Chapter 293
Chapter 293:
Reaching into her pocket, Gracie unlocked her phone and pulled up a video. “I hit record the moment Lia walked in. Her whole little act is right here,” she said, her voice carrying a hard edge.
Once they’d slipped into their swimsuits, Gracie and Jessie joined the pool party.
Heat rolled off the crowd. Bodies splashed and laughed beneath flickering neon, the bass vibrating through the tiles and the scent of chlorine mixing with sugary cocktails drifting through the air. Everything felt loud, bright, and too much.
Jessie scanned the scene, then dragged a palm across her forehead with a sigh. “How about we ditch this place and go back to my apartment instead? We can celebrate on our own, just you and me p>
Gracie arched a brow. “Isn’t this supposed to be your big birthday party? Why disappear now p>
Jessie let out a crooked little smile. “The event company set up the whole thing. They kept insisting pool parties are the trendy choice this year. I didn’t have the energy to argue, so I just said yes. But standing here now p>
Gracie understood completely. Jessie thrived on calm, not chaos. If not for the sake of her family’s safety, Jessie would’ve curled up in her own apartment with a quiet dinner and no audience.
With a gentle squeeze, Gracie rested her hand on Jessie’s shoulder. “For now, you have to stay here. We can’t let the past repeat itself, and until we figure out what caused your family’s downfall, we’re stuck playing defense p>
“I get it,” Jessie murmured. She steered Gracie toward a small, dim corner near the pool’s edge. “You never liked big crowds, so I kept this place open just for you p>
A quick glance toward the laughing guests made Jessie sigh. “I’ll go say hello to a few people and come right back p>
“Alright,” Gracie replied softly, giving her a reassuring nod.
New chapters now on Fiøm
Once Jessie slipped away, Gracie pulled a blanket tighter around her chilled shoulders and let her eyes drift over the glowing pool deck. Her gaze finally settled on Theo and Ellie standing together across the water.
They stood apart tonight—an unusual sight for a pair normally glued together wherever they went.
Before she could make sense of it, Theo’s eyes flicked up. He caught her looking and curved his mouth into a knowing, almost taunting smile.
A quiet warning rushed through her, prickling along her spine, but she didn’t get the chance to react. A too-familiar voice slid in from behind her.
“Why are you hiding out here by yourself?” Lia sauntered over in a clingy swimsuit that left little to the imagination, her hips swaying with deliberate confidence. “You always carry yourself like you’re above the rest of us—like no one is worth your time. If you weren’t born with that pretty pedigree, you’d still be clawing your way up from the bottom p>
Gracie let out a soft laugh, lifting an eyebrow at her. “So we’re dropping the act already p>
“Obviously.” Lia’s smirk sharpened as she stepped closer, her perfume cutting through the humid air. “Do you seriously think you’ve won? If I felt like it, Brayden would walk away from you without hesitation p>
She flicked a quick look toward the path leading to the pool, a sly curve forming at the corner of her mouth. “I’m desperate enough to cling to him however I can. I’m willing to go further than you ever will p>
Without warning, she tipped backward toward the water, fingers snapping around Gracie’s wrist and yanking her along. To everyone watching, it would look like a heated argument gone wrong—two women slipping into the pool by accident.
Cold water swallowed Gracie whole. The shock punched the breath from her chest, her mind going utterly blank as the frigid weight dragged her downward.
Panic clawed through her when she kicked upward only to dip under again, her limbs turning sluggish.
She never learned how to swim. She barely went near pools at all.
Darkness bled into her vision as muffled shouts warped around her, a rising roar in her ears—until a powerful grip wrenched her back into the open air.
On the pool deck, Lia sprawled motionless.