A False Heiress's Guide to Love and Power

“Rex, come here.” The child’s voice rang out clear, carrying across the room. The German Shepherd, who’d been sprawled lazily nearby, perked up at the command and bounded over at once.

“Good boy.” York ruffled Rex’s fur, grinning as the dog wagged his tail furiously by his side, showing not a hint of remorse for causing a scene.

The two–boy and dog–were soon lost in their own world, playing together, completely ignoring the curious stares from the other guests.

“Butler Dawson, take the dog away.” No one had noticed Max appear behind York, his tone cool and authoritative. York looked annoyed but reluctantly handed the

leash to Butler Dawson.

With the dog led away, an awkward silence settled over the party. In the corner, Stella was grinning so wide her eyes disappeared. She quickly sent the video she’d just recorded to someone, then, with a deliberate “slip,” forwarded it to the class group chat–only to delete it moments later.

The group chat went dead silent, but Stella knew she’d already achieved what she

wanted.

“Didn’t expect you to be such a troublemaker,” Penny teased, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

“Takes one to know one,” Stella shot back without missing a beat.

an eyebrow but let it drop. Truth was, she wasn’t

had dragged her straight to the Sullivans for a formal introduction. She fawned over her cousins, played the perfect angel in front of the adults, and always seemed to highlight

to swallowing her feelings, but not everyone else was so patient. In the end, Ileana always managed to come out on top.

as she saw Stella pocket her phone and get

show’s over. Time to call it a night. See you tomorrow.” Stella gave

wave and sauntered–out.

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had teamed up for one simple reason: they were both pawns, trapped in the games of the Sullivans and the Tates. No matter how hard they tried, they’d never get a share of the real power. If they wanted to break free from this

glanced toward the stage. At some point, Yvonne had already whisked

away.

Max didn’t speak right away; instead, he offered

To make it up to you, I’ve prepared a few small gifts.

the room back under control. The guests responded in kind, and the tension that had gripped the party began to dissipate. Scott, watching from the sidelines, finally allowed himself a hint of

mingled, the conversation quickly shifted to Max’s early achievements and stories about his time abroad. The mood lightened, and, by the end of the evening, no one mentioned Ileana or even remembered

changed in an instant. He scanned the room,