Chapter 47

Yvonne sat hunched on the pool's edge, water streaming from her hair andclothes as she shivered,her complexion ghostly pale.

Julian shrugged off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, then pulled her into his arms,pressing her against his chest to share his warmth.

Around them, the crew members exchanged uneasy glances, their faces clouded with tangled emotions.

At the back, Rita stood rigid, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles whitened, her face etched with tension.

In front of everyone, Julian's protective tenderness toward Yvonne could not be ignored. Between the two of them lingered a closeness, a silent intimacy that instinctively shut out the rest of the world.

Eyes turned toward Rita, heavy with suspicion. How the hell could a wife endure watching her husband lavish such care on another woman in plain sight?

Rita, naturally, could hardly stomach the sight,yet she had no legitimate excuse to raise a protest-after all, she wasn't Julian's wife, as everyone boelieved.

Heat crept up her cheeks, a flush of humiliation mixed with simmering rage, and for a moment she toyed with the idea of stepping forward to spin some misleading tale.

But Julian didn't even spare her a glance. Instead, he gathered Yvonne into his arms and, with his voice sharpened by urgency, told Morton at his side,"Hospital.Now."

Morton snapped to attention and hurried to lead the way.

As Julian strode off carrying Yvonne, Rita's jaw clenched until her teeth ached. Hatred churned in her chest. If Yvonne had "accidentally" drowned today, it would have solved everything neatly. Yet Julian's sudden appearance had shattered that possibility, throwing all her carefully laid hopes into chaos.

Brock, who had been quietly observing, drifted closer with narrowed eyes. Something in Julian's behavior had stirred his suspicions. "Ms. Adams," he asked, his tone laced with curiosity. "What exactly is Yvonne's connection to Mr. Powell?"

Brock had always been sharp. With Julian's stature, it seemed unlikely he'd risk such public concern for nothing more than a casual mistress.

Rita's pulse faltered. If the crew discovered that Yvonne was Julian's lawful wife, the social climbers among them would instantly switch allegiance, and her days here would be a hell. That was a truth she sure as hell couldn't allow to surface.

Rita forced her breath to steady, masking her nerves beneath a veneer of scorn. Instead of giving Brock a straight answer, she let out a dismissive laugh and drawled, "Why don't you take a guess-what do you think they are to each other?" Brock faltered, his tongue hesitating with a mix of caution and curiosity, his eyes flickering as he weighed the consequences.

He had already offended Yvonne once; if he made the wrong call again, he risked offending Rita as well.No matter which side proved true, he would end up cornered.

That was precisely what Rita wanted. She left him dangling in uncertainty, punctuating her silence with a derisive snort before sweeping off with exaggerated arrogance.

Inside the crew's dressing room, the atmosphere shifted. Janet Finch, Rita's personal makeup artist,nervously bolted the door before rushing back toward her. Her hands trembled as she wrung them,her voice cracking with dread.

"Rita," Janet whispered urgently. "When you told me to push Yvonne into the pool, you never said the plan was to end her life! Now Mr. Powell's aware of what happened, and if he digs deeper and traces this back to me, I'm utterly ruined!" A flicker of contempt passed through Rita's eyes as she clenched her teeth. "I never imagined Julian would actually show up today..."

"You've got to help me," Janet begged, her face streaked with tears. "I only did what you asked. This isn't on me!"

Rita's stomach tightened with annoyance. If Janet had chosen her moment with more care, Yvonne would already be gone for good.

Still, she couldn't afford to antagonize her. If Janet panicked and ran to Julian with the truth, everything Rita had built would crumble.

After weighing her options, Rita forced a sweet smile and pressed a bank card into Janet's trembling hands, feigning concern. "There's two hundred thousand on this. Take it and get out of Kumvine right now. Don't come back until | tell you it's safe."

Janet clutched the card blankly, her head bobbing in a dazed nod.