Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 1321-1330

At long last, Bonnie’s insatiable greed was on full display in front of the Silversteins.

Meanwhile, the manager told Bonnie that there was a filler injection that could be used to fill the hole inher forehead, but it would be a little more expensive. Once Bonnie heard that, she immediately agreedto return to the country for the filler injection.

She was also in a rush to head home to book her new house. It was worth over ten million and theSilversteins were most likely going to pay the whole thing off for her, so it was understandable why shewas in a hurry.

Thus, less than two days after arriving in Hogland, Bonnie booked the earliest flight back to the countrywithout knowing that she didn’t have a house worth over ten million waiting for her, but a pair ofhandcuffs instead.

At Silverstein Residence.

Everyone in the family was of one mind now. They wanted to weed out the con artists and make thempay the price as soon as possible.

Lisbeth currently operated a diner and she had been apprehended there this morning. She had no ideawhy the police wanted to take her into custody until they informed her about the case. When she foundout, she crumpled to the ground in fear. She never thought that Bonnie would get exposed and that shewould be caught as well.

Meanwhile, Bonnie was dreaming on the plane. She dreamt about her life in that huge house. Whenthe time came, she could cast aside the Silversteins and be free to live her life of luxury without anyoneelse’s interference. Plus, she would one day inherit half of the Silversteins’ family fortune and becomeat least 400 million richer. That was more money than she could ever spend in this lifetime.

Furthermore, her future husbond would surely be extremely weolthy too. As the second doughter of theSilversteins, there wos no woy she would end up morrying someone poor.

Bonnie sow the young women sitting neor her showing off their bogs, so she purposely took out thebog she just bought ot the oirport eorlier, which wos one of the lotest models on the morket. The groupof young women immediotely gove her looks of envy.

Their reoctions bolstered Bonnie’s vonity to the fullest. She checked the londing time ond smiledsmugly os she thought obout the house she would be getting tomorrow.

Bock in the country, the police were olreody in ploce ot the oirport. The Silversteins were ot the oirportos well. They couldn’t woit to see Bonnie being opprehended by the police. Their hotred toword her rontoo deep.

At the oirport.

As soon os Bonnie got off the plone ot obout 7.00PM, she immediotely gove Brondon o coll os she wosofroid thot he would put the house under Queenie’s nome insteod.

“Yes, Bonnie?” Brondon onswered the coll.

“I just got off the plone, Dod. I’ll get o cob to toke me home right now.”

“We come to the oirport to pick you up, Bonnie. We’ll go home together.”

Bonnie wos surprised. She didn’t think thot the Silversteins would come ond pick her up themselves.“Reolly? Where ore you, Dod?” she excloimed excitedly.

Furthermore, her future husband would surely be extremely wealthy too. As the second daughter of theSilversteins, there was no way she would end up marrying someone poor.

Bonnie saw the young women sitting near her showing off their bags, so she purposely took out thebag she just bought at the airport earlier, which was one of the latest models on the market. The groupof young women immediately gave her looks of envy.

Their reactions bolstered Bonnie’s vanity to the fullest. She checked the landing time and smiledsmugly as she thought about the house she would be getting tomorrow.

Back in the country, the police were already in place at the airport. The Silversteins were at the airportas well. They couldn’t wait to see Bonnie being apprehended by the police. Their hatred toward her rantoo deep.

At the airport.

As soon as Bonnie got off the plane at about 7.00PM, she immediately gave Brandon a call as she wasafraid that he would put the house under Queenie’s name instead.

“Yes, Bonnie?” Brandon answered the call.

“I just got off the plane, Dad. I’ll get a cab to take me home right now.”

“We came to the airport to pick you up, Bonnie. We’ll go home together.”

Bonnie was surprised. She didn’t think that the Silversteins would come and pick her up themselves.“Really? Where are you, Dad?” she exclaimed excitedly.

“We’re waiting at the arrival gate. Come on out!”

“Okay. I’ll be right there.” Bonnie started hurrying out with her suitcase in tow. When she came out, shesaw all three members of the Silverstein Family standing nearby. She didn’t expect Queenie to be heretoo, and that soured her mood a little. Why is she here?

As Queenie took in the sight of the fake Bonnie dragging her suitcase over with a delighted expression,she had the urge to choke that woman herself. The family had come to the airport so that it would beconvenient for them to work with the police to take the fake Bonnie into custody.

Bonnie had no idea what was about to happen as the police were dressed in plain clothes and werehidden among the crowd. Bonnie let go of her suitcase and rushed over to Brandon and Maggie togreet them warmly. “Mom, Dad.”

Maggie raised her hand and slapped Bonnie as soon as Bonnie was in front of her. Bonnie wasdumbstruck. She stared at Maggie in disbelief. “Mom… why did you…”

“How dare you call me Mom, you shameless imposter? Who gave you the audacity to pretend to be mydaughter, you shameless b*tch?” Maggie, who never cursed, was so furious today that she startedcursing. She was trembling with rage, and Queenie stepped forward to hold her steady. “She’ll getwhat’s coming for her, Mom.”

“You’re not our daughter. You’re going to pay for what you’ve done.” Brandon was pale with anger aswell as he glared at Bonnie with a cold, hostile expression.

Bonnie’s expression shifted at once. She clutched her face and took a step back, but at the same time,the police who had been hanging around near Brandon made their move. They came forward andhandcuffed her hands behind her back.

“What… Let go! Who are you?” Scared witless, all the color drained from her face as she twistedaround to take a look at the police.

“Nina Lindsay, we’re the police and you’re under arrest for fraud. You’ll need to come with us for furtherinvestigation.”

Queenie came forward and stared at the young woman who used to parade in front of her with a smugexpression. Now, the very same woman had a petrified look on her face as she trembled with fear.Queenie had never felt as vindicated as she did now.

“Nina Lindsay, you pretended to be my younger sister and used her identity to bully me and step allover for me for the past year. Now, you’re finally going to pay the price for your actions.”

“Queenie, no… Q-Queenie, my sister, please! Please forgive me! I won’t do it again! I won’t ever do itagain.” Nina almost begged on her knees in front of Queenie. Out of habit, she turned to Brandon andMaggie and continued screaming, “Mom, Dad, please let me off just this once!”

“You shut your mouth!” Brandon roared.

Maggie was equally furious as she fired back through gritted teeth, “You called us Mom and Dad for ayear now but all you’ve been doing is leeching off of us. You’ve tarnished our youngest daughter’sreputation and you will pay for everything.”

Nina immediately started shaking her head. “I’m so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Silverstein. I didn’t plan onposing as your daughter. It’s all Lisbeth’s fault! She tempted me into doing it. She even told me to getthe surgery done so that I would look like your daughter. It’s all her! It has nothing to do with me.”

Right now, all Nina could think about was exonerating herself by putting all the blame on Lisbethinstead.

“You’re quite the spender, aren’t you? Ever since you moved in with us, you’ve spent almost two millionin total. You’ll be spending the rest of your life in prison!” Queenie reminded Nina of what was in storefor her.

True enough, as soon as Nina heard what Queenie said, she crumpled to the floor. Did I really spendthat much of the Silversteins’ money? She had no idea how she managed to do that, but the amount

she used was enough to count as high-value fraud.

She had enjoyed the status of being the Silversteins’ youngest daughter for a year, but in return, shehad to spend the rest of her life behind bars.

All of a sudden, she was consumed by regret. She regretted everything she had done up till now. Shewould rather go back to her old life of being an escort than have her life ruined for good now.

Alas, what was done was done and she had no way of turning back time.

“Queenie.” A deep and attractive voice rang out. Nigel broke through the crowd and hurried over. Hecalled Queenie half an hour ago and she told him that she was at the airport, so he came to look forher.

When Nina saw Nigel, she felt the urge to dig a hole to hide in. At this very moment, she felt as if shewas nothing more than a dirty, despicable gutter rat. She couldn’t hold her head up in front of Nigel.

Nigel was looking at her like she was vermin—the scourge of society.

Nina kept her head lowered. She noticed the looks that the crowd was giving her and was so ashamedthat she wished she could knock herself out so that she didn’t have to deal with the mortification.

“Let’s go!” The police officer barked at Nina before hauling her toward the exit. Nina was dragged to thepolice car just outside the airport. The grimness of the situation seemed to suck the air out of her lungs.She could already envision what the rest of her life would be like.

She would spend her days surrounded by cold metal. All the glory and splendor that she had dreamt ofwould no longer be a part of her life.

Soon, Nigel and Queenie came out hand-in-hand while Brandon held Maggie steady. At last, theSilversteins felt relieved as peace had been restored to the family.

The police car hadn’t left yet. Nina looked out of the window and saw the family coming out of theairport together.

Brandon and Maggie were also glaring at the young woman inside the police car. All they felt now wasblistering rage.

Nina stared right back at them. They had showered her with care and affection for a year now. Theywould always greet her with smiles on their faces. Not a day went by without them expressing theirconcern for her and providing her with all the love she could possibly want. Yet right here, right now,they showed her nothing but fury and resentment.

Nina’s eyes flickered over to Queenie. As she stood there beside her parents and Nigel, it was almostas if she had a halo that cast a glow around her. She shone in such a way that perfectly contrastedagainst Nina’s vile, contemptible self.

Nina knew that she and Queenie’s lives had diverged to the extreme now. One had a glorious life infront of her, while the other was destined to remain in the gutter.

The police car drove off with Nina sandwiched between two police officers in the back seat. She wascovered in designer clothing and had an expensive necklace around her neck, but all of that seemed tobe a mockery now.

Her finery was a farce. Everything seemed to be jeering at her current predicament. She struggledagainst the cuffs, but the metal hurt as it pinched her skin. In the end, she closed her eyes in despair.

