Shining Bright After Rebirth

Chapter 969 Your Reputation Is. Ruined

“Jenny,” Diana said, her voice low, “I’ll give you the address in ten days. Be careful, okay? I’m hanging up now, but I’ll send you some gifts later.”

“Jenny…” Diana wanted to ask more, but Jenny had already ended the call.

Diana’s mind raced, and a question she hadn’t considered before began to gnaw at her.

Andrew wasn’t Steven’s biological father–so where was Steven’s real dad?

Jenny had sounded in a surprisingly good mood on the phone, so had she always known the truth?

Had she kept quiet because of how easily Steven was manipulated by Queenie back then?

But no, that didn’t make sense.

Diana, having been a mother herself, knew all too well the lengths a mother would go for her child.

Just like in her past life, when Steven found out she was pregnant, he tried to imprison her, threatening to take the child

In’t obey.

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She hadn’t fought back, staying locked in that mansion for three months, all for the sake of giving birth to her child–and ultimately, meeting her death.

She stood up, her thoughts spinning as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

With every new truth she uncovered this past year, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Leopold was hiding something from her

too.

Diana let out a heavy sigh, expelling the tension from her chest.

She gazed out the window at the swirling snow, her long lashes fluttering as she smiled softly. Her perfect eyebrows arched slightly, and she spoke to herself in a whisper, “Steven, who are we really to each other? Am I your pawn, or are you mine?”

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like Jenny was the hidden mastermind, the one pulling the strings from the

shadows.

But who had sent her away all those years ago?

that Jenny had always been the kind of mother who would do

mental institution under the guise of being mentally ill, and from that point on, Diana had never seen

for

bed,

to the truth, the more she realized how far–reaching

onion–every layer revealed something new, and none of it made the situation

*****

beside him, her face a mask

was awake, every time he closed his eyes, he was pulled back into the

mercilessly, blood pouring from his wounds,

it–how had his

this?

been full of joy had turned

awake,” Queenie said, her voice trembling with relief. Her eyes were red from crying, and

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his voice soft. “Don’t cry. I’m fine. Just

have a mild concussion. They’ll need to keep you under observation for another week before you can leave the hospital. I’ll call

George replied, his

His

moment, staring at her. He quickly moved his legs and arms, testing his

without trouble, he let out a breath he hadn’t

Why are you in a wheelchair?” he asked, his

legs. The people who’d done this to her had at least spared her other leg, but one was

was Diana. She must’ve planned this as revenge. She’s in a wheelchair now, so she wants

while fireworks echoed outside, she had been stuck in the hospital, her dreams of

Your Reputation

send someone after us on Christmas?” Queenie’s frustration was palpable, but there was little she could do right now. She, too, needed

Even if

her voice softer now, “you need to focus on getting better. Don’t think about anything else. After this Christmas is over, we’ve got a lot of things to take care of.” Queenie’s thoughts drifted to the plot of

not just gonna

low–key, fooling you, fooling Steven, fooling Paula,” he continued. “She’s good, but she’s hiding too much. I never took her seriously before,

but handed him

clear. “George, I feel like we’re losing control of this whole situation. Maybe we should come up

Reputation Is Ruined

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rage simmered beneath the surface. “What Diana’s doing is pure revenge. She’s playing the game so well, that I never saw her for what she is. But now,