Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 864:

A genuine laugh slipped from her. “Sounds good. See you soon.”

Sliding her phone into her bag, Maia shot a quick look at the man seated at the wheel beside her.

The way Chris handled the car — calm, precise, and unhurried — offered a comfort she couldn’t quite explain.

Now that Pattie was in the loop about the two of them, sharing a meal together hardly felt out of the ordinary.

Before Maia could bring up her own thoughts, Chris spoke first, his voice low and certain. “Dinner’s on me tonight. You and Pattie are my guests.”

Meanwhile, over at Wront University’s advanced placement classroom, Melanie went straight to Ethan the moment the bell rang.

“Ethan, your sister’s back in town!”

in her voice,

Maia’s disappearance completely stalled. Melanie’s worries had grown, especially when even Ethan couldn’t get through to Maia. Those concerns led her to confide in her father, Hurst, who immediately dispatched people to find answers — only to

displayed a photo of Maia at the airport, surrounded

Maia’s side and couldn’t help but scowl. She wondered what business he had acting as Maia’s bodyguard. Given Chris’ reputation as the Cooper family’s illegitimate son,

everywhere and internet gossip

another word, Ethan said, “I’m calling Maia now. Tonight, we move forward with our old plan — the detective’s

𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨Ⳓ𝙘𝙤𝙢

was surprised to learn that Maia had gone to Sceibar with Chris.

advanced placement classroom after catching wind of the news, only to spot Melanie standing uncomfortably close to Ethan

muttered, “Seriously, Melanie, what game are you playing now?” and turned away

puzzled over the source of

business. So why did