Chapter 98 A Ticking Time Bomb
Chapter 98 A Ticking Time Bomb
+5 Free Coins
Thomas didn’t say much, but his look at Stella made it obvious that his warmth and affection had noticeably faded.
When Davina found out, she wasn’t the least bit surprised. She let our a dry, cutting laugh.
On the other end of the call, Percy’s voice came through. “Looks like the Summers isn’t doing much to follow up on this.”
Davina smirked. “I got it Keep an eye on the Palmers, and let me know if anything shifts. While you’re at it, leak the story about Stella not being their real daughter to a few tabloid outlets. And make sure they know where the Palmers are living these days.”
She
ended the call and returned to the road, steering toward Northside Correctional Facility.
Sacha had lent Percy, a savvy veteran who knew Zlanta like the back of his hand, to her recently–temporarily, at least.
She did it because she knew Davina didn’t have many trusted people around her.
Davina had considered turning the offer down, but truthfully, all of her people were tied up with their own projects, so she kept Percy around.
He was good. Sharp. Professional. Easy to work with.
And he got things done quickly.
Davina wasn’t naive. She knew one scandal wouldn’t be enough to knock Stella off her pedestal with the Summers.
The girl had a talent for weaponizing tears and playing the victim.
A few well–timed lies, and she’d have the whole family siding with her again.
This was especially true now that she’d signed with a central talent agency and was about to debut in the entertainment industry.
The Summers wouldn’t have been at risk of a PR mess right before she hit the spotlight.
but cracks had already begun to show, and Davina knew better than anyone that once a fracture starts, it only spreads.
Stella was no longer the flawless daughter. And that mattered.
Davina pulled up outside the prison and glanced at her watch.
A few minutes later, a lone figure walked through the front gate.
She scanned the lot, spotted Davina’s sleek sports car, and smiled faintly before striding over.
Moments later, she was sliding into the passenger seat.
The woman looked in her mid–20s, with delicate features and porcelain–pale skin that gave her a slightly fragile, almost ghostly appearance.
I didn’t think you’d actually come pick me up.”
Her voice was calm and flat like it had been drained of emotion, lifeless, almost.
There was a quiet stillness to her that hinted at someone who’d been through too much and stopped expecting anything. from the world
Davina was used to that kind of quiet detachment by now “Well, I don’t have many redeeming qualities,” she said dryly. “But I do keep my word”
She never considered herself particularly likable
If she had been, maybe her past life wouldn’t have ended with people hiring, humen to take her out
1/2
Chapter 98 A Ticking Time Bomb
She wasn’t
Htly paint north. She acted on instinct, emoti
Still, she had a few strengths. And for the most part, they were righ
“I’ve been a little swamped lately, Davina added Tve got a held of medicinal herbs that needs tending Oner we’re back, I’l show you what
Reen’s eyes lit up for the first time, a thicker of life leaking through the fog
Davina caught it and continued, “You don’t have to stay. That’s your call
Iterm had once been a rising star in medical research, brilliant, focused, and a little odnessive about pharmacology.
She’d developed a groundbreaking new drug, but her mentor stole her research and then framed her for working on a banned substance.
The charges stuck. She ended up behind bars and eventually transferred to Northside Correctional Facility.
Most people didn’t know that Northside Correctional Facility wasn’t just any prison.
Buried inside was a separate, more secure wing–a prison within a prison.
That wing housed some of the most dangerous minds around. Not killers. Not thugs.
Geniuses. Savants. People who had broken the law but whose skills made them too valuable to discard.
They weren’t on death row, but they weren’t exactly free to go, either.
And because they were brilliant and often unstable, they gave the warden constant headaches.
No one quite knew what to do with them.
They were a ticking time bomb but also a future golduli assets to the
they ever got out, some could become leaders in their fehls,
9/2
