Chapter 42 Chapter 42
The restaurant was busy that afternoon, people coming in and out, the sound of plates and voices filling the air. Cassandra sat at the corner table, wearing dark glasses and a short red dress. She kept checking her phone until Vanessa walked in.
Vanessa smiled wide as if they were old friends meeting for fun. She hugged Cassandra, then sat down quickly.
“You look good,” Cassandra said, lifting her glass of wine.
“You too,” Vanessa replied, her eyes shining. “You are living the good life now. Mansion, money, Nathaniel by your side. Savannah must be crying in some corner if she is alive.”
Cassandra laughed softly. “If she is alive. But I don’t care. Nathaniel doesn’t care either. To him, she is finished. That’s all that matters.”
The waiter came, they ordered food, and when he left, Vanessa leaned close across the table.
“I heard something in town,” Vanessa whispered. “Somebody was saying a young woman fainted on the road weeks ago. A man took her to the hospital. They said she looked like Savannah.”
Cassandra’s eyes narrowed, but she kept her voice calm. “Who said that?”
“Just gossip,” Vanessa replied, shrugging. “No one knows for sure. But I thought you should hear it first.”
Cassandra sipped her wine slowly, her smile never fading. “People gossip every day. They see one poor girl and suddenly it’s Savannah. I won’t believe until I see with my eyes.”
Vanessa tapped her nails on the table. “But what if it is true? What if she is alive and hiding? If she comes back, she can ruin everything.”
Cassandra leaned back in her chair, her tone sharp now. “Savannah has no power. Even if she is alive, Nathaniel will never take her back. He told me himself—he doesn’t care where she is. I am the one he wants now. I am the one in his house.”
Vanessa nodded slowly, but her eyes held doubt. “Still, we must be careful. Nathaniel is not stupid. If Savannah shows up pregnant—”
Cassandra cut her off with a laugh. “Pregnant? That’s a joke. She lived with Nathaniel for two years and no child came. Even if she claims to be pregnant now, nobody will believe her. Everyone will call her a liar. Maybe she is barren. That’s why she ran.”
Both women burst into laughter, covering their mouths so people wouldn’t stare.
The waiter brought their food. They ate slowly, talking in low voices.
Cassandra said, “Nathaniel told me last night he loves me. He asked me to move in fully. I already feel like the queen of the house.”
Vanessa clapped her hands softly. “That’s good. Very good. You must not lose your place. Remember, the property, the company—those things must end in our hands.”
Cassandra nodded. “And they will. Step by step, Nathaniel is falling into my hands. When the time is right, I will make sure everything he owns becomes mine. He will never know until it is too late.”
Vanessa leaned back, smiling. “That’s why I like you, Cassandra. You know how to play the game.”
The two of them clinked glasses, their laughter sharp like knives. To anyone watching, they looked like two rich women enjoying lunch. But under the smiles, their words were poison.
Cassandra wiped her lips with a napkin, her eyes cold. “Savannah is finished. If she is alive, I will crush her. If she is dead, then better for us. Either way, nothing will stop me now.”
Vanessa raised her glass again. “To us.”
“To us,” Cassandra echoed.
Their glasses touched, and their laughter rose again, filling the corner of the restaurant like a dark promise.