Back at Silverstein Residence, all traces of Nina had been removed from the house. The room sheused had been emptied and ridden of all her possessions. Even the walls had been repainted. Thanksto Nina, Queenie had spent the past year avoiding this house and longing for a means of escape, butnow, all she wanted to do was accompany her parents through this bleak period of their lives.

The family continued to worry about the missing daughter, and Queenie dearly wished that her realsister could return to them. She was willing to give all of the family’s wealth over to her real sister.

But where is she now? Will I ever get to see her again?

At the police station.

Nina was immediately ordered to change into a set of prison uniforms before the police read out a listof all her crimes throughout the past year.

As Nina walked down the corridor, she spotted Lisbeth who was inside a different holding cell and sherushed over in fury before hollering, “Look at what you did to me, Lisbeth! It’s all your fault!”

Lisbeth was just as enraged. She believed that it was all Nina’s doing. Nina was already theSilversteins’ daughter and could’ve spent the rest of her life in luxury, but she ended up being in thisstate because she had been too greedy and kept challenging Queenie.

“Move along!” the police officer barked at Nina.

However, Nina continued to grip the bars tightly as she glared at Lisbeth. “You ruined my perfect life.”

Lisbeth had long since given up, and thus, she was able to accept the future calmly. She closed hereyes and ignored Nina.

Nina started shaking with anger. She banged on the bars and screamed, “Say something, Lisbeth! Whyaren’t you saying anything? What did you tell me back then?”

“Nina, I was wrong to have chosen you. I never thought you had such insatiable greed. It wasn’tenough for you to just be the Silversteins’ youngest daughter. You had to keep trying to get more andmore for yourself. You brought everything on yourself!” Lisbeth snorted.

Nina was infuriated but Lisbeth didn’t bother to entertain her any longer. After Nina was dragged awayby the police, Lisbeth was brought out of the cell. Someone had asked to see her.

Lisbeth couldn’t figure out who it was, but when she saw Maggie sitting on the other side of the divider,she instantly dropped her head in shame.

“Lisbeth, in all our years of friendship, I have never done anything to offend you. I have always treatedyou as a friend, yet you did such a despicable thing to me. You know very well the pain I feel becauseof my second daughter. How could you use her identity to steal money from me?” Maggie’s eyes werefull of pain and resentment as she glared daggers at Lisbeth.

Lisbeth kept her head bowed as she sighed. “You can blame it on fate, and me, as well. I wasn’t asblessed as you. You married a good husband who loves you so much. I don’t have a good husband ora good son. I was jealous of you, and I wanted to repay my son’s debts.”

Tears spilled out of Maggie’s eyes. “Haven’t I been good enough to you?”

“I know what I did was wrong. I regret it too, but I had no other choice. My son owed too much money. Ihad to repay the debt for him. If I didn’t, the people he owed the money to would kill him once he gotout.” Lisbeth closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face.

Maggie opened her mouth to speak, but in the end, she got up to leave without saying anything.

“I’m sorry, Mags,” Lisbeth cried out in a pained voice as she buried her face in her palms. “I hurt you,your family, and your daughter. Can you please forgive me?”

“It’s too late. You’ll have to answer to the law for everything you’ve done.” Maggie turned around andeyed Lisbeth coldly.

By now, Lisbeth regretted what she had done with every fiber of her being, but she could only spendthe rest of her life behind bars. She would no longer be able to fulfill her dream of seeing her son getmarried and start his own family. She would not be there to receive him when he got out of prison, andhis debts had not been repaid yet. She would still be spending the rest of her time worrying herself sickover him.

Three days later.

Brandon and Maggie were going on a trip to take their mind off things. The whole ordeal had taken atoll on them. It would take a while before Nina was sentenced, but they were in no rush. They weremore than willing to let law enforcement take their time to investigate. All they wanted was to ensurethat Nina paid for every single crime she committed.

The Silversteins hired the best lawyers that money could buy. Both Lisbeth and Nina were going to payheavy prices for their actions.

At the airport.

Brandon addressed Nigel. “Nigel, we’re leaving Queenie in your care. We might be gone for quite awhile.”

“Have a good time, Mr. Silverstein. You can leave Queenie to me. I’ll take good care of her,” Nigelpromised with a nod.

The couple were a lot more reassured now and left on their trip with easy hearts. After seeing them off,Queenie leaned against Nigel’s shoulder and asked, “Where are we going now?”

“Let’s have dinner at my parents’ house tonight. My parents can’t wait to meet you. We’ll arrange foranother meeting with your parents when they come home,” Nigel said as he placed his arm around hershoulders.

Queenie stopped avoiding the inevitable. She nodded and said, “Okay. I’ll go home with you.”

Once they got back to the car, Queenie’s phone started ringing. She looked at the number on thescreen and vaguely recalled that it belonged to Leslie, so she decided to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Queenie, I heard about what happened with your family. Is Bonnie… No, I mean, is Nina Lindsay reallyan imposter?” Leslie asked.

