The Second Life of a Discarded Heiress

Chapter 554

Theo followed their gazes and glanced over, pausing in surprise when he saw the woman's face.

"Jeanette? What's she doing here?"

Remembering she was a friend of his younger sister, he hesitated for a moment, then made his way over and sat across from her.

Jeanette's heart was pounding with excitement, but she forced herself to act oblivious, pretending to be tipsy and out of sorts.

"Who... who are you? Why are you sitting here?" she slurred, looking up at him with feigned confusion.

Theo frowned. "This isn't the kind of place you should be hanging around. Go home, Jeanette."

Jeanette threw her hands in the air in wild exaggeration. "Go home? Go where? The house is gone, my father's in jail, my mother left... I don't have a home anymore."

Only then did Theo remember the recent events, the headlines from earlier that day. He pressed his lips together. "Then you should at least get a room at a hotel for the night."

Jeanette shook her head stubbornly. "I... I haven't had enough to drink yet."

Theo's frown deepened. "You're already drunk. I'll have someone take you back."

leave, but suddenly Jeanette grabbed his

"Don't go," she pleaded.

just being belligerent, Theo tried to pull away, but her grip was surprisingly strong-he couldn't

from beneath the collar of Jeanette's shirt,

hanging from her neck—a battered old locket-and demanded urgently, "Where

triumphant

talking about? This locket's a family keepsake.

you have

course," Jeanette replied, giving

at the locket, tracing the intricate pattern and the single deep scratch across its surface-a mark he remembered all

visited Havencrest with Talbot. Talbot had work to do, so Theo

dazzling for a child, full of noise and color, and Theo-restless and mischievous at that age was drawn

wares to a swirl of locals and tourists. In the chaos, Theo didn't notice the group of shady men following

barely reached a quiet alley when they jumped him, shoving a

fought as hard as he could, but they were stronger-he was just

Theo thought he was done for, a little girl charged out of nowhere,

back, blinded