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Chapter 31: Chapter 31: What a Pure White Lotus

”I don’t want this.”

Ian Sterling tossed out the words flatly before turning to leave. Lynn Winslow leaned against the entryway wall, her gaze lowered as she took a long moment to compose herself.

His words didn’t exactly crush her; after all, she had prepared herself before coming to Quartos.

But she wasn’t going to keep revolving around Ian Sterling. She muttered a single word under her breath and went back into the living room.

”Psycho.”

And wasn’t he? Ian Sterling thought so too. He rubbed his throbbing forehead and let out a deep sigh.

He’d made a promise, then backed out. He was a mess of volatile emotions. From the moment Lynn Winslow had reappeared in his life, he’d been acting like a complete lunatic. But he’d walked right into it. A classic case of one being willing to strike and the other willing to be struck. He couldn’t blame anyone else.

He lowered his gaze, composing himself for a long moment before finally starting the car and heading home.

Lynn Winslow stood on the balcony, her arms crossed, lazily watching his car speed away. The corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk.

Her phone, which she’d tossed onto the round balcony table, buzzed once. She picked it up and glanced at the screen. It was from Esther Abbott, whom she hadn’t seen all night.

[Your people were clean, but it seems he’s not reciprocating, is he?]

Lynn Winslow settled into a lounge chair. Sipping her red wine, she tapped out a reply: [Just a small fracas. Nothing to do but watch the show.]

Esther Abbott must have sensed her foul mood. Recalling that Lynn had left with Ian Sterling, she sent another message: [What’s wrong? Things didn’t go smoothly?]

Lynn understood the unprompted question, but she didn’t bother to reply. Tossing her phone back onto the table, she rocked gently in the lounge chair and stared up at the clear night sky, already plotting her next move to make Mia Rhodes lose face.

’Being too eager just makes them complacent.’ She’d already pushed Ian Sterling to the back of her mind. She hadn’t actually expected to get back together with him tonight; she had merely wanted something to happen between them—to quench the desire his red-hair phase had ignited within her.

Lynn Winslow reached for the pack of cigarettes on the round table, pulled one out, and lit it. Smoke billowed from the glowing crimson tip as she squinted her eyes and sighed.

She had never smoked before, only picking up the habit after her rebirth. When her grandfather found out, he’d given Zane Lancaster an earful, assuming he was the one who had taