From Ashes of Scandals to His Embrace novel Chapter 448

Seraphina watched as Magnolia snatched her phone. She couldn’t help but think Magnolia had totally lost it. Instinctively, she stepped back, doing her best to keep her face neutral so Magnolia wouldn’t see how rattled she actually was.

“You want to see Laurinda, right? I’ll call her now. I’ll ask her to come over so you two can meet.”

Magnolia narrowed her eyes. “Are you really calling Laurinda? Or are you calling for help? Seraphina, if I find out you’re lying, I don’t care what happens. I’ll take you down with me. I’ve got nothing left to lose.”

Seraphina could tell Magnolia didn’t actually want to die, but she was desperate. If Seraphina refused to help, Magnolia was truly out of options. If the world was going to corner her, she didn’t mind dragging Seraphina into the mess with her.

Seraphina forced herself to stay calm. Magnolia had her phone now, and Laurinda was the only person she could count on at this point.

She took a deep breath. “I’m not lying to you. If you don’t believe me, I’ll put her on video. You can see for yourself if it’s really Laurinda.”

Magnolia studied her for a second, then, deciding Seraphina was being honest, finally handed the phone back.

“Call her right now. I want to meet her here, at your place.”

“Okay.”

Seraphina took the phone and started a video call with Laurinda.

Across town, Laurinda had just finished giving Adolphus his meds. She was looking over a Lane family chart that York had brought, talking with Egan and Sam about Lane family business when her phone rang.

She saw Seraphina’s name and answered, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. But the second Laurinda saw Seraphina’s tense, unnatural expression, she knew something was wrong.

“Laurinda, are you home?” Seraphina asked.

Laurinda kept her voice light and casual, but off-camera, her hand moved quickly, scribbling a note that read, ‘Seraphina is in danger.’

Sam and Egan caught the note and tensed, watching Laurinda closely, waiting for her signal.

“Yeah, I’m home,” Laurinda replied smoothly. “A friend of mine wants to meet you. Do you have time?”

Seraphina glanced at Magnolia, trying to buy some time. She was desperate to get Magnolia out of her house, but she also didn’t want to make her suspicious. She was stuck, torn between options.

“A friend? What friend? I don’t remember knowing any of your friends, Seraphina.” Laurinda kept her tone casual, acting like she had no idea what was going on, careful not to tip Magnolia off.

Seraphina caught on right away. Laurinda was playing along. She let out a breath and even managed a little laugh.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify