Her exhaustion caught up with her, and at so point, she had drifted off, her head resting on the open book in front of her.
The faint sound of the doorbell sent a jolt through her, pulling her out of her restless sleep. She jumped awake as if she had been electrocuted, and looked around her in confusion, wondering what had startled her so much.
The bell rang again.
Groggy, she stumbled to the main door and opened it to find one of the housekeepers standing outside. The woman offered her a polite smile and handed her a set of keys.
"Second Lady, your car has been repaired and returned."
Earlier, she’d inford one of the doorn at the Wildfire mansion that the car had been involved in a minor accident and would be taken for repairs. She didn’t know why she was being handed the keys when they should pass it to Betty or whoever was in charge of the fleet of cars the Wildfires had.
The housekeeper then extended a thin file toward her after Alice took the keys.
"This was found inside the car. We assud it belonged to you."
Alice frowned as she took it. A file? But she was sure she hadn’t left anything inside the car. The only file she had with her was the ranking file, which was safely tucked away. She took the file and thanked the housekeeper.
Curiosity stirred as she shut the door and walked back into her room. Sitting on the edge of her couch, she hesitated for a mont before flipping the file open.
Her eyes widened, her heart pounding with a mixture of disbelief and excitent. This wasn’t just any legal docunt. It was a simplified guide, "Law Made Easy," tailored to the specific legal frawork of the Estate.
And that wasn’t all. Nestled within the file was a sample case, a detailed breakdown of a situation remarkably similar to the one Hades and herself were facing. A step-by-step strategy, outlining potential defenses and argunts, was laid out with stunning clarity. It was as if soone had anticipated her predicant, offering a lifeline in the darkness.
Was this real? Was this a trap?
She scanned the docunt again, searching for any hidden agenda or malicious intent. But it was straightforward, clear, and incredibly helpful. The information was too specific, too perfectly aligned with her needs, to be a coincidence.
Who had left this file?
The only person who ca to her mind was Hardy Cresswell.
Was it him?
But he just ca here. He didn’t know her. Neither did she know him.
Or was this a trap from Hades? Or soone else entirely?
A wave of cautious hope washed over her. This could be her chance, her opportunity to navigate this. But the nagging suspicion remained. In this world, nothing was ever truly free. Every act of kindness, every gesture of assistance, ca with a price. And she had no idea what price she was about to pay for receiving this.
Most importantly, who would send ’Aurora’ this?
She could not shake Hardy out of her mind.
So she grabbed her phone and did a quick search, typing his full na into the search button.
Even a second of waiting felt like eternity as she tapped her feet on the floor impatiently.
The information popped up.
Hardy Cresswell.
26.
His parents were lawmakers. Both of them. His sister was an artist. He, a prosecutor.
But none of those shocked her.
What greatly shocked her was a tiny piece of information others may find useless.
The university he attended. It was the sa one Aurora had attended. They had also graduated in the sa year!
Not only that, even the high school was the sa! Graduated the sa year too.
Her heart stopped.
He knew her.
He knew Aurora.
Yet, they had t and he pretended like he didn’t.
Or rather, she had looked at him like a stranger.
She stood up, pacing around the room.
She tried to hold onto the fact that everyone said Aurora was a snob. So maybe she never communicated with him ever before. But...
How could she be sure?
The next morning, Alice felt the weight of exhaustion pressing down on her, but there was no ti to dwell on it. She needed answers, and she needed them fast. But once again, she had sothing to handle.
With her heart pounding in her chest, she picked up her phone and dialed Gavin’s number. The line rang. Once. Twice. Then it connected.
Silence.
She held her breath, gripping the phone tighter. He wasn’t saying anything, but she could hear the faint sound of breathing on the other end.
"I need to set an appointnt with Hades." Her voice ca out steadier than she expected.
She would rather not et that demonic bastard.
Also, wasn’t it funny how she was setting an appointnt to et her supposed husband?
Still, Gavin said nothing. The silence stretched, dragging her nerves taut.
She cleared her throat. "It’s about the legal case. I have to report back to the team, but before that, Hades and I need to discuss a few things."
Another long pause. Then finally, his voice ca through, calm and unreadable. "Why?"
What the hell does he an why? Didn’t she already explain it to him?
Alice exhaled, trying to maintain her composure. "I need to understand the case from his perspective. If I’m going to represent him, I need clarity."
"Be ready by noon. Soone will pick you up."
Before she could respond, the call ended.
Alice lowered the phone slowly, staring at the screen. The unease creeping up her spine was impossible to ignore.
’You can do this.’ She said to herself.
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