met with something completely

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11:37 Thu, Jun 4

Chapter 317 The Setup Backfires

+20 Free Coms

unexpected: from inside the room came the loud, shameless sounds of a man and a woman lost in the heat of passion–grotesquely out of place amid the tension and urgency.

Anthea’s face twisted in horror. She clutched Lucas‘ arm and gasped, “What in the world is going on?! Don’t tell me Riley is… cheating on you right under our noses?!”

“No!” Lucas snapped, his face pale, veins standing out on the back of his hand.

He didn’t even think before defending her. “Riley would never do that to me!”

That was what he said–and what his mind told him to believe–but those ugly noises kept slithering into his ears like snakes. In the end, fury overrode reason.

“BAM!”

Lucas lost control. He drew his foot back and kicked the door open with a violent crash.

The room was dark, curtains drawn tightly shut. Only the flickering light from the flames and smoke outside illuminated two tangled figures thrashing on the bed.

Lucas stormed in and flipped the light switch.

He had braced himself for the worst–ready to see Riley’s betrayal with his own eyes.

But when the harsh overhead light flooded the room, what he saw made his vision burn with rage.

The two people rolling on the disheveled bed weren’t Riley at all.

It was Sophia, barely dressed, and Harvey–the driver she herself had brought into Ashford Group not long ago.

“What the hell are you two doing?!”

Lucas‘ roar was like thunder, shaking the room.

The pair on the bed jerked apart like startled rabbits.

Sophia slowly came to her senses. First came confusion, then the sight of the furious Ashford family staring from the doorway. Her mind went completely blank. She couldn’t make sense of any of it.

She had set this up for Riley.

How… how had she ended up the one caught?

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