Erin never expected Keira to react so strongly.

For a moment, she completely forgot what she was going to say and just stood there, staring at Keira in shock.

Keira's sharp eyes locked onto Erin, waiting for her to explain what had happened to her mom. When Erin didn't respond, Keira grew even more anxious. "Say something!"

Erin swallowed hard. "I…"

Before she could get another word out, Lewis walked over and said calmly, "Your mom's probably fine."

That finally seemed to calm Keira down a bit.

She turned to Lewis. "What did you just say?"

Lewis continued, "She said your mom was in trouble, but it was probably just a test. She didn't expect you to get this worked up."

Keira quickly looked back at Erin. "Is that true?"

Erin was on the verge of tears and nodded. "Yes, your mom's fine! Besides, the news I get from the South family only comes in once a month. Even if something really had happened, I wouldn't know about it yet!"

Keira's mind finally started to clear.

She took a deep breath and let go of Erin.

Erin immediately stepped back several paces, putting some distance between them. Her face still showed fear.

lowered her gaze, taking a moment to calm herself before looking back at Erin.

voice, almost whispering. "I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I

about how you'd feel if something really

I'd do whatever you wanted, right?" Keira cut in, her voice

paused, then nodded

eyes narrowed. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear: my mom is off-limits. Whatever you want

tone sharp. "And I know you're in contact with the other heiresses. Make sure they get this message, too. I'm not afraid of anyone, but if anyone tries to hurt my mom, I'll hunt them down to the ends of the

hard and

had no

brief moment, had looked

Erin wasn't done

cautiously, she ventured, "Look, if you really don't want your mom to suffer while she's living under the South family's control, there are only two ways out. Either you become the heiress, or you support me in becoming one. So, can we at least agree to… bend the rules

to use her mother's safety

asking

cleared her throat and then asked,

blinked. "Isn't it someone

of Clance's five major families, and Selena had been linked to them, even pretending to have access to

her eyes. "Nope, not

over at Lewis, who said, "She's marrying

"The Cobb family?"

Keira looked confused.

explained, "The Cobb family is very low-profile, so most people don't know much about them. They're not in business, which is why they

putting the pieces together. "So, that's why Mrs. Gill runs the household.

had given Keira a hard time. It was evident then that she was

was because Mr. Gill doted on his wife.

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