Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 895: Frozen on the screen, Maia's face appeared resolute and unflinching. Something about that image made an odd tension rise inside Raegan. Maia's behavior was too unusual. Her poise in the midst of bedlam hinted at something unshakable, something practiced. Had Raegan not known about Maia's background, she would have thought Maia was a seasoned, well-trained special operative. That unsettled feeling spurred Raegan on, so she wasted no time searching for Maia's public records once more. With each layer Raegan peeled back, the situation only grew stranger.

Somehow, a woman with a criminal past had emerged as the celebrated composer known as K. She was also recognized as Eileen Vaughn, the lead designer at MCN. Just recently, another revelation surfaced: Maia had been unmasked as Matias Watts, the artist featured at the gallery show. The pieces did not fit together. Raegan felt as if she were staring at several mismatched lives all forced into the shape of one person. Could any single individual genuinely pull off such feats? Or had these dazzling achievements been staged, with Maia crafted into an elaborate persona by unseen hands?

What other explanation made sense? Perhaps her time behind bars had not been ordinary at all. Maybe Maia had spent those years with a covert group like "The Mask," enduring rigorous preparation. That possibility couldn't be dismissed. Raegan even caught herself wondering if Maia had ever set foot inside a cell at all. There were simply too many gaps, too many unanswered questions, to reach a clear conclusion. Yet one fact remained-Maia's mind was remarkably strong. Whatever the chaos, Maia moved through it with calm certainty.

Had she really spent four years locked away, or did her absence point to intensive, secret training? To Raegan, the latter appeared increasingly likely. The truth seemed within reach, but there was still something amiss, something that she didn't find reasonable. ν⩸ A sigh escaped Raegan as she pressed back against her chair, pressing her fingers to her temples in irritation. That was when the door opened with a gentle touch. A quiet sound cut through the room as the not-quite-closed handle turned. The interruption jolted Raegan, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Quickly, she minimized everything on her screen that referenced Maia. With rigid hands, she switched her display to a fresh tab, doing her best to seem absorbed in global headlines. A moment later, Kiley glided in. The silver-gray silk of her robe caught the low light, and something faintly sharp flickered beneath her relaxed exterior. "You're tucked away in here by yourself, no lights on, not even a lamp?" Her words drifted out, easy and soft, but Raegan caught a detached sort of amusement. Pulling herself together, Raegan managed a small, convincing smile. "Lights slipped my mind.

Got bored, so I started scrolling through the news," she said, matching Kiley's easy tone and masking any hint of anxiety. In the blink of an eye, Kiley moved closer, dipping down to murmur near Raegan's ear, "Raegan..." She let the name hang, voice playful and teasing. "Are you sure you're not keeping something from me?" Instantly, Raegan's posture turned rigid. She barely had a chance to respond before Kiley reached over and claimed the mouse for herself. . . .