Chapter 49
Clarence went pale and shot up from his seat. “Rhett?”
Rhett had been sticking his nose into Kristin’s business for a while now, and what was up with that? Is he actually helping Kristin out?
Kristin must have some serious skills to get Rhett to lend her a hand. How low can she stoop to degrade herself like that?
Clarence clenched his fingers tight, with his face as dark as thunder, he stormed out of the
living room.
“Get Vincent on the line. I’m heading to the FitzGerald family!”
On the rickety train to Crescendo Town, Kristin curled up in a corner, munching on a sausage.
She’d snuck on board without a ticket, scared that the Turner family and the FitzGerald family might trace her using her ID. Her stop was coming up soon.
Chances were that she’d have to lay low from now on.
Stepping out of the train station, Kristin nibbled on some sausages while she searched for at payphone to call Garner.
“Garner…”
“Kris, where have you gone…” Garner asked anxiously.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. Just give me your account number, I’ll send money every month once I start working.” Kristin whispered, pulling out a notebook and pen.
“You’ve just arrived in a new city, take care of yourself first,” Garner said with a heavy heart. “Don’t worry about us.”
“It’s for Summer’s savings. He’ll need the money for doctor’s visits.” Kristin’s voice was slightly. hoarse.
Holding back tears and keeping her emotions in check, Kristin spoke again. “Garner… I’ll be alright.”
“Today, Rhett came by and took Summer for a check–up. I don’t know what his intention is.”
Kristin froze her hand on her phone.
“Rhett’s not like Vincent, and he’s not a bad guy,” Kristin said, defending Rhett. “But it’s right for us to keep our distance from the FitzGerald family.”
“You don’t need to worry about us here. They can’t touch us. But Summer’s situation is getting serious and his nose bled several times today, which only stopped after going to the hospital. We still need to find his biological father…” Garner was nervous, not wanting to upset Kristin.
“I know, I’ll find him.” Kristin had come to Crescendo Town to meet someone in particular.
10:07
That night at the Silvergrove City hotel, besides Caleb and Tam, one another person was a likely candidate: James Bryce of Aurora Tech. He was the only one who came to her rescue after the incident, promising to keep her safe and out of jail, on the condition that she stayed with him.
“Kris, take care of yourself out there,” Garner said softly.
Kristin acknowledged, jotting down the bank account number. “I’ll hang up now, but I’ll keep in touch.”
After hanging up, Kristin stared blankly at the unfamiliar city. How could she get a meeting with James?
Aurora Tech was a powerhouse on par with the FitzGerald Group, not based in Silvergrove City. but its influence in Crescendo Town wasn’t something just anyone could cling to.
Back in the day, James took a fancy to Kristin because of a ballet performance.
At nineteen, naive and repulsed by such advances, especially since she had Vincent. Kristin spurned anyone else’s interest.
She rejected James outright, which only fueled his competitive spirit.
For a long time, James used all sorts of ways to keep tabs on her, even showing up at her school.
She couldn’t take it anymore and lashed out at James, who then stopped bothering her.
At that time, she had no clue she’d angered someone so formidable.
It was only after going to prison that Kristin learned about the Bryce family of Aurora Tech, equal titans in the business world to the FitzGerald family, even cooperating as equals.
1
The night everything went haywire, Kristin attended a charity gala in Silvergrove City. After the fake debacle of being the false heiress of the Turner family, she had no intention of mingling in such circles, but Clarence insisted she go in place of the Turner family, as the invitation bore her name and it was for the family’s sake.
Kristin accepted the invitation, unaware it was a trap set by Clarence and Ruby.
At the gala, she saw James again, who told her if she couldn’t make it to Silvergrove City, she could always come to Crescendo Town and he’d take care of her, more than comfortably.
Kristin refused again. After sipping the drink passed to her, her consciousness blurred.
During her five years in jail, Kristin went over and over the men who could’ve been in her room that night, and James seemed the most likely, because of her defiance towards him.
“This lady, do you need a place to stay or do you want to grab a cab?”
Outside the train station, hustlers shouted at Kristin, who hesitated, standing there awkwardly. With only five hundred bucks on her, she couldn’t afford a hotel.
She walked away from the station, found a 24–hour bank, and curled up in a corner.
It was too late tonight and she’d look for a job tomorrow.
First, she needed to settle down, then figured out how to meet James to get some answers.
