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,

past several days had left their plans to investigate 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 discover that Maia had

headline,” Melanie said, offering her phone to Ethan. The screen displayed a photo of Maia at

business he had acting as Maia’s bodyguard. Given Chris’ reputation as the Cooper family’s illegitimate son, Mariana had never approved of him, especially since Maia was her chosen future

shadowing Maia everywhere and internet gossip swirling

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

???? ?????? ?? ?????????Ⳓ???

that Maia had gone to Sceibar with Chris.

entrance of the advanced placement classroom after catching wind of the news, only to

“Seriously, Melanie, what game are you

she puzzled over

business. So why did seeing him with Melanie always leave her feeling