Return of the Crowned Heiress

Chapter 250

The bodyguard quietly exited, leaving the room in silence. Stephan remained in the study with his phone pressed to his ear. He spoke in a low, determined tone, "Don't worry, Imogen. I'll find out who killed Archie. And I'll track down the missing item too."

He reassured his sister on the other end of the line.

Felicia's new apartment was a modest two-bedroom unit near her college. The neighborhood wasn't the best, but the rent was affordable, and the apartment itself was clean, fully furnished, and surprisingly tidy.

Feeling bad for keeping the cab driver waiting earlier, Felicia handed him triple the fare as a tip.

"Thanks for waiting, sir," she said with a sheepish smile.

The driver waved her off but gave her a word of caution, "Young lady, this area isn't exactly safe, especially for someone like you. Watch your back, okay?"

"I will. Thanks for the heads-up," she replied before heading into the building with her backpack slung over her shoulder.

The stairwell lights flickered to life as her footsteps echoed through the corridor. Felicia was about to press the elevator button when the fire escape door burst open, and a group of teenagers with colored hair came barreling through.

One of them nearly collided with her, but Felicia sidestepped just in time. The boys didn't even pause to apologize as they raced down the hall like they'd just been caught doing something illegal.

Felicia raised an eyebrow.

again. This time, a young woman stormed out, breathless and furious. She gripped a

upon seeing each

"Hey!" Felicia said, surprised.

recognized the woman instantly. It was Carmen, a senior at college. They'd crossed paths a few times. Once, Carmen had stepped in to defend Felicia in the dining hall when Kayla and her friends poured soup on Felicia and another

run into her again,

whitened around the knife's handle, and without a word, she turned on her

en

odd encounter and took the

emerged from the stairwell

units. Felicia rented 701 on the left while the

attention wasn't the open door-it was the photos plastered all over it and the surrounding

photos of Carmen taken from different

weren't just suggestive-they

understood why Carmen had been holding that knife. This must have been the handiwork of the group of punks she had

Posting explicit photos-whether

fake or not-outside someone's

parents or neighbors saw

and her voice defiant. "It's not me. Those photos are fake. They were edited! I didn't do any