Unmasking the Heiress

Chapter 47

As if that was not enough, Evangeline let out a couple of low, suggestive moans.

A tidal wave of shock surged in Walter's eyes. He grabbed her hand with a stern look, his voice rough with barely contained frustration, "Evangeline, cut it out..."

Then, Julia's voice shattered the tense air.

"What the heck are you two doing?!" she shrieked, "Walt..."

On the other end of the line, Julia was a mess, her words tangled in sobs. Her mother, Lydia, took the phone from her, her voice thick with tears as she explained the night's horrors. After the charity dinner, Julia had been forced into a car by strangers. If not for a random traffic police checkpoint, she might have been assaulted by the men inside.

Julia, naive and unprepared for such horror, was frozen with fear.

Back home, overwhelmed by shame and anger, she had tried to take her own life, but Lydia found her just in time. They then rushed to the hospital, Julia still in the throes of panic.

"Walter, you've got to help our Julia. She's never faced anything like this. She only went to that dinner for you, and look what happened. You owe her," Lydia pleaded.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"Mom, please... Don't bother him about this. I'd rather die!" Julia's voice cracked with raw emotion.

"It is his business! If he hadn't asked you out, would those thugs have gotten to you? "Walter, you need to talk to Julia. She's talking about leaving you, saying she doesn't want to live!" Lydia's cries tore through the phone, Hearing the full story, Walter's frown deepened into a scowl.

Evangeline had done it. She had gotten under Julia's skin just as she had intended.

She stopped her teasing and slowly slid off Walter's lap, her hips swaying as she said her goodbyes and walked away.

To her surprise, his hand shot out and held her fast.

He did it on purpose. She had gott

without hesitation.

him all worked up, and he pinned her down

Her light dress was no barrier. Her panties were the only thing between her and the rough fabric of his pants, which then pressed insistently against her thighs.

She tried to pull away, but she was stuck.

"Release me, Walter!" Evangeline's voice rang out.

"You're the one who started this, and now you want to run?" he challenged.

Walter ended his phone call.

"Oh, really? So Julia doesn't matter to you? Let's just keep going then!" She was

determined to see what he would do "

Evangeline did not buy the act for a second. The security at Victoria Garden House was top-notch, and no one in their right mind would attempt a kidnapping As expected, her words hit home, and Walter's heat faded.

He let go of her hand.

here.

"She's your sister, and I'm partly to blame for her trouble. It wouldn't be right for me to stay. Wait for me at home," said Walter, deciding to leave after all. "Walter, are you certain?" Evangeline looked up at him, her eyes growing impassive.

"Don't start with me now," he scolded, his own eyes turning icily distant.

However, Evangeline, feeling a familiar despair, just smiled hollowly.

She had promised herself not to hope anymore, yet there she was, hurt by her own expectations. She had no one to blame but herself.

The light at the doorway flickered out as Walter left. Evangeline, once again alone in the dark, snapped back to reality. She dialed Roslyn's number.

"Hey, Evie, what's going on?" Roslyn's voice crackled, a cacophony of bar sounds in the background.

"Got plans tonight? How about we grab a drink to toast?" Evangeline suggested.

"A toast to what?" Roslyn's voice boomed over the noise, and Evangeline could tell she was already out bar-hopping.

"Julia tried to off herself by slashing her wrists today. Let's toast to her nearly crossing over," said Evangeline with a nonchalance that belied the gravity of the situation

"Damn right, we'll toast! Send me where you are. I'll pick you up, and we're hitting the town. We're not coming back till we're plastered, Roslyn replied, a surge of excitement in her voice.

She sounded like she would not mind giving Julia a few extra kicks if she could.

Roslyn zoomed to Evangeline's place, decked out in a flashy blue racing outfit.

Evangeline stared at her, baffled. "I thought we were going out for drinks. What's with the getup? You look like you're about to hit the racetrack."

Roslyn's grin was irrepressible. "That was the plan, but I nearly forgot the big event today. My hero, Jordan Baker, is racing at Sunlit Heights. I snagged a ticket, and today, I'm going to be right there with him."

Evangeline tapped her chin thoughtfully. Roslyn, with her knockout looks, had never really dated. To Evangeline's knowledge, Roslyn's crushes were all dreamy actors. from the silver screen, a list too long to bother counting. Shockingly, she seemed to have fallen for someone in the flesh.

With a mock-serious look, Evangeline quipped, "Well, look at that. The child has grown up and started pursuing her own ideas!"

"Oh, cut it out. I'm not a child!" Roslyn's eyes sparkled at the mention of Jordan." Jordan's just twenty-one, a real young thing." "You're twenty-three, you know. You're on the fast track to becoming the cougar snagging the young prey," Evangeline shot back. They bantered back and forth, all the way to Sunlit Heights.

Back at the hospital, Walter was stuck with a weeping Julia, her face drenched in tears, which made him grimace.

A delicate beauty in distress was charming, but one who did nothing but sob wore out her welcome fast.

Walter had thought Julia was gravely hurt, so he had dashed to the hospital, leaving behind an Evangeline who was just beginning to thaw. It even sparked a fight between them.

However, when he got there, he found Julia's 'suicide attempt' was just a tiny scratch on her wrist that would have healed if he had come any later.

Sure, she was shaken, but after trying to soothe her, Walter felt drained, especially with Julia clinging to him like a lifeline.

When Evangeline reached Sunlit Heights, she was surprised to find Roslyn had set aside an outfit for her. Even a race car was revved up and ready to go.

"Why do I get the feeling you've been here waiting just for me?" Who else would mix drinking with racing, complete with a full racing suit and car at the ready?

"Hey, drinking's fun, racing's fun-both are great ways to celebrate," Roslyn deflected with a grin. "Come on, Evangeline. Do me this solid, okay?"

"You're gonna have to spell it out for me-what exactly are you dragging me into?" asked Evangeline, her tone edged with annoyance.