The artificial lake had to have another exit.
The second Sebastian jumped in, whoever had grabbed her disappeared.
Lexi stood at the shore, soaked and steady.
She would find proof.
Lauren wouldn’t escape next time.
“Drink this.”
A pale hand held out a cup of ginger tea.
Steam curled into the air.
Lexi inhaled the warmth and swallowed the tears threatening to spill.
She had almost died.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, looking up at Evan Cole.
Her eyes were bright despite everything.
For a moment, he seemed caught off guard.
“I believe you,” he said gently.
“I’ll help you.”
She’d seen enough cruelty to distrust kindness.
Yet from someone she barely knew, the reassurance felt real.
Exhausted, Lexi returned home.
She froze at the doorway.
Sebastian Blackwood sat on her sofa, legs crossed, gaze cold and unreadable.
“I don’t want a repeat of today,” he said, rising slowly.
Lexi was too drained to argue.
“If you’re finished, please leave. I need rest.”
His expression hardened.
“You have plenty to say to others. But not to me?”
“I don’t need your trust,” she shot back.
“I’ll find someone who believes me. And I didn’t ask to be here. If someone wants me on that set, they can handle the consequences.”
The air tightened.
“Remember what you said,” Sebastian replied.
“Don’t regret it.”
He left, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the frame.
The sound echoed like gunfire.
Had she angered him again? Get faster updates on g.com.
The next morning, Connor didn’t come for her.
Lexi made her own way to set.
Everyone was waiting.
“Alexandra Starling! Do you know what time it is?” the director barked, throwing a script.
It struck her face before falling to the ground.
Sebastian had rewritten her role overnight.
The servant was gone.
Now she was a national heroine—a warrior fighting for justice.
And today was a fight scene.
Explosions.
Multiple attackers.
A near-death climax.
Lexi scanned the stunt notes, unease creeping in.
Charges were set into the ground.
When one detonated near her feet, dirt burst upward.
So this was his version of help.
She pushed forward anyway.
The early sequences went smoothly.
Then came the close combat—three men circling her while Lauren cowered behind.
Suddenly, Lauren shoved her.
The actors stumbled.
One blade sliced across Lexi’s arm.
Pain flared.
Blood spilled down her sleeve.
The men froze and checked their weapons.
Real.
“Director!” Lexi pressed her hand against the wound.
“What is this?”
The director glanced at Lauren, then shrugged. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“You weren’t careful. Don’t blame me.”
“Don’t twist this,” Lexi snapped, sweat beading from pain.
“Explain—or I walk.”
Before the argument could escalate, Evan stepped in.
His gaze swept the set, then settled on her injury.
“Let’s go to the hospital.”
She nodded.
Lauren stood nearby, composed as ever.
Untouchable.
“You suspect her,” Evan said quietly once they were alone.
“But confronting her won’t work. She’s Sebastian’s woman. She’s the lead—and she brought investors. Everyone accommodates her. Even me.”
Lexi understood.
That didn’t make it easier.
After her arm was bandaged, Evan took her to a quiet, upscale restaurant.
“You lost blood,” he said.
“Order whatever you want.”
She shook her head lightly.
His care felt heavy—like a debt forming.
“You’re new,” he continued.
“If you want to stay in this industry, you need respect. I think you can surpass Lauren one day.”
Lexi managed a faint smile.
She wanted to succeed.
But would Lauren ever allow it?
Dinner softened the tension between them.
Evan reminded her too much of someone she once loved—his warmth, his ease.
He began inviting her out more often.
She didn’t always refuse.
One evening, as she walked home, a black car screeched to a stop beside her.
Before she could react, she was pulled inside.
Sebastian Blackwood sat next to her, expression dark.
He tossed a stack of photographs onto her lap.