Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Briar and Ellen left the amusement park around 8 PM. They had dinner there a new kids meat from a fried

chicken place that cwith a toy meant for toddlers.

Ellen had never tried fried chicken before. She loved it, especially the ice-cold cola. She even crunched the

leftover ice cubes with a big grin on her face.

It was also the first toy she'd ever received. Even though she was technically too old for it, she looked like she

was about to cry. She clutched it like a treasure and kept thanking Briar, promising to take good care of it.

After spending the day with her, Briar liked Ellen even more. She thought the girl was sweet, easy to please, and

didn’t ask for much. As they reached Ellen’s place, Briar said, “Start packing your stuff in the next couple of

days. I'll help you move into Moonspring Estate soon.”

“Okay, | will!” Ellen said, beaming with excitement,

Briar nodded and turned to go, then paused. “Oh, and don’t give your new address to anyone. Especially not

your foster parents.”

Ellen froze, and her expression turned serious. She nodded hard. “I won't tell anyone.”

She knew the house wasn’t really hers-her brother had bought it for her. She didn’t want her greedy foster

parents showing up and causing problems

for him.

Briar could guess what was going through Ellen’s head, but she didn’t say anything else.

As for how Ellen’s foster parents had treated her, that wasn’t Briar’'s business to handle. Sam would deal with it

when he cback.

Briar got on her motorcycle and rode off. What she didn’t notice was the plain black car parked across the street.

Inside, in the passenger seat, sat a man with a nasty scar on his left cheek.

Briar had been out all day. By the tshe got hthat night, all four members of the Jennings family were

gathered in the living room, looking way too cheerful, like they were up to something.

Briar scoffed inwardly, thinking they were probably working on another stupid scheme.

“Welchome, Briar,” Beatrice said sweetly, like all the cruel things she’d said before had never happened.

Briar didn’t bother responding. She looked straight at Edgar. “What is it?”

Edgar cleared his throat and gave Halle a quick look.

Halle smiled, overly polite. “Briar, you've been back for a while now. We thought it'd be nice to throw you a

welcparty this Saturday. What do you think?”

Briar said nothing, just stared at her.

Halle kept going, a little forced now. “Your dad thinks it's a good idea. We want to introduce you to everyone and

help you make sfriends. Maybe yo can find someone to go shopping with. And it's good to know people

before you start school at Shoneport University...”

She rambled for a bit, but Briar didn’t react. The silence eventually made Halle trail off awkwardly.

Edgar's face darkened. “What? You're not okay with it, huh? Halle’s doing this for you. You should be grateful. It's

meant to make yo Already tired of the setup, Briar interrupted him without a hint of patience, “Fine. Whatever. Is

Javier coming?”

Edgar hesitated, clearly caught off guard. Well, we're one of the top families in Shoneport. We have to invite the

other big names.”

good-"

13:36 Mon, 28 JI SD

Chapter 19

24:3

Halle, more composed, chimed in smoothly with a practiced smile, “Briar, you know how close our family is with

the Hargreaves family. Of course will be there.”

In reality, Javier was the whole point of the party. They were planning to use Briar's welcparty as a cover to

go public with Bearize and jejer s relationship.

Javier would officially break off the engagement with Briar at the event, so Beatrice could step in without

backlash.

Before Briar cback, nobody really cared if Beatrice and Javier were seen together. They were both

technically single, so it didn’t raise any eyebrows

Plus, Briar and Javier's engagement had been arranged by Edgar's first wife-who'd passed away-so most people

didn’t take it seriously anyway

But now that Briar was back, things were different.

In rich circles, appearances matter. If Briar and Javier didn’t officially call off the engagement, people might start

talking-and not in a good way. It could end up making Beatrice look bad.

Briar had figured out their little schthe moment they brought up the welcparty. Their so-called good

intentions were laughable. Still, she smiled and said, “Sure, go ahead and throw the party.”

They really thought they were being slick. But this plan was bound to blow up in their faces.

Halle was caught off guard by how easily Briar agreed. For a second, she didn’t know what to say.

Then she smiled brightly and said, “Perfect! Tomorrow I'll take you and Beatrice dress shopping. It's your first

real event as an adult-you have to look stunning.”

Edgar also seemed pleased. He pulled out a credit card and handed it over. “There's 150 thousand dollars on

this. Use it all if you need to. No need to hold back.”

Beatrice snatched the card before Briar could even move. “Thanks, Dad. You're always so good to Briar and me.”

Edgar patted her head like she was still a little child. “You're both my daughters. Of course I'm good to you.”

Briar watched them put on their little family show and yawned. “Are we done here? I'm going upstairs.”

Honestly, she thought 150 thousand dollars wasn’t much. It was nothing to get worked up about. Beatrice could

keep it if she wanted-Briar wasn’t interested.

Seeing Briar so calm, Halle and Beatrice assumed she was just putting on a brave face. They figured she was

heartbroken over Edgar favoring Beatrice, In their minds, Briar would probably go cry in her room later.

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