From Ashes of Scandals to His Embrace novel Chapter 212

She didn’t even hesitate before answering Laurinda’s question. “Harden’s in a really awkward spot in the Gates family. The butler told me that before Fabian came back, Finn treated Harden like he was the heir. But now that Fabian’s returned, Finn can’t stand Harden anymore. He clearly favors Fabian, and now Harden’s been moved to the first floor.”

Laurinda understood what that meant. The first floor was for the staff. If Harden had to live with the servants, Finn definitely had something else in mind. The Gates family just kept getting messier.

“What about your mom? What are your dad and Finn planning to do?” Laurinda asked.

Aggie looked away, but she knew better than to lie to Laurinda. “My dad already filed for divorce. My brother and I got removed from the family registry. Finn’s given up on my mom, and he doesn’t want to keep me or my brother around. We’ll probably get sent away soon.”

Laurinda listened, then suddenly let out a soft laugh. She tapped her fingers on the table, her voice steady. “Aggie, I’ve warned you before. Don’t try to play games with me. I grew up around people like you—I’ve seen every trick in the book.”

“If you hadn’t tried to manipulate me, maybe I’d have thought you were just innocent and I would've helped you out. But not anymore. Go back and tell Finn, if he doesn’t want the world to know all of Fabian’s dirty secrets, he’d better stop with these little schemes. If he thinks he can set me up, he’s dreaming.”

Laurinda stood, opened the break room door, and practically dragged Aggie out, leaving her in the hallway.

She couldn’t believe she’d actually thought the child of Aileen and Aiken would be any different. How ridiculous.

Aggie sat on the cold stone floor outside the infirmary, face pale. She’d thought she’d covered everything, so why had Laurinda seen right through her?

“Laurinda…”

Laurinda didn’t even look back. “If you don’t want to get kicked out of school, just shut up and go already.” She had no patience left. If Aggie wasn’t still useful for something, Laurinda would’ve had her expelled on the spot. She’d never pretended to be a nice person.

Aggie scrambled up from the ground, not daring to meet Foley’s eyes as he stood by the door, embarrassment burning on her cheeks.

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