Chapter 43: Hey Sis
A strong hand held her in place and slowly helped her stand straight. She lifted her eyes and froze when her gaze met Kai’s.
His glasses were back on, and the man she had seen last night was gone. Shivers ran down her spine as the wheels in her head began to turn.
If Kai was here, that meant...
Her eyes flickered to the man beside him as she completed the thought.
Leo King.
Her eyes widened slightly before she quickly looked away. Why was Leo here? What business did he have with her father? Cold sweat beaded on her neck.
Kai’s hand remained on the small of her back, his brows deeply furrowed with concern and urgency.
The maids stopped at a respectable distance. They had been taught never to embarrass the Sullivan family.
"Are you okay, miss?" Kai asked, removing his hand from her back. His eyes moved to the maids, assessing them carefully.
Kai was well aware that she was a member of the Sullivan family, but he didn’t know the nature of her relationship with them. He had seen her run, and he had seen the maids chase after her. He had rightly concluded that something was wrong. But she had seemed fine last night.
"No, I mean... Yes, of course." She said, her voice breaking. She cleared her throat as she turned around.
The maids were huddled at a distance. They didn’t approach, yet they hadn’t abandoned their instructions to take her back upstairs.
Kai took a step back, uncertainty crossing his features as he reassessed the situation.
Violet tried not to make eye contact with Leo, so she kept her gaze fixed elsewhere.
Leo, meanwhile, observed the scene without comment. If the business deal with Mr. Sullivan went as planned, they would become business partners, but that gave him no right to meddle in household affairs.
Although this was an unexpected sight.
Kai, on the other hand, knew he had to keep his composure. He couldn’t give any hint that he was worried about her.
She would probably not be allowed to leave, so he’d have to figure out a way to get her out. "I’ll assume that—" Kai began, only to be interrupted.
"Violet!" A soft feminine voice called. Heads turned toward it.
Heels clicked sharply against the floor. A blonde woman with blue eyes took confident steps forward.
"Stephanie." Violet called under her breath, biting her lip.
Had she just returned from her trip? Violet wondered, and her mood immediately darkened.
Stephanie was currently the last person she wanted to see.
Stephanie had a practiced smile plastered on her face. She stopped in front of both men and inclined her head slightly in greeting.
"Good afternoon. I’m guessing you’re here to see my father. He must be waiting in his study." She said politely, her appearance radiated elegance and poise.
"Mary, show them upstairs." Stephanie said to one of the maids.
Leo acknowledged her with a nod and stepped forward without glancing at Violet, while Kai threw one last look her way, then adjusted his glasses before following.
With the men gone, Violet was left alone with Stephanie and five maids.
Stephanie wore an expensive cream-colored dress that hugged her frame perfectly, her blonde hair styled in loose waves.
She crossed her arms over her chest and studied Violet, her lips parted in an amused smirk.
The last time she had seen Violet, she was a shadow of herself, she looked sick and unkempt. But the Violet before her had changed considerably.
Violet glanced over her shoulder, gauging the distance between where she stood and the gate. She could cover it in two minutes.
"I didn’t expect to see you here. Isn’t this just the most pleasant surprise?"
"It’s nice to see you too, but we’ll have to catch up another time. I must leave right now." Violet said and made to walk past her.
Stephanie’s lips curved to the side. "I’m afraid you can’t." She wasn’t sure of all the details, but she had spent all afternoon with Dylan, and he had updated her on recent family matters—one of which involved Violet stealing two hundred million.
Seeing the maids and Violet together, she immediately knew Violet couldn’t be allowed to leave.
The maids moved closer than they had seconds before and grabbed her shoulders. "Take her to her room." Stephanie ordered.
Violet wanted to put up a fight, or at least try to speak to Stephanie so she could use her system on her, but there was no time. She was pulled roughly by the maids.
Held down by five maids, her frantic struggles proved useless.
The door slammed shut in her face and was locked from outside.
Violet banged her fist against the door, screaming to be let out.
That moment greatly reminded her of her last night in the apocalypse, when she was betrayed by Liam. She had drummed her fists on the door then, pleading to be let inside.
This time was different, now she needed to be let out. There were no zombies, still, she felt like the walls were closing in.
