Fake heiress Real heroine

Chapter 24

* 63%

Hearing that, Joseph let out a sharp exhale. If he’d been drinking something, he probably would have spit it out.

He glanced at Quinlyn, his lips twitching. “So why did you.. take the teacher’s phone?” he asked, stopping himself just short of saying “steal”

“It seemed odd.” Quinlyn muttered, unaware of his conflicted look. She typed furiously, trying to crack the password. “A cop once said people hide secrets in their phones. They check them because it makes them feel safe.”

Joseph furrowed his brow, processing what she was saying. “You think Mr. Lambert’s shady or something?”

Quinlyn shook her head, still focused on the phone. “Not sure yet,” she said. But she was determined to dig deeper and uncover the truth.

Joseph used to roll his eyes at assumptions like these–blaming someone without proof was just dumb. But Quinlyn had saved his butt more than once and proved herself over and over. Now he trusted her just like Stanley did, no questions asked

Instead of talking about returning the phone, he asked, “Can you unlock it? If not, maybe Stanley could-“He cut himself off, staring at the screen now filled with lines of code. His mouth dropped open.

If he knew Quinlyn was the one who sent Mordoria the blooming roses during that backer alliance chaos, he’d be blown

away

Three seconds later, there was a soft “ding,” and the phone unlocked, the screen lighting up.

Quinlyn was new to smartphones and still figuring things out. She accidentally opened the camera app and jumped when she saw her own face on the screen.

Joseph leaned over with a smile, about to help her out. But as his eyes caught a photo thumbnail in the corner, his smile vanished, and he quickly covered Quinlyn’s eyes with his hand.

“You don’t need to see what’s next,” he said, his voice turning cold. “Give me the phone, okay?”

paused for a second, then handed over the phone. She knew Joseph needed to handle this, especially since it had something to do

in the driver’s seat, scrolling through the phone in silence. After a few minutes, he stepped out, his face tense. When he returned, Quinlyn saw his hands were scraped

hurting themselves. She took a moment, then spoke up, her voice steady.

on a tissue, then playfully tousled her hair. The anger in his eyes faded, and his usual warmth returned.

it,” he said,

been through something

in his eyes. “Nope. Gotta get her

to push for more.

blurted out, glancing over at her.

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18

Chapter 24

shaking her head thoughtfully. “I can’t skip she murmured. “We have PF dass this afternoon, and there’s

test was nothing to worry about for

is up to something, the other kids might be

car door, but her determination was fierce. It was like ray of

quietly. “Alright, but be careful. I’ll wrap up what I’m doing and get over there. If something happens, don’t jump in without

was seriously

break ended fast, and kids started heading back

one noticed Mandy’s empty seat–except Quinlyn, who kept checking it out. Eventually, she joined the

class.

needing support from friends. But Quinlyn looked like

rest of the period’s free. Go find some shade and chill,” he said, seeing that nobody had the energy to keep going.

packs over in the shade. We brought a bunch. You should join us, they said, pulling out their cards with excitement.

shiny, new cards. She didn’t quite understand the appeal, but she politely declined the invitation. “I’ll join you next time when I have my own. She didn’t want to play with borrowed cards–it just didn’t feel