Chapter 26 A Whisper of Warning
Chapter 26 A Whisper of Warning
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Back at the Roffe estate, Alisa took her medication, then settled at her desk with a brush pen in hand, speaking to Ricky on the phone as she practiced her calligraphy.
“You think they’ll cave in?” Ricky asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
On the fine parchment before her, she kept writing the same word over and over, each stroke deliberate and steady.
“To be honest, I can’t say I’m fully confident,” she continued. “But this path… it’s the only risky, narrow route I’ve found–one that might actually beat Sabrina.”
“If they still refuse,” Ricky said uneasily, “are we really going to release the photos?”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Alisa’s tone was calm, almost cold.
“That would mean completely burning our bridges with both families,” he reminded her.
She gave a faint, humorless laugh. “Do you think I’m afraid of offending people? If I can’t secure the power we need, then offending them won’t matter.”
Whatever she can’t draw to her side will inevitably drift to Sabrina’s, and then it won’t just be about making enemies.
It’ll be the beginning of the end. In a few years, the Roffes could disappear from this city altogether.
Just then, Cordelia walked in carrying a plate of freshly washed grapes, catching the tail end of Alisa’s words. She stepped over the threshold. “Alisa, who are you talking to?”
Alisa paused, set down her brush, and ended the call.
“The hotel manager. What brings you here?”
Cordelia lifted the plate slightly. “These are fresh. Thought you might like some.”
“Perfect,” Alisa said with a smile.
Cordelia set the grapes on the table–and noticed the paper covered in the repeated character for “plan.”
“Planning something? What are you, a military strategist now?”
Alisa hesitated, then, for the first time, tried sharing the truth.
“Cordelia … if I told you that someday our family will be ruined–that all of us will die and we will go bankrupt–would you believe me?”
Cordelia blinked. “What? Don’t be ridiculous, Alisa. What’s gotten into you?”
She reached over to feel Alisa’s forehead. “No fever. So why are you talking nonsense in broad daylight?”
“I’m serious,” Alisa insisted. “I’m not making this up. Do you believe me?”
Cordelia clearly didn’t. Still, she humored her. “All right, then–if we’re going bankrupt, who’s the one bringing us down?”
“Sabrina.”
Cordelia laughed. “See? And you say you’re not talking nonsense. Look at her now–how could she possibly shake the Roffes? Honestly, Alisa….”
Alisa let it drop.
1/2
3:21 PM P.
Chapter 26 A Whisper of Warning
If Cordelia wouldn’t believe her after hearing it outright, there was no point trying with anyone else.
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Alisa had hoped that if she told them the truth, the family would close ranks, and she wouldn’t have to fight this battle alone. With everyone united, she could plan more thoroughly and strike more effectively.
But Cordelia’s disbelief crushed that hope. If she didn’t believe her, no one else would.
Alisa shook her head. “Never mind, Cordelia–I was teasing you. Just a bad dream I had last night.”
“You’ve still got shadows hanging over you from what the Nelsons put you through,” Cordelia said warmly. “But you’re home now. No one will ever bully you again.”
She took Alisa’s hand and led her to the sofa, peeling grapes for her as they sat. “Come with me to the racetrack tomorrow, There’s a race I want to watch.”
“Sure,” Alisa agreed.
The next morning, Cordelia and Alisa arrived early, picked up their seat numbers, and settled into the same row.
They chatted and laughed as the horses thundered past, the afternoon sun bright over the track.
An hour later, when the race ended, they began making their way toward the exit–only to see Darcy appear out of nowhere, pulling up in his car as if he’d been tracking Cordelia’s every move.
As the two of them stepped out of the racetrack, Darcy’s voice rang out from the side. “Cordelia!”
Alisa turned her head to see him jogging toward them, his expression taut with urgency.
He had finally found a chance to meet her in person. Since Cordelia had returned to her family house, she hadn’t answered his calls or replied to his messages, and the silence had driven him frantic.
“It’s Darcy,” Alisa murmured.
“I know,” Cordelia said under her breath, rolling her eyes. “Persistent as a shadow I can’t shake.”
Her face hardened as he came closer. “What are you doing here?”
Darcy reached for her hand. “Cordelia, why have you been avoiding me? Let’s go home.“.
She jerked her hand free, her tone sharp. “Shouldn’t you be happy I’ve been gone? No one to get in your way, no one to mind your business. You’re not here to take me home–you’re here because you want to borrow money. Did you think I was deaf and blind to what you’ve been doing?”
“Cordelia … no, that’s not true. You’ve got it wrong-”
Their voices rose just enough to catch the attention of passersby, who slowed to watch.
Alisa suggested, “Cordelia, why don’t we talk somewhere else? Too many people here.”
Darcy latched on to the idea. “Yes, let’s.”
Cordelia gave in for Alisa’s sake, and the three of them walked to a nearby ice cream shop. They ordered drinks and sat down, Darcy and Cordelia locking horns again in low, tense voices.
Alisa leaned back in her chair, sipping her cold drink, her gaze drifting to the sunlit street beyond the window, letting their argument fade into the background.
