Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 818:

While Mariana tried to regain her composure, Kiley remained at her side. Her face revealed nothing, but her eyes grew sharp as she studied Maia’s image on the screen.

Without saying a word, she turned and began walking away, thoughts spinning about what could have drawn Claudius to someone like Maia.

Seeing Kiley move off, Mariana scrambled after her.

Neither of them noticed that Raegan, trailing behind, had turned pale, clenching her fists tightly.

Raegan was getting her second real look at Maia. Her gaze stayed glued to the screen, where Maia’s gentle face appeared calm and collected. Each breath felt tighter, as if invisible hands were squeezing her heart.

Not even a day earlier, Raegan had been convinced that Maia’s looks were nothing special, and her figure less remarkable than hers. This time, though…

of every spotlight, Maia held herself with a poise that seemed to draw the gaze

seeing her walk in sent Raegan’s heart reeling, tangled in the same storm it had barely calmed from before. The thought that The Mask’s leader could have fallen for Maia swept over her all at once, pressing down on

past was marked by time behind bars. What did she have that could ever measure up to The Mask’s elusive

mix of envy and frustration rose in Raegan, flooding her with a bitterness she struggled to push

to stand there?” Kiley called, snapping her out of her haze. “Come on, we need to

jolted Raegan back to her senses. She responded quickly, picking up her pace to rejoin the

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them to set up a clear space in front of the renowned painting Rebirth, cordoning off the area to prevent anyone from disturbing the

intervals, forming a human barrier to protect the proceedings. Off to the side, the

row boasted veteran professors from the Royal Academy of Arts in Sceibar, the Royal Art Museum’s director, the Minglewood Collectors’ Association’s president, and a handful of