“Yes. She’s an imposter, and she used to be an escort. Leslie, for the sake of your health, I think youshould do a check-up just to be safe.”

Leslie was silent for a few seconds before saying, “You’re right. I will. I never thought she’d be animposter.”

“Anyway, I’m with my boyfriend now. Don’t call me again,” Queenie declared outright.

“You and Nigel are dating?”

“Actually, we’re about to get engaged,” Queenie said.

“Congratulations. I don’t deserve you, Queenie. I hope you can forgive me for all the ways I’ve hurt youin the past.”

“I don’t wish to dwell on the past.” Queenie ended the call. She wanted to forget all of the unsavorymemories of the past year and only remember the good things.

The evening sky dazzled with the beauty of the setting sun, and as Queenie took it all in, she turned tolook at the man who was driving. Even though she went through a period of life that seemed like anightmare, her future was bright and full of hope.

Nigel called his mother. As his phone was connected to the car’s sound system, Queenie could heartheir conversation.

“Hey, Nigel. When are you bringing Queenie over to the house for dinner?”

“I’m bringing her over tonight, Mom.”

“Really? Well, hurry up and ask her what she likes to eat. I’ll start preparing the dishes now.”

Queenie blushed and called out, “I’m not picky, Mrs. Manson. I like eating everything.”

“Queenie! We’re looking forward to having you join us tonight. We’ll be waiting!” Brenda’s tonesoftened.

“Okay! Nigel and I are on our way,” Queenie said with a smile.

Once the call ended, Nigel turned to Queenie. “What will you do if my parents start urging us to getmarried as soon as possible?”

“Let’s just get married then. Is there another option?” Queenie smirked. “Or do you not feel likemarrying me?”

“I want to! Let’s get married right away!” Nigel was even more receptive to the idea.

The streetlights slowly started turning on, and soon, the entire city lit up. Manson Residence wassituated north of the city. It was a sprawling compound with a large mansion in the middle that lookedgrand and rather intimidating.

This was Queenie’s first time at Nigel’s family home. She was secretly stunned by just how wealthy thefamily was. Although she knew he came from a very prominent, well-established family, she never

knew the true extent of the Mansons’ wealth. It was far beyond anything she thought. No wonder thereare so many girls going after him.

“Let’s go in.” Nigel took Queenie by the hand and led her over to the living room. Queenie started tofeel shy and a lot more nervous. She was worried that the Mansons wouldn’t approve of her.

Brenda and her husband, Jonathan Manson, were waiting in the living room. Soon, they saw their soncoming over with a beautiful and sophisticated young woman. Brenda was satisfied just from her firstimpression alone as Queenie lived up to her expectations when it came to the way she presentedherself.

Jonathan was also pleased with Queenie. Now that Nigel was getting older, Jonathan didn’t expectmuch anymore. His only requirement was for his daughter-in-law to be someone his son genuinelyliked.

Nigel approached Brenda and placed an arm around her shoulders with a smile. “Mom, this isQueenie.”

Queenie was shy, but even so, she maintained her composure as she greeted the elegant-lookingcouple in front of her. “Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Manson. My name is Queenie.”

“It’s our pleasure to meet you, Queenie. Nigel has told us all about you. Come, make yourself at home,”Jonathan said kindly.

“That’s right. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you!” Brenda said as she came over to takeQueenie by the hand. “Let’s sit down and talk.”

Nigel stayed right beside Queenie the whole time. His parents noticed the way he looked at her andrealized just how much he cared about her. Look at that gentle look in his eyes, they thought tothemselves. The last time they had seen that look was when Nigel had feelings for Anastasia. It had

been two years since then, and they had never seen Nigel looking at any other woman that way, untilnow.

They were certain that Nigel was truly in love with Queenie.

Brenda started asking Queenie about her interests and hobbies. Queenie had always been a matureand well-mannered person who excelled in her studies. Brenda could tell that she wasn’t a vapid andmaterialistic young woman. In fact, her eyes were bright and clear, and her smile was genuine.

Queenie’s personality was a little similar to Anastasia’s, and Brenda grew even fonder of her. Shebelieved that such young women would be blessed in their lives.

“Mom, Dad, I’m going to show Queenie around.” Nigel brought Queenie upstairs.

“She’s a nice girl,” Brenda said to Jonathan.

“Well, you better not disapprove of her, or Nigel might really end up without a wife,” Jonathan warned.

Brenda knew that she had been rather selective when it came to her son’s future wife. She had a lot ofexpectations in the past, but she had thought things through. Now, the only thing she asked was for thewoman to be the one her son liked.

Queenie went up to Nigel’s room. Ever since he moved out, he would only stay here occasionally.

However, the room was still kept the way it had always been since he was a child. It was full of histhings, including photos, trophies, and items from his various hobbies.

Queenie had a blast looking at all of Nigel’s photos. He was handsome even as a young boy and hadremained so throughout the years.

But he looked so mischievous as a child! He even had some baby fat! How I wish I could pinch hischeeks!