She stopped hitting the door, slid one hand through her hair, then pressed her back against it and slowly slipped to the ground.
She closed her eyes and banged her head against the door repeatedly.
She tried to even her breathing, but she couldn’t. She felt angry. Too angry.
Something thick and dark lodged itself in her chest.
’Violet, you need to be calm. That’s the only way you can get out of here.’ she whispered to herself.
’Why couldn’t I use my system? I should have used it on Stephanie when I had the chance.’ She felt a deep sense of disappointment with herself, forgetting that there were situations beyond her control.
There had been no opportunity to use the system, and sometimes people forgot to act in the moment because they were caught off guard.
Violet exhaled slowly, letting the tension and anger roll off her shoulders.
She stayed in that position for ten minutes before walking to the edge of the bed and sitting down. She tapped her foot on the floor repeatedly.
Thirty minutes later, Violet felt like she was losing her mind when the door opened.
Stephanie walked in gracefully and closed the door behind her.
When she turned to Violet, there was a gloating smile on her lips.
"Hey sis, I thought I should come keep you company." She said in her usual polite voice. To an outsider, they would easily mistake her calm demeanor and elegant appearance for kindness, but Violet knew better.
Stephanie was a white lotus. A pretender and a bully.
As she watched her glide elegantly toward her, Violet realized this might work in her favor. She hadn’t had a better opportunity to use her system than this, and she wasn’t going to waste it.
Stephanie sat on the bed, keeping a distance between them. "Can I sit?" Stephanie asked.
"You’re already sitting." Violet’s voice was cold as she spoke, angling her body toward Stephanie.
The only reason she would look at Stephanie was so she could use her system.
After settling down, Stephanie began, "I hope you don’t take this..." she gestured around the room, "...the wrong way. I was simply following Dad’s orders. I would never want to hurt you." She reached for Violet’s hand.
Violet moved her hand away, but not quickly enough. Stephanie’s fingers grazed hers.
That touch was enough for Violet to feel her skin prickle.
Violet’s reaction didn’t surprise Stephanie even though she felt a bit offended. "Dylan told me something—"
The rest of her words faded as Violet blinked and the system appeared in front of her.
Seeing the floating, translucent screen emitting a blue glow, Violet felt a calm, soothing wave of relief wash over her.
Her heart pounded in her chest with anticipation. She would soon leave this godforsaken place.
She skipped the insight. With Stephanie, there would be nothing of value emotionally.
Stephanie wasn’t particularly intelligent, so Violet didn’t have to worry about high resistance.
She felt the familiar pressure behind her eyes as she locked eyes with Stephanie. A dot appeared on Stephanie’s forehead.
Time slowed, and Stephanie stopped speaking.
"I need to leave, but Dad won’t allow it. You can be a good sister for once and take me out. Walk me to the gate and take responsibility for whatever consequences may follow. You’ll do it, right?" Violet asked.
The request sounded unreasonable to Stephanie, but still, she nodded, gripping the bed. "Of course. Let’s get you out of here."
Violet smiled, and the moment snapped when she blinked.
Stephanie led her out. The maids were unable to stop them.
Everyone knew Stephanie was favored by her father. Going against her would definitely cause problems in the house.
So when Stephanie firmly stated that Violet needed to leave, no one objected and Harry was too busy in the study to be disturbed.
Violet flashed a triumphant smile as they walked past the other staff.
Once she was outside the gate, she pressed one hand over her chest and let out a breath. She couldn’t risk being taken back into the house if her father discovered what had happened and gave new orders.
So she began to walk down the road.
She brought out her phone, intending to call a cab, then decided to call Jen instead.
The sun was beginning to set, and her day had been ruined.
She was about to dial Jen’s number when a black sedan stopped beside her and honked. This caused her to stop. She turned briefly before continuing her walk, but the car followed her, driving slowly.
She lifted a brow at the unfamiliar car that honked again. It was clear she was the one it was following.
She turned toward it, wondering who could be inside when the driver’s door opened and a man stepped out.
"Miss Adams." He called.
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the man before her.
She remembered him, even though he presumably wasn’t supposed to recognize her.
Dominic wasn’t supposed to recognize Kierra Adams when she wasn’t wearing any makeup.