The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 633

“Read it yourself!”

With that, Rose ended the call with a sharp click.

Cindy’s eyes darted to the breaking news splash about the James family. The world spun—darkness edged her vision, and for a second, she thought she might actually faint.

She’d only just gotten back into the family, and now this? Was the James family about to go under? And if they did—what about her engagement to York?

An uneasy knot tightened in her stomach. The fried chicken she’d been enjoying just moments ago now tasted like cardboard.

Memories of dinner flashed through her mind: her parents and brother quietly hunched over bowls of soup, every face tense, drawn, overshadowed by silent worry. Then it clicked. They’d been trying to shield her from bad news, to spare her anxiety by pretending everything was normal.

Cindy cursed her own luck, then immediately thought she ought to go check on her parents—maybe offer some comfort. And what about York? Who knew how things looked on his end.

She hesitated, then decided to call him first.

York picked up just as he stepped through his own front door.

While chaos erupted at the James house all day, the Byron family had hardly been spared. Their business history wasn’t exactly spotless either.

Frederic, York’s father, had paced the floor since dawn, nerves strung tight, monitoring every news alert. He only started to relax once it became clear the press had nothing new to dig up about their own family—at least, not today.

The families were partners in business, and their kids were officially engaged. No way could they just cut ties cleanly, not when every problem bled into the other. If one sank, so did the other.

Besides, the Byrons had sunk a fortune into that redevelopment deal. If it failed now, their own finances would be in critical condition.

It wasn’t just the Jameses skipping dinner in despair tonight. York and his father hadn’t had the appetite for so much as a sandwich.

“York, are you okay?” Cindy’s first words were soft, worried.

“I’m hanging in there,” York said, his voice raspy with exhaustion. “Your dad and brother probably had a rough one too, huh?”

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