Chapter 105 *
Third Person POV
Lorenzo stared at the cake. Chocolate. Zelda knew it was his favorite.
She'd been doing this a lot lately. Baking. Making tea. Offering to keep him company. Trying so hard to please him.
Before Scarlett left, he would have appreciated it. Would have thanked her. Maybe shared the cake with her.
But now? After everything that had happened?
He just felt tired. And cold. And like nothing Zelda did could make up for how the family had treated Scarlett.
He pushed the plate away. Went back to staring at his phone.
Outside the study, Zelda stood with her back against the closed door.
Her face had completely changed. The sweet, hopeful expression was gone.
In its place was something dark. Something ugly.
Her jaw was clenched. Her eyes were hard.
She remembered how it used to be. Before that celebration party. Before Scarlett's supposed cheating scandal.
Lorenzo had been warm to her. Protective. Called her his little sister. Bragged about her achievements to everyone.
After that night, everything changed.
Lorenzo became distant. Cold.
The SAT cheating scandal had made it worse. No matter how much Zelda tried to please him, he stayed distant.
But Scarlett? He called her every day. Sent her money. Worried about her constantly.
It was obvious. Scarlett had poisoned him against her. Had to be.
There was no other explanation for why Lorenzo's attitude had changed so drastically.
Zelda's hands curled into fists at her sides. Her nails dug into her palms.
Lorenzo wasn't just her brother. He was the heir. The future head of the Romano family. The one who would control all the money. All the power.
If she lost his favor, she lost everything.
Her position in the family. Her future. Her security.
All because of Scarlett. That ungrateful bitch who'd shown up out of nowhere and ruined everything.
Zelda closed her bedroom door. Pulled out her phone.
She opened her messages. Found Madison's contact. Hit the voice message button.
When she spoke, her voice was trembling. Tearful. The perfect performance.
"Madison? It's me." She let out a shaky breath. Made it sound like she'd been crying. "I know you're probably still mad about the party. About Scarlett. And I don't blame you."
She paused. Sniffled.
"But please. I'm begging you. Can you just... can you let it go? I know she embarrassed you. I know she was awful to you. But she's still my sister."
Another pause. This one longer. More emotional.
"I don't want there to be bad blood between you two because of me. You've been such a good friend to me. I don't want to lose that because of Scarlett's behavior."
She let her voice crack slightly. "Please, Madison. For me. Can you just drop it? Pretend it never happened?"
She ended the recording. Sent it.
Then she sat back on her bed. Waited.
The response came less than two minutes later. Madison's voice was sharp. Angry.
"Did she do something to you again? Is that why you're crying?"
Zelda smiled. Hit record for her response.
"No, no. It's nothing." She made her voice even more hesitant. Reluctant. "It's just... Lorenzo's been really distant lately. Ever since Scarlett left."
"What do you mean distant?"
"He barely talks to me anymore." Zelda let genuine hurt creep into her voice. This part wasn't acting. "I try to spend time with him. Bake him things. But he just... he pushes me away."
She took a shaky breath.
"And I think... I think it's because of what happened at the party. Because I'm your friend. And you went after Scarlett."
"That bitch is turning your own brother against you?" Madison's voice rose. "Are you kidding me right now?"
"I don't know for sure." Zelda's voice got smaller. More uncertain. "But if Lorenzo finds out you were behind the SAT thing... if he thinks I was involved..."
She didn't finish the sentence. Let it hang there.
The implication was clear. If Madison's campaign against Scarlett got traced back to Zelda, Lorenzo would never forgive her.
"I'm scared, Madison." Zelda's voice broke. "I'm scared he's going to hate me. All because Scarlett convinced him I'm the enemy."
Silence on the other end. Then Madison's voice came through. Cold and furious.
"Don't worry about Lorenzo. This isn't your fault. This is all Scarlett."
Another message came through seconds later.
"That country trash thinks she can waltz into New York and ruin people's lives? Thinks she can turn family members against each other with her victim act?"
Zelda's smile widened. Perfect.
"I swear to God, Zelda. I'm going to make sure she never recovers from this."
Madison's next few messages came rapid-fire. Each one angrier than the last.
"She got kicked out of the Romano house. Good. Her reputation is destroyed. Better. But it's not enough."
"She's still out there. Still breathing. Still thinking she won."
"Not for long."
Zelda set her phone down. Leaned back against her pillows.
Her face was cold satisfaction.
She'd played it perfectly. Made it seem like she was defending Scarlett. Like she was worried about Madison going too far.
But really? She'd just lit a fire under Madison. Made her angrier. More determined.
And the best part? When things escalated, Zelda's hands would be completely clean.
She'd have the messages to prove she'd asked Madison to stop. To show she'd tried to protect her "sister."
Meanwhile, Madison would do all the dirty work for her.
Zelda picked up her phone again. Scrolled through Madison's angry messages.
Her smile turned sharp.
Across town, Madison was pacing in her penthouse apartment. Her phone was clutched in her hand.
That crying voice message from Zelda had set her off. Completely set her off.
Scarlett Romano. That nobody from nowhere.
She'd already lost everything. Her family had kicked her out. Her reputation was destroyed. The whole internet thought she was a cheater.
But apparently, that wasn't enough. She was still out there. Still causing problems. Still making sweet, innocent Zelda cry.
Madison pulled up her contacts. Found the three reputation management firms she'd hired.
Typed out a message to all of them.
"I want you to push the SAT cheating narrative harder. I don't care if there's proof or not. I want it everywhere."
She hit send. Then typed another message.
"I'm adding two hundred thousand to the budget. Make it trend. Make it stick. I want her name to be synonymous with fraud."
Send.
One more message. This one to the lead consultant.
"I don't care if she actually cheated or not. I want to make it impossible for her to ever prove her innocence. Bury her so deep she can never crawl out."
Scarlett thought she could humiliate her at that party? Thought she could play victim and turn everyone against their friends?
Wrong.
By the time Madison was done, Scarlett's name would be mud. Her future would be nonexistent.
She'd never go to college. Never have a career. Never have anything.
Just like she deserved.