A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 538

Staring at the 'Delivered' receipt on her screen, Maya's lips curled into a vicious, calculated smirk.

It didn't matter how solid Elissa thought her relationship with Rowan was.

No woman on earth could receive a photo like that and maintain blind trust.

Once the seed of suspicion was planted, it would inevitably take root and fester.

Rowan wasn't exactly known for his patience or gentle temper. If Elissa started questioning him, the constant arguing would eventually grind their romance to dust.

Besides, if Rowan was secretly keeping a pregnant woman tucked away abroad, it proved he wasn't nearly as devoted to Elissa as he pretended to be.

Which meant Maya still had a very real chance.

At the end of the day, businessmen were pragmatic creatures. As long as Elissa remained permanently exiled from the Wilkinson family, Rowan would eventually do the math and realize who he was actually supposed to marry.

Marcia pushed open the bedroom door, practically glowing with schadenfreude. "Does Rowan seriously have a woman on the side?"

Maya smugly waved her phone. "I just sent her the photo. How could it be fake?"

Maya had studied abroad in the exact same country Rowan was currently visiting.

Back then, the international student community would constantly gossip about the handsome, unreachable foreign men.

Annoyed by their obsession, Maya had whipped out a candid photo of Rowan from his early twenties. He had been at the absolute peak of his youthful, arrogant brilliance, and his devastating looks had instantly silenced the entire room.

One of those very same classmates had bumped into him at the hospital today, snapped the photo, and sent it straight to Maya.

Hearing this, Marcia finally felt like the arrogant brat was pulling her weight. She laid the flattery on thick. "Your social network is unbelievable. You have connections literally everywhere."

"Obviously," Maya scoffed, rolling her eyes as if it were the most basic fact of life. "That's what happens when you're born into the right circles."

She was a daughter of the Wilkinson family. Even if she never left her house, she could pull strings on the other side of the planet if she wanted to.

"..."

It took everything Marcia had to swallow her disgust.

*Born into the right circles?*

*Nothing you have is yours by blood. You've played the fake heiress for so long you've actually managed to brainwash yourself.*

Biting back the insult, Marcia pivoted smoothly. "By the way, did Frank ever reply to that message you sent him?"

She was desperate to know if Frank actually loved Elissa, or if he was simply acting out of wounded male pride and territorial possession.

"Of course—" Maya started, then caught herself. Her expression snapped into a cold sneer. "Do I have to report my every move to you now? Do you genuinely believe you're the actual young lady of this house?"

—

By the time Elissa and Tanya pulled up to Rivercross Residence, the city lights were already illuminating the evening sky.

Worried that Elissa's mind was completely scrambled, Tanya had insisted on driving.

As she put the car in park, she turned to the passenger seat. "Are you absolutely sure you're okay?"

"I'm really okay."

Elissa had been answering the exact same question on a loop ever since they left the hospital.

Seeing how fraught Tanya looked, Elissa cut straight to the point. "You said it yourself. I don't believe he's that kind of man either."

Even though the very first emotion that had pierced her chest when she saw the photo was pure, terrifying suspicion.

Maybe it was because they had been separated for nine years. Or maybe it was because she had spent her entire adult life bracing for the worst and ensuring she always had an exit strategy. But she realized her faith in Rowan wasn't nearly as bulletproof as it had once been.

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