A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 885

Herbert said it was impossible, but Starla remained entirely unconvinced.

She wouldn't believe a single syllable that came out of his mouth right now.

"Fairfax also claimed he couldn't possibly have feelings for Brinley," she said icily.

"Stop comparing me to Fairfax!" Herbert snapped, his voice dropping in temperature. He knew Starla was still traumatized by the pain Fairfax had caused her, and he despised having that ghost linger between them.

Starla's eyes turned arctic. "I'm not giving Brinley back to you."

"You need to accept that she is already dead!"

She hadn't wanted this to blow up into a war with him. This was strictly between her and Brinley, yet Herbert had forced his way into the middle of it.

Herbert's breathing hitched, growing ragged and uncontrolled.

Without another word, Starla ended the call. Engaging with him any further was a waste of breath.

Listening to the dead tone, Herbert pinched the bridge of his nose, a massive headache pounding against his skull.

Rudolf walked in, his face grave. "The superior called."

"What did he say?"

"He doesn't believe Brinley is dead."

The news that Brinley had contacted Herbert hadn't been leaked yet, so the superior couldn't possibly know about that. If he was calling now, it meant he was growing deeply suspicious and displeased.

A cold glint flashed in Herbert's eyes. "Does he know Starla took her?"

"Yes," Rudolf nodded heavily.

Herbert went rigid.

*He knows...*

"This is a disaster."

For weeks, Herbert had been meticulously covering up the bitter feud between Starla and Brinley from the superior. His entire goal was to keep Starla off that man's radar.

And yet, he had found out anyway.

Dead silence stretched over the line for a long moment.

"How the hell did he find out? Wasn't all of this scrubbed clean?" Yardley demanded, his voice laced with venom.

This was catastrophic news. The moment Starla had returned to Yoran from Marina City, every trace of her past there had been meticulously erased. The most thoroughly wiped detail was her blood feud with Brinley. It had been handled perfectly. Yet, somehow, the superior knew.

"I don't know how he found out, but he did," Herbert replied.

"Then it looks like we have a massive problem on our hands," Yardley said, his tone turning downright lethal.

"She wants to go to Ravena Country. Did you know about this?" Herbert asked.

"I know. I forbade it."

She had mentioned going to Ravena Country last night, and Yardley had shut it down immediately. Now, there was absolutely no chance he would let her leave. Not when the superior knew about her vendetta against Brinley.

"Well, Garret is secretly making the arrangements for her as we speak," Herbert informed him.

The already oppressive atmosphere on the phone grew suffocatingly dense as Yardley's breathing turned heavy and ragged.