Under the Heiress' Facade
Chapter 9

Soon, school was about to begin. The Everetts had already arranged for each of their children tohave a car and a dower for getting to and from school. During breakdast, Lilith proposed to Jamesthat Hera should also have her own driver and car.

However, Mildred was the first to disagree with her suggestion. “We don’t even know the results ofher entrance exam yet. Why rush into it?”

Lilith was rendered speechless by her sharp response. Seeming crestfallen, she stole glances atJames in the hope that he would come to her defense.

Yet, James pretended not to notice. He sided with Mildred’s viewpoint.

Believing that He was destined to fall her entrance exam, James saw no reason to arrange a driverfor her. Doing so would only attract ridicule from others and embarrass the

Everetts.

“Hera, you can ride with me if you want,” Giselle said kindly.

“No, thanks. already have a ride.” Hera declined

Her cold rejection left Giselle stunned. Nevertheless, Giselle attempted to uphold her image. Sheretrieved a folder and handed it to Hera

“These are some previous test papers that Chris completed. He’s always been one of the beststudents at Cavenridge. You can check them out. They could be useful for your entrance exam,”Giselle said.

Her gesture seemed considerate and kind to those around her.

Hera placed her cutlery down and stood up to leave. She didn’t even glance at the folder Gisellewas holding

“What’s with the attitude? As 1 expected, people from rural mountain areas lack manners!” Mildredexclaimed, slamming the table in disapproval.

“Hera, don’t be upset. You can ride in my car. You don’t have to take a cab,” Giselle said

She quickly set down her cutlery and hurried to catch up with Hera before Lilith could. Giselleportrayed herself vividly and thoroughly as a person who was sensible, considerate, andthoughtful toward others.

As Giselle rushed outside, she spotted Hera getting into a sleek black limousine.

Giselle noticed that the emblem on the car was from Lincoln, but before she could catch a glimpseof the license plate, the car vanished around the corner.

The Everetts were considered aristocratic in Norburgh, though they were only on the fringes of thetrue aristocracy. The cars they provided their children were merely BMWs, each valued at severalhundred thousand dollars.

Giselle couldn’t fathom how Hera could afford such a high–class vehicle. She was certain that thecar Hera had left in was one she had booked online.

Otherwise, how could someone like Hera, who had recently arrived from the mountains, possiblyhave connections in Norburgh with people who owned luxury vehicles? Giselle hadn’t ever been ina Lincoln stretch limo herself.

Could Hera have gotten involved with a rich man and become his mistress? If that were true, itwould be just right!

As Giselle contemplated various scenarios, a flashyred Ferrari pulled up in front of her.

After the car door swung open, a man stepped out. He was dressed sharply in a white suit andmatching leather shoes. He had a youthful appearance

“Excuse me, Miss Has a young lady come by your place recently?”

Giselle’s attention snapped back to the present. She was taken aback when she recognized theman before her. “Mr. Ludden?”

“You know me?” Aaron looked surprised

Having enlisted in the army at just 16, Aaron was seldom in Norburgh. He couldn’t recall meetingGiselle. He thought that Giselle must be the person who rescued Bernard that day. “Yeah, I’ve seenyou.” Giselle nodded

Aaron was the oldest son of the Ludden family, one of the four influential families. She had comeacross photos of Aaron before.

“You’ve got sharp eyes. Not everyone would recognize me with my face all painted up like that onthat day,” Aaron remarked.

He remembered the day he got off the helicopter and saw a woman’s back in the distance. Fromthe silhouette, she looked just like Giselle.

Even though Giselle didn’t stand out in looks, Aaron thought she could still somehow measure up toBernard, who was incredibly handsome Aaron had a gut feeling that the person before him wasHera

Giselle was ploded. “That day?”

She quickly realized that Aaron had mistaken her for someone else, but she maintained a pleasantsmile and chose not to comment. “Thank you for rescuing my boss. Her requested me to return thisto you,” Aaron stated, presenting Giselle with the cleaned strip of fabric

The person Aaron referred to as “Boss” could only be associated with the Killians, the mostprominent among the four influential families.

