Unveiling Samantha by Veronica Wright
Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dawson, Emerson, and the others shot glances around, then all eyes went to silent Samantha. They’d always spoiled Adrienne to bits and dealt with her drama. They figured Samantha would be a handful too.

They couldn’t decide what to do, dodging Conrad’s stare. It was too much for Lincoln. He couldn’t stand seeing his own sister getting the cold shoulder like that. “Come on, Conrad, you don’t have to tell us to treat Samantha right. Dawson and Emerson are just shocked, that’s all. They’ll come around,” said Lincoln, trying to smooth things over.

The words Lincoln dropped clicked with Dawson and Emerson big time. Basically, as long as Samantha wasn’t high maintenance like Adrienne, they were cool with it and bobbed their heads in agreement.

Conrad eased up some, saying, “Good. I’m glad you’re not stupid. Then he walked over to Samantha. But he hesitated when he noticed she wasn’t exactly welcoming him in-her eyes looked kinda guarded. ‘She must be bummed,’ Conrad figured.

Still, Conrad was set on making things better. Even though he didn’t really get what Samantha had gone through, he swore to himself he’d try to figure it out. Sure, Conrad had been tight with Adrienne but that was before she messed up. His relationship with her had been tepid since she got accepted as Harley’s protégée. Conrad couldn’t help but wonder why Harley couldn’t see Adrienne was all kinds of wrong

He tried to ignore Hansel’s worried face and took a seat next to Samantha. She seemed out of it and the plate of desserts before her had been emptied. Conrad felt a tug in his chest. The snacks that were supposed to be hard to eat were all gone. Was she that hungry?” he thought. ‘Go bring some food for Sammie, Conrad told one of the helpers.

In no time, an attendant rolled up with a cart full of food, like 30 different things to choose from.

“Nix on too many sweets-they ain’t good for you. Try a real dish. Dunno if they’re your thing, though. Tell me wha think.” Conrad said to Samantha. He kinda hoped she’d start seeing him as her bro, but he kept that to himself.

Samantha just watched him, not saying a word. That was when Hansel decided it was time to make another ann “Big thanks to everyone for showing up to my daughters’ 18th birthday bash. There’s another big deal we’ve got -Adrienne’s now the protégée of Professor Harley Brooks! Plus, my blood Samantha here is back in the family. she’s been gone so long. From here on out, I’m keeping it real with both my kids. No more living like before for S Hansel announced.

“Congrats, Mr. Vanderbilt,” someone said.

“Indeed, this is a cause for celebration! How blessed you a

are, Mr. Vanderbilt another chimed in.

A reporter chick all decked out with her phone and recording gear flashed Samantha a fake smile and hit her with some nosy questions, totally riling up Conrad. “So, Samantha Vanderbilt, long-lost Vanderbilt kid, you’re pretty sharp, right? Where do they have you studying? Is it some fancy place like Adrienne and Brennan? Think you can hang with the cool kids and be buds with Adrienne? And what’s the deal with the papers you brought? Oh, and judging from your get-ups… not to be rude, but it looks like you had it rough. Spill the beans, will ya?” The reporter’s brutal questions made everyone uncomfortable.

Samantha shot the reporter a look that could freeze water, not saying a peep at first.

Enzo muttered under his breath, “Come on, really? You gotta ask stuff you already know the answer to?”

Samantha finally answered, bored to death. “Small town, school, side gigs. What’s it to you? The real Vanderbilt daughter? Last I checked, that’s me. The papers? Go bug someone else about it.” She threw a half-hearted ‘thanks but no thanks’ nod at Conrad. I’m really not that hungry. A bit wiped, actually. This mansion? Yeah, not my scene. Catch you later.” She grabbed her backpack to take off, but Christopher, who had been flying under the radar, caught the edge of her shirt. Samantha gave him a side-eye that said ‘back off.”

1/2

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Fri, May

Chapter 5

“You know, I couldn’t tell you about Ms. Vanderbilt’s past,” Christopher piped up, still oh-so-polite but with zero chill in his eyes. “But how about we chat about your backstage meet-up with Adrienne, huh? I can spill the beans for you if you’re too shy.” He got up, all smiles and no warmth, making the reporter go ice-cold with a single look.

“I…” She was mortified at being exposed right away. All her previous haughtiness vanished, replaced by fear. Rumor had it that Christopher was nothing like the gentleman he appeared to be. Instead, he could go totally psycho when he was infuriated.

“Bailey, show her out. I don’t want to see her face around any media spots in Angevin ever again, Christopher announced, a surprising edge to his words. His smile sure didn’t match his tone. Even though he was a young dude, he pretty much ran the show in Angevin’s new media scene. Wright Media, his baby, had been top dog since day one. It was clear Christopher wasn’t kidding. Everyone in the room got the memo-that reporter just got herself on the no-fly list for the whole industry. She totally had it coming, some folks thought.

Bailey didn’t waste time; she took the reporter out, and a hush fell over the crowd.

Then Christopher, all soft eyes, looked at Samantha. The crowd was doing double-takes. Was this for real, or was he just good at faking it? “Ms. Vanderbilt, why don’t you crash here for the night? You gotta be wiped after your trip. Let Mrs. Vanderbilt show you to your room, get some Z’s, he offered.

“Yeah, Sammie, stick around. Might pour tonight, and the roads get slick. We’re all bunking here, so no stress. With us here, no one’s gonna mess with you,” Enzo chimed in, but inside, he knew messing with Samantha was basically a death wish. Anyone who knew her figured it’d be safer to tick off the devil himself. Tick Samantha off, and half of Astoria would be in for

“Got it, but I need the 411 on something. Since when did I get a protégée while I’m out? Spill, Enzo, Samantha pressed,

Enzo was caught off-guard, thinking, ‘Why’s she blowing her cover? Is she done playing pretend?” “Ahem, well, we figured it out last night. Turns out it’s that fake account from two years back that you never bothered with. And since Adrienne was so keen on giving them a boost, they just make use of it,” Enzo fessed up. Enzo truly had to hand it to Adrienne for shooting herself in the foot. Now that the actual Harley had learned about her fraud, Enzo was all ears for the next act.

“Are you talking about when I peaced out for a break?” Samantha asked, narrowing her eyes.

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