The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 578

“Octavia and Cindy are always picking on Claire. If that’s not being petty, then what is?” Shirley rolled her eyes, clearly fed up. In her mind, if the James family hadn’t been so harsh, Claire would’ve stayed thankful for how they raised her. She would’ve definitely repaid them someday. But they just kept pushing her buttons, creating drama until Claire couldn’t take it anymore. With someone like Claire, that was just asking for trouble.

“They don’t really mean it that way,” Lance tried to explain, defending his mom and sister. But his words sounded weak, even to himself. Everyone knew what was really going on.

“Sure.” Shirley’s tone made it obvious she didn’t want to keep talking. “Lance, unless you’ve got something important to say, I’m hanging up. We’ve got plans, and I don’t want to waste time.”

Lance frowned, a little annoyed. “Weren’t you all going to Montara? Why does it sound like you’re doing something else instead?”

“We had a car accident, remember? We got off the highway and decided to have some fun before heading out again. Gives us a break after all that stress.”

Shirley wasn’t clueless—she knew better than to tell Lance everything. She left out the part where Claire’s medical skills basically saved someone’s life. While the doctors operated, Claire had been right there, and the family was so grateful to her. Shirley kept all that to herself. After all, the James family never cared about Claire’s abilities, so it was better if they stayed in the dark. If they ever found out how impressive Claire was, they’d probably regret everything and try to win her back.

Before Lance could ask more, Shirley ended the call. While everyone else went out, Claire crashed in the hotel room, making up for the sleep she’d missed.

Lance, meanwhile, was frustrated that he couldn’t get any more information from Shirley. Still, he told himself to stay calm. Now that the car accident had slowed Claire’s group down, Lance actually had a chance to catch up.

He called York. “I heard there was an accident up ahead. Drive slower, okay?”

“Yeah, no problem,” York replied. He hadn’t been speeding anyway. The car was filled with music, and he and Cindy were just chatting away, enjoying the ride like a real vacation.

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