(CAMAN 10

Chapter to

“it’s my pleasure. Anything else he wanted to say? selle

She was reching flustered, but she mamarod to keep a sweet sunile ons het lace.

“How did you know there was something else he wanted me bo tell you?” Amon happily tehdlevedan elegant cake box from the passenger seat and handed it in lies along with the

striped b

“My boss sent this cake as a special gift for meeting van,” Aaron explained

Giselle typically steered ekom of desserts, pottiendale cakes, to keepher tigsten check However,her resolve softened when she noticed the logo on the cake packaging–Blisstal

The brand. “Blisstad bites” was highly esteemed among elite social circles. Their cakes wereexpensive and highly sought after due to their limited modlabil

“Thank you, I love cakes from this bras the most,” Giselle sal happily as she accepted the cake

Aarya’s gimtadal into seriousness as he said, “My boss wanted ine to ask if you’d be willing tokeep in to

a bold and

It was only then selle discovered a small white card with gold edges testing atop the cake box:Upon opening it, she found a handwritten phone number, signed with al

elegant “Killian.”

Her heart raced when she saw the name. Was the person a kills from the renowned Killiam tamily?This family held the highest prestige among the four most influential families.

Regardless of whom Aaten was telerting to as his boss from the Killian family, the person’s powerand states surpassed even that of the Gaskell.

“Sure,” Giselle replied shady with and, teeling elated

“Okay, I’ll pass it on to my boss. I won’t keep you any longer,” Aaron salilbefore hopping into hiscar and driving off.

Giselle pared at the cake box in het hand, feeling ecstark, She glanced at the strip ni tabele îi herother hand. The embroidered design seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

Without hesitation, she tossed it into the trash. Whose Labric it was didn’t

« didn’t matter to her. After all, the mysterious benefactor now owed his life to her, öösellel

After leaving the Everett residence, Aaron prompthe dialed Bernard’s number. “Boss, just like youasked, thanded her the strip of fabric andl the cake.”

“How did she react?” Bernard asked,

“She was thrilled. She mentioned she loved Blissful Bites‘ cakes the most. She even said she’dkeep in touch,” Aaron responded.

Then, he jokingly added, “Boss, you might want to relax a bit since she still looks underen.”

On the other end of the phone, Bernard frowned slightly when he heard the words ‘she wasthrilled.”

Memories of Hera’s shocked reaction and her hasty departure when he called her name on themountain floodedback.

Her intense response made Bernard wary of approaching her directly, opting instead to send Aaronto gather information first. He hadn’t anticipated anyone being so willing to put herself in harm’sway.

“You must be mistaken,” Bernard asserted firmly

His black Audi drove up to the entrance of Cavenridge International Academy, making its waytoward the faculty building. Parked nearby was a Lincoln stretch limo.

Aaron, who had been happily teasing Bernard moments before, was suddenly stunned. “What?That doesn’t make sense. She claimed she saw me on the mountain that day… Damn!”

Reflecting on his conversation with Giselle, Aaron realized he had been too hasty and hadn’tnoticed something was wrong.

“TU head back there now,” Aaron said.

As he was about to replace a spot to turn his car around, Bernard interrupted, “It’s fine.”

Once Bernard ended the call, his attention shifted to the young woman stepping our of the backseatof the Lincoln

She wore a snug white dress, her long hair braided into a single plait. Her serene prodile showedno emotion, and she emanated an air of key detachment.

Bemard’s assistant, Douglas Copley, pulled up and stopped the car. Glancing over his shoulder, headdressed Bernard, who was sitting in the back seat, “Bernard, we’ve arrived.”

No response came from the back.

Douglas exited the car and respectfully opened the rear door, but Bemard remained unresponsive.

Perplexed, Douglas bent down to check on him, only to replace Bernard gazing intently out theopposite window.

Through the glass, Douglas spotted the main entrance of the faculty building, where a man in a suitwas escorting a woman in a snug dress inside.

A woman?

Douglas‘ eyes widened in disbelier

Was Bernard actually noticing a wornan?