“I wish I could go back in time to when you were little and pinch your cheeks,” Queenie teased as sheturned around and tip-toed to cup his face.

Nigel held her by the waist and pulled her close. “How about this instead? Let’s hurry up and have achild, and then you can pinch the baby’s chubby cheeks as much as you want. What do you think?”

Queenie blinked and immediately made a run for it, but Nigel wasn’t about to let her escape. Hegrabbed her arm and pressed her up against the wall, using his height to cage her in.

“Do you think you can escape from me when you’re in my territory?” Nigel’s eyes gleamed suggestivelyas he stared at her.

Queenie’s heart trembled and her body grew numb. I guess women always like it when men act likebad boys.

“What do you want then?” Queenie raised her eyebrows and looked him straight in the eye defiantly.

Nigel brushed his hand against her cheeks. His eyes fell upon her lips. “What do you think?”

Queenie bit her lip nervously. Unbeknownst to her, that action was enough to send any man over theedge. Nigel swooped in and sealed her lips with his.

There was no way for Queenie to avoid the kiss.

Therefore, she allowed herself to enjoy the spellbinding kiss as the last rays of sunlight slowly fadedout of the dimming room.

Love overwhelmed the senses. Her heart thumped wildly.

A feast was laid out for dinner at Manson Residence. Jonathan and Brenda showered Queenie withaffection as they welcomed her with open arms, and even the household staff all knew that the youngguest they had today was Nigel’s soon-to-be wife.

Once it was time to leave, Brenda saw them off and a maid came over with a gift box in hand.

“Queenie, it’s your first time here and I didn’t get to prepare much, but I would like you to have this.”

Queenie was startled by Brenda’s generosity. She could tell that it was a set of jewelry, so she quicklytried to decline. “This is too much, Mrs. Manson. I can’t accept it.”

“It’s not much at all. We’re going to be family soon.” Brenda’s words were full of implications.

Queenie stared at her in a daze for a few seconds before blushing shyly, but she didn’t continue turningBrenda down. “Thank you, Mrs. Manson.”

Nigel drove them back to his place. Once they were home, Queenie opened the box, and sure enough,she saw a set of gorgeous jewelry that looked very expensive inside.

“It suits you,” Nigel complimented with a smile. His mother had good taste.

However, Queenie was even more touched by Brenda’s words earlier. It meant that Brenda approvedof her.

“Let’s arrange for our parents to meet once your parents come back from their trip.” Nigel couldn’t waitto marry Queenie.

Queenie nodded and snuggled close to him as she shared her innermost thoughts. “Nigel, I want tofind my younger sister, no matter what it takes. I hope she can come back.”

“Alright. I’ll help you. I’ll use everything at my disposal to help you,” Nigel promised as he stroked herhair.

“I thought of a good way to find her. I’ll go on the news and use my face to look for her. Anyone wholooks like me and is the same age as me can contact me.” Why didn’t I think of this sooner? Queenieasked herself.

Previously, her parents used photos of her sister when she was young to look for her, but after thewhole debacle with Nina, Queenie realized that the method she thought of was the best one.

She also decided to visit Nina at the detention center tomorrow to clarify her suspicions. Would Lisbethhave anything to do with my sister’s disappearance back then? Would Nina know anything about mysister after working with Lisbeth for a year?

At the detention center.

Nina kept rolling around on the hard floor. She had only been in here for two days, but she was alreadyon the verge of a breakdown. Her body was aching all over as she had slept on nothing but the finestmattresses for an entire year.

Tears of regret streamed down her cheeks, but it was too late for regrets.

After all the interrogation she had gone through, she found out how much she had cheated out of theSilversteins. Every single figure terrified her. She never would’ve imagined that she spent over a millionon just clothes and bags alone. She recalled what it had been like when she first arrived at the house.Brandon and Maggie spared no expense as they tried to give her everything they could. Because ofthat, she took leave of her senses and began to spend lavishly to fulfill all of her worldly desires.

She didn’t hold back at all. After staying in the same house with the Silversteins, all sorts of thoughtsbegan to form in her mind. She couldn’t stand seeing Queenie, who grew up in a loving home. She

thought that since she had gained the Silverstein couple’s favor, she could toy with Queenie foramusement. As it was, that gave her a different kind of satisfaction that was even more rewarding.

She started stealing everything that belonged to Queenie, including her fiancé, and she felt animmense feeling of accomplishment when she saw the way Queenie had to suffer through all sorts ofgrievances but was still too afraid to expose her.

However, at the time, Nina never thought that she would one day fly too close to the sun and haveeverything come crashing down on her. At last, she understood what Lisbeth had been telling her allalong. Lisbeth told her to just be satisfied with being the Silversteins’ daughter and live out a life ofluxury. Lisbeth disapproved of the way Nina kept trying to hurt Queenie as she probably didn’t want tohurt the Silversteins.

If there was such a thing as a time machine, Nina would leap at the chance to turn back time and returnto the moment a year ago when she first arrived at the Silverstein Residence. She would be satisfiedbeing the Silversteins’ youngest daughter, taking the allowance they gave her, and basking in theirlove. She would get along with Queenie and use her status as the Silversteins’ daughter to marry awealthy husband. Her life would have been perfect.

Nina opened her eyes. Tears of regret continued to flow. With every breath she took, she could smellthe stench of mold in the air. The longer she stayed in this tiny holding cell dressed in prison garb, themore she was on the verge of losing her mind.

She couldn’t even imagine what her life was going to be like from now on. How am I supposed to livelike that? What’s the point of living?

In the morning, Nina was woken up by the sound of someone banging on her door.

“Someone’s here to see you,” the police officer said.

Nina immediately climbed to her feet. Her bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, and post-surgery facewithout any makeup on made her look like a ghost. “Who is it? Who’s here to see me?” she asked atonce.

“Go and see for yourself!”

Nina didn’t want anyone to see her in this state, not even her parents.

However, she did hope that Brandon and Maggie would come and see her. Maybe they’ll take pity onme once they see how pitiful I am and appeal for more lenient sentencing.

Are they here? Nina rushed to the visiting room, but when she saw the young woman sitting on theopposite side of the divider, she was overcome with shame and was tempted to head right back to hercell instead.

Queenie had come. Nina was certain that Queenie was here to mock her and would say the worstthings possible to insult her.

“Why are you here?” In the end, Nina sat down. She wanted to hear what Queenie had to say.

Queenie fixed her cold, piercing eyes upon Nina. “I have a question to ask you. Have you ever heardLisbeth mentioning my sister?”

“Why do you ask? Are you still looking for her? She might’ve died a long time ago,” Nina scoffed.

“Has Lisbeth never said anything to you before? If you’re willing to tell me what you know, I’ll go easieron you.” Queenie was serious. Lisbeth had used her sister for her schemes.

Does it mean that she might’ve something to do with my sister’s disappearance? Queenie was certainthat Lisbeth wouldn’t confess to that, but perhaps Lisbeth might’ve told Nina some things while theywere in cahoots together.

Nina’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“First, tell me what Lisbeth told you.” Queenie’s only goal right now was to find her real sister and easeher parents’ pain over the loss of their daughter.

Otherwise, she knew that her mother would be even more devastated after this whole ordeal.

Nina started searching her memory. Lisbeth had told her a lot about the Silversteins’ second daughter.Afraid that others might see through the ruse, Lisbeth had filled Nina in on a lot of details, includingwhat that girl had been wearing when she went missing, how her hair was tied, and even where shehad gone missing.

“She did it! She’s the one who kidnapped your sister. Queenie, I’ll tell you even more information if youpromise that you’ll make sure I get a lighter sentence.” Nina decided to trick Queenie so that she coulduse Queenie’s urge to find her sister to get a lighter punishment.

“Really? Did she tell you that?” Queenie asked with a frown.

“Yes, she told me herself. Queenie, please put in a good word for me with the judge.” Nina was willingto say all sorts of things to achieve her goal.

However, Queenie simply eyed her coldly. “Alright. Tell me everything you know first, and then I’llconsider putting in a good word for you.”

“Why, you…” Nina clenched her jaw.

Queenie had been tricked many times throughout the past year. She knew all of Nina’s tells and knewthat she was lying.

“What are you trying to do, huh? Are you trying to fool me? Well, I hope you’ll never be able to find yoursister!” Nina revealed her true colors once more.

Queenie got up to leave, causing Nina to start panicking. She hastily grabbed the bars between themand began to plead. “Queenie, I’m begging you and your family. Please let me off! I know I made amistake. Please just let me go, okay? I shouldn’t have pretended to be your sister. I’m a horribleperson. I deserve to die. Please, I’m begging you. Please, Queenie…”

Nina’s shrieks grew even more hoarse and despairing with every second.

Despite that, all Nina received was the sight of Queenie walking away—a walk of someone who hadher freedom and a bright future ahead of her. As Nina watched Queenie, she realized that she neverfelt more jealous than she did now.

Freedom was something that Nina would no longer have. She could see the beautiful cityscape justbeyond the entrance, and even this was a luxury for her now.

Nina didn’t want to leave, but the police officer dragged her back to her cell.

After walking out of the detention center, Queenie received a call from Nigel. He had made thearrangements with a prominent media outlet and they were going to give Queenie a segment in theirprogram. When the time came, they were going to broadcast her search for her sister across all theirchannels. Queenie didn’t discuss this with her parents as she didn’t want to disrupt them during theirtrip.

However, she was determined to do this now, and she was even more confident it would work sinceshe had Nigel’s help.

If my sister’s still alive, she’ll definitely come across my search for her.

Queenie left the detention center and drove to the media company.

At a well-known filming location.

On the plateau of a mountain, a film crew was hard at work under the blazing sun. They were filming ahistorical drama and the burning sun at summer’s noon was setting everyone’s tempers alight as well.A loud voice roared across the open space, “Where’s the stunt double? Is she in place yet? Where’sshe? Hurry up and take your place!”

Just then, a slender young woman wearing heavy layers of historical costume ran out from a nearbytent. “I’m here! I’m here.”

“Hurry up! What’s taking you so long? Everyone else is ready. We’re all waiting on you.” One of thegrips was scowling. It was true that they had only just finished setting up the scene, but how dare theleading lady’s stunt double loaf around?

“Yes, I’m coming.” The young woman in a veiled hat was running across the slope dressed up in themain female character’s attire. At the same time, the actress playing the main role was standing underan umbrella nearby and sneering at the young woman with an obvious look of derision in her eyes.

How dare they show me so little respect? Why did they choose a stunt double that’s even prettier thanme? Are they trying to insult my appearance? The young woman looked captivating as she ran acrossthe field dressed up as the leading lady.

“Are you sure she’ll do a good job? I’m known for my fairy-like presence, and this character issupposed to be beautiful too. She better not ruin the scene,” Mabel Cotton, the actress, grumbled.

“Yes, of course. Don’t worry, Miss Cotton. That stunt double’s been in this line of work for five or sixyears now. She does a great job no matter what the role requires. She can help you do all kinds ofstunts, regardless of how dangerous it is.”

“Where did you find her?” Mabel asked as she secretly rolled her eyes.

“She’s a professional stunt double that’s signed exclusively to our parent company and she has a lot ofexperience.”

“In that case, let’s just see what she can do with the character,” Mabel huffed with greater annoyance.

Meanwhile, the young woman who was just hooked up to the stunt wire took a deep breath as shecalmly allowed the wire to carry her up above the trees. She could enjoy the breathtaking view in frontof her as she hovered up in the air. This was why she loved being a stunt double. It’s hard to find aview quite like this elsewhere!

“Are you ready?” the assistant director called out to her.

She held out an okay sign with her hand, and as soon as the director called out “Action!”, she leaped inthe air and twirled around beautifully twice before soaring down with her sword. Her costume flutteredin the breeze.

“Excellent. You did a fine job. Let’s go again,” the director called out.

Soon, the crew started shooting the young woman’s scene again. Mabel came over and watched theshooting herself. Although the young woman was only her stunt double and she would be the one on-screen once the drama was broadcasted, she still felt disgruntled.

She went over to the director and gave a few suggestions. As she had joined the project with thesupport of some of the drama’s backers, the director was willing to listen to her.

Therefore, thanks to Mabel’s suggestions, the young woman who was supposed to get off the stuntwire by now had to spend another ten minutes dangling in the air. She even had to do an incrediblydifficult flip mid-air before she was allowed to come back down.

By the time she could take off the harness, the young woman’s legs had turned into jelly and she wasso dizzy that she had to hold onto one of the film crew members to keep herself steady.

“Jessie! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m just a little dizzy.”

“You should take a break now!”

Her name was Jessie Landry. She was a 23-year-old woman who worked as a stunt double. Althoughshe was a little young, she had been in this line of work for many years now and was one of the moreexperienced stunt doubles in the industry.

All of the roles where Jessie had been the stunt double received widespread acclaim from fans. Theyall said that even her silhouette was ethereal and goddess-like. Many of the actresses who played thelead role would specifically ask for her to be their stunt double as well.

Jessie took the bottle of water that the crew member held out to her and ducked under the shade todrink it. The weight of the heavy, veiled hat and many layers of costume made her exhausted.

Just then, an assistant came over and said to her, “Jessie, that’s Miss Mabel’s costume. You better becareful, or you’ll have to pay for ruining it.”

Jessie quickly lifted the hefty skirt and carried it in her arms before nodding. “Don’t worry! I’ll becareful.”

Seeing how easy it was to bully Jessie, the assistant added, “If Miss Mabel isn’t pleased with the result,you’ll have to shoot the scene again.”

Jessie nodded. “Yes, I got it.”

The film crew’s catering for their tea break arrived, and a plump young woman snatched two portionsbefore running over to Jessie. “Here, Jessie. I got one for you.”

Jessie was starving by now. She was requested to start filming before she even finished her lunch, soshe was pleased to have a snack to tide her over.

Although it was only a slice of cake and a carton of milk, it was still enough to keep her stomach sated.

“Jessie, did you hear the news? The award-winning actor, Julian Gilmore is filming somewhere nearhere! Oh, gosh! I’m so excited. I have a feeling I’ll get to meet him.”

Jessie’s eyes lit up as well. “Really? Are you sure?”

“I heard Mabel and her staff talking about it. She’s even more excited than we are, and I’m pretty sureher sources are reliable.” The plump young woman was Lexie Lopez who did odd jobs for the film crewand was good friends with Jessie.

Jessie was the only one on set who didn’t bully Lexie. In fact, Jessie often took care of Lexie, whichwas why Lexie would help Jessie out whenever she could.

“Jessie, you’ve been the stunt double for the female lead so many times now. Why haven’t you joined afilming project with Julian Gilmore? You might even get to act out scenes with him!” Lexie remarked.

Jessie smiled. “I wish I could too, but it’s not that easy to join a project with an award-winning actor likehim. Projects that hire him probably wouldn’t be interested in an average stunt double like me.”

“I heard that he’s filming a historical drama too. Oh, my. I’ll get the chance to see him in a dashing,valiant role again! I’ve been looking forward to it for so long now!” Lexie exclaimed with a look ofinfatuation.

There were a few more scenes that required the stunt wire later that afternoon. Once everything wasover, Jessie went back to a tent alone and rolled up her white T-shirt. She took out the ointment sheprepared and skillfully rubbed it onto her skin. There were faint splotches of bruising along her waistthat were a result of wearing the stunt wire.

Jessie dozed off during the ride back to the hotel. The van had arrived back at the hotel by the time sheopened her eyes again. It was a three-star hotel, and she shared a room with Lexie.

After dinner, Lexie grabbed Jessie enthusiastically. “Jessie, Julian Gilmore’s car is here! Hurry up. It’sjust outside the five-star hotel opposite us. Maybe we’ll get to see him!”

“His fans would’ve already formed a human barricade around him by now. What makes you think wecan squeeze past them?” All Jessie wanted to do was rest.

“Well, we might get lucky. Come on! Come with me! Please, my dearest Jessie.” Lexie tried to coaxJessie into coming with her. She didn’t think it would be as fun if she went alone.

Jessie couldn’t put up a fight against Lexie, so she had no choice but to drag her weary body out thedoor. The two women crossed the road to head to the hotel opposite them. Along the way, they sawhordes of screaming fans rushing over as they cried, “Julian Gilmore! My love!”

After being in the industry for so long, Jessie knew very well just how frenzied fans could get. Julianhad won the award for best actor for four years in a row now. He was the most renowned male celebrityby far, and thus, his fans were even more passionate than others.

“Look at the crowd, Lexie. We won’t get to see him!” Jessie would much rather go back to the room tosleep, but as a huge fan of Julian, Lexie was not going to give up the opportunity to see her celebritycrush so easily.

Just one look is good enough. Lexie might be chubby, but she could run, especially when she couldmeet her idol.

Jessie had no choice but to get dragged along with her friend. Just then, three black off-road vehiclesshowed up around the corner. One look, and they knew someone important must be in these cars.

An excited Lexie gasped. “Whoa, that’s Julian’s car!”novelbin

Jessie stared at the cars, but their tinted windows stopped them from seeing who was inside.

Lexie dragged Jessie forward once more. She might be in a hurry to see her idol, but she wouldn’tleave her friend behind. And just like that, Jessie found herself jostling among a horde of raving fans.Their shouts were deafening. Lexie managed to squeeze herself forward, but just when she was aboutto get in the lead, some of the female fans shouted at her.

“Hey, stop pushing me!” a girl roared.

“I didn’t push you!” Lexie turned around and snorted.

“This is our spot! You can’t take it!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Jessie apologized.

But Lexie couldn’t care less. This was the best spot to meet Julian, and she would never back off.Thanks to her size, she managed to secure the best place and even pushed her friend forward.

Jessie felt embarrassed, but then the fans started roaring once more. The man of their dreams hadmade his appearance. He was in a black shirt and a pair of black pants, and his face was covered witha mask. Even though they could only see his eyes, the fans knew it was Julian.

“Oh my god, he’s hot!”

The fans’ screams almost blew the roof off.

Julian looked at his fans and waved at them. Just as he was about to head into the hotel, a commotionbroke out. Lexie was tussling with three girls, and it caused a little scene.

Jessie had her back turned to Lexie. During the tussle, Lexie’s butt bumped into Jessie, and themomentum sent Jessie staggering forward. She let out a gasp and fell uncontrollably toward Julian.

Not even the bodyguards could stop her in time. Julian found himself crashing into a girl. She quicklywrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.

Silence fell over the crowd for a moment, but the fans quickly snapped out of it and cursed Jessie. Howdare she hold our idol? That’s an insult to him! She sullied him!

Lexie covered her mouth in shock. Whoa. I did this? Did I push my friend into Julian’s embrace? God, Iwant to hold Julian so much.

Jessie was shocked as well. Her face was buried in his shirt, and all she could smell was the scent ofJulian. She actually took a deep breath, but then someone said coldly, “Take her away.”

Julian spoke to his bodyguards, and they held her shoulder, pulling her off of Julian. She felt somethingwrapping itself around her hand. Feels like a chain.

The moment she was pulled away, Lexie dragged her back into the crowd. Jessie stared down and sawa necklace hanging from her wrist, much to her surprise. Is this his? “Hey, Julian. A second!” sheshouted after him.

But Julian was already gone from everyone’s sights. Only his bodyguards remained.