Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 82: All she had ever wanted was for them to see her.

Hearing Sandra's words, Richard finally leaned back and let himself relax. A beat later, he let out a sharp, humorless snort. "Truth is, people aren't built the same. Rosanna made it through hell because she's got our blood. Maia? She's trash. Bad from the inside out. You could dress her up and throw money at her, but she'll always be a crow trying to pass for a swan."

Sliding her head onto his shoulder, Sandra let out a soft, contented sigh. "Fate finally did something right. Rosanna came back to us. To have such a talented daughter… Honestly, I could not ask for anything more. As for Maia, I would be grateful if she would stay out of our way and cause no trouble for our family. All those years we spent raising her? They were nothing but a complete waste."

Richard's voice dropped to a grumble as he said, "She only lived as well as she did because we cleaned up her messes. Now that she's cut off, I doubt she'll last a month out there." A sudden crease formed between Sandra's brows. "You know, I heard she's been seeing some man lately. You think he's the reason our company's been hit with problems?"

A long silence stretched between them before Richard gave a hard shake of his head. "Not a chance. Even if she managed to cozy up to some rich guy and is riding high for now, he's just passing the time. No man with real business sense would ever gamble his future on a woman with a record. It won't take long before she crosses a line, and once she crashes, I'm betting she'll be knocking on our door within three weeks, crying to be let back in."

From where she stood, Sandra pressed her lips into a tight, bitter line and sneered. "She really thinks she can treat our home like some roadside inn? Coming and going whenever she pleases? Even if she comes crying at our doorstep, I will slam the door right in her face."

Long after the house had fallen silent, Rosanna lay wide awake, her mind unsettled, despite having successfully pushed Jarrod into targeting Maia.

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Something about the whole plan gnawed at her, refusing to let her rest.

On bare feet, Rosanna crept down the hallway toward Jarrod's room.

The door gave a soft groan as she eased it open. Inside, Jarrod slept heavily, his phone resting unattended on the nightstand.

Crossing the room in a few careful steps, Rosanna scooped up the phone and unlocked it without hesitation. Jarrod had trusted her enough to share his passcode long ago.

A few taps later, the screen pulled up a message thread - Jarrod's conversation with the thugs he had hired.

Apparently, he'd gone after a few street punks, thinking that it would be more than enough to rough Maia up and scare her off.

The payment he promised was laughably small, but since the target was just a woman, they had jumped at the offer without hesitation.

One particular message stood out: "Strip her. Snap some shots. That's it. No touching."

A frown creased Rosanna's forehead as she glanced over at Jarrod's sleeping form.

He was going far too easy on Maia.

If they were already crossing that line, Rosanna thought grimly, why not go all the way? Why leave the job half-finished?

In her mind, this was the only way to rip Maia out of Vince's heart forever. Vince would never be able to look at Maia the same way once he saw her defiled.

With chilling calm, Rosanna typed a new message using Jarrod's phone: "She's all yours. Have fun. Just make sure you get plenty of photos."

Before second-guessing herself, she deleted the fresh message from the chat history and placed the phone neatly back on the nightstand.

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