Chapter 144

"What made you call me right now? Did you miss—"

Cordelia's icy voice cut through before he could finish. "Your mother showed up at the set."

The playful lilt in Logan's tone vanished. "Did she give you a hard time?"

"You know what your mother's like. She didn't embarrass me yesterday in person, and she's certainly not going to make a scene in public."

Logan sighed. "True. Mom's too proud for that. She'd never start something in front of other people."

Cordelia interrupted him. "But she arrived right when Nathan was here. She might have gotten the wrong idea about me."

Logan clearly didn't care about that part. His voice came through sharp, teeth practically grinding. "Nathan went to see you again?"

Nathan had been sneaking onto the set multiple times while Logan was away, always under the pretense of visiting Bianca—but his real intentions were becoming impossible to hide.

Today Logan had just been too swamped to notice. And there Nathan was. Again.

He dropped everything. "I'm coming to the set right now."

Cordelia heard the clatter of things being shoved around on his end—he was already gathering his stuff. Then his voice again: "Don't talk to Nathan. Don't even acknowledge him."

Cordelia thought his priorities were completely backwards.

Wasn't his mother being here the bigger issue?

She couldn't leave Bethel waiting. She said a quick "Just get here" into the phone and hung up, hurrying back to find her.

---

Kaida spotted Cordelia returning with a stranger and looked confused. "Cordelia, is that your mom?"

Cordelia cleared her throat and shot her a look. "This is Mrs. Landry."

Kaida's expression shifted. She stammered out, "H-hello, Mrs. Landry! I'm Kaida—Mr. Landry assigned me as Cordelia's assistant."

Bethel removed her sunglasses indoors and regarded Kaida's flustered face with a cool nod.

The girl was a bundle of nerves. Not nearly as composed as Cordelia.

Why had Logan saddled her with this one?

"Mrs. Landry, it gets stuffy on set, and there are too many prying eyes. Let me take you to the green room."

The sudden appearance of an obviously wealthy woman had already drawn curious stares.

Bethel was aware of how conspicuous she was. Besides, nothing between Logan and Cordelia was official yet—she didn't need rumors flying. She nodded.

Cordelia led her to the green room right away.

The space wasn't huge, but the layout and furnishings were top-notch.

Bethel could tell at a glance whose doing that was.

"Mrs. Landry, please—have some coffee." Cordelia passed along the coffee Nathan had sent over, conveniently re-gifting it.

Bethel eyed it. One eyebrow rose. "This coffee isn't cheap. Your production company is that generous with you?"

Cordelia didn't want her thinking this was some special perk from Logan. She cleared her throat. "Mr. Foster came to visit one of our actresses. He had drinks brought in for everyone."

Bethel frowned. "Wait—your ex-husband? He came to visit a different actress?"

She'd seen the way Nathan looked at Cordelia outside. There were clearly still feelings there. So why was he supposedly visiting someone else?

Cordelia nodded. "Yes."

Bethel set the coffee down on the table with visible distaste. She pulled out a tissue and wiped her fingers. "No wonder you divorced him. A man that clueless—stay long enough and you're bound to get hurt."

A man who couldn't keep proper boundaries with other women wasn't worth having, no matter how rich or handsome.

Bethel's righteous indignation was so fierce it actually struck Cordelia as endearing.

She'd expected Bethel to judge her for attracting unwanted male attention. Instead, the woman had taken her side.

Maybe Bethel wasn't as difficult as she'd imagined.

A principled woman like this—how bad could she really be?

Some of the tension left Cordelia's shoulders. "You're absolutely right, Mrs. Landry."

Bethel caught herself mid-rant and realized she'd gone off-script.

Wasn't she here to evaluate Cordelia? How had she ended up defending her instead?

She coughed lightly, shifted back in her seat, crossed her legs, and fixed Cordelia with an elegant, measured gaze. "Just because I disapprove of Nathan doesn't mean I approve of you."

"Understood, Mrs. Landry."

"Logan is my only son now. His father and I will have a say in who he marries."

Cordelia let her smile fade and nodded. "You're right to do that."

Cordelia's agreement left Bethel momentarily speechless. Somehow she'd been made to feel like the unreasonable villain mother-in-law.

Pushing past the odd feeling, Bethel continued. "I'm glad you understand. We didn't vet Raina properly back then, and it cost Logan's brother his life. I won't let the same thing happen to Logan."

Cordelia straightened in her seat, pressing her lips together. "Mrs. Landry, I understand your concerns. But a few meetings probably aren't enough for you to judge my character. I'm right here. You're welcome to come evaluate me anytime."

The confrontation Bethel had braced for never materialized. A glimmer of respect entered her eyes.

She'd expected a battle. Instead, this girl was sensible, articulate, and said all the right things. She didn't seem like someone with bad intentions.

Then again, people could always put on an act. Bethel reserved judgment.

She stood. "As things stand, Logan's father and I aren't fully satisfied with you. Going forward—that depends on how you conduct yourself."

"Of course, Mrs. Landry."

A chance to prove herself was better than being dismissed outright.

"I'm sure you already called Logan the moment I showed up. That boy is sharp—don't bother hiding anything. Just tell him exactly what we discussed today."

Cordelia nodded. "I will."

"I'm leaving."

Bethel walked to the door and turned the handle.

It didn't budge. The door was locked from the outside.

She looked back at Cordelia, puzzled.

Cordelia's brow furrowed. "I didn't ask Kaida to lock the door."

The words had barely left her mouth when a sharp, crackling hiss came from behind them.

Cordelia spun around. In the corner, the power strip was sparking—an eerie, flickering glow.

Then came the bang.

The strip exploded. Thick smoke billowed upward. Sparks sprayed onto a rack of clothes nearby, and flames leapt to life instantly.

Cordelia's face drained of color. She saw Bethel's rising panic and grabbed her arm immediately. "Mrs. Landry, stay calm."

She yanked at the door. It wouldn't open. She pounded on it with her fists. "Is anyone out there? Open the door!"