Chapter 44:

As Kallie stormed upstairs, her anger palpable, Jake stood in the hallway, his brow furrowed in deep thought. He felt the urge to follow her but resisted, knowing that any confrontation now would only escalate the situation. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed Sarah. Kallie had insisted that neither Stella nor Sarah were to blame, but Jake couldn’t shake the lingering doubts her words had left.

The phone rang, and Sarah picked up quickly. Before she could speak, Jake got straight to the point. “Do you know anything about the fire at Linsey’s bookstore tonight?”

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There was a brief pause on the other end as Sarah absorbed the question. It was clear she hadn’t expected such an accusation.

“Jake, that’s unfair!” Sarah finally responded, her voice tinged with disbelief and hurt. “What has Kallie told you? Why would you think I had anything to do with this? I’ve accepted my place by your side. What would I gain from harming her? It wouldn’t change anything for me.”

Her voice grew more desperate as she continued. “In a world with laws, I’d be in jail for something like this! Killing Kallie would only complicate things for me. Why would I bring that kind of trouble into my life?”

Jake remained silent for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. “I’m not accusing you. I just want to know if Stella mentioned anything suspicious to you.”

confusion and concern. “Are you saying she was behind this? Did the police find something? Jake, if she was involved, I swear I didn’t know. I would have stopped her if I had! I’d never let things get that dangerous, especially over something

said anything to you that might explain this,”

didn’t know she was capable of something like this,” Sarah insisted, her voice sincere. “Yes, I’m jealous of Kallie, but not enough to wish harm on her. I’m not even close to Stella. If she did all this because of what happened at her grandfather’s birthday, that’s terrifying. I don’t understand her at

said evenly, before

wasn’t done investigating. He immediately dialed his assistant. “Look into Stella’s schedule from the time Kallie started at Hayden’s studio. And find out where she got that bracelet Kallie

with Kallie unknowingly caught in the middle. Rubbing his temples, he

downstairs wearing a brightly colored outfit, a stark contrast to her usual muted attire. It was as if she had

the sudden change, asked, “Madam, are you

gesturing to ask what was on

spread of your favorites,” the butler replied, still adjusting to her transformation

entire day. She asked the butler to have her lunch delivered to the studio, even offering

recently requested that Kallie take all her meals at home, and she had complied—until now. “Madam, if Mr. Reeves finds out

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