A False Heiress's Guide to Love and Power

Chapter 218

Dawson, the butler, stood silently outside the bedroom door and closed it gently, shutting out every sound from inside.

“What’s wrong, Dawson?” York asked.

Dawson raised a finger to his lips in a hush gesture, glancing at the tightly locked door. York took one last look, then led Rex away.

Inside, the air was thick with tension.

Scott’s voice was cold and sharp. “I can’t believe I, of all people, could make such a mistake–bringing you back, when you turned out to be so utterly useless!”

If he hadn’t worried that a messy public reunion would tank the company’s stock, and if Ileana hadn’t always seemed more pliable and easy to manage than Alessia, with a temperament better suited for a marriage alliance–he never would have thrown away a real diamond in exchange for a cheap imitation.

“Tomorrow–no, tonight! Tonight you’ll pack your things and get on the first plane out of the country. I don’t want to see you again until you’re old enough for the marriage we arranged. That’s all you’re good for–your greatest contribution to the Tate family. If you care about keeping any of this luxury, you’ll do exactly as you’re told. Alessia isn’t even a Tate anymore and she’s still thriving. If you think you can do better, go ahead and try.”

She barely spoke a word of any other language, and with her swollen, aching cheek, she couldn’t even argue back.

clear: if she ever lost the

so bad. At least there, she

orders. That very night, she left for a foreign country. Unlike the grand estate where Max and York lived, her new home

Still, Sp

arranged for

best she could, terrified someone might see what she’d been through. The front door was locked

1/2

Even her calls to the house’s butler

under her breath. Dawn was breaking, and all she wanted was a

opened. A white–haired,

or even reach for her luggage. Annoyed, Ileana shoved her suitcase in

simply stepped back, hands clasped behind his back, his point

pain in her jaw forced her to shut her mouth, and she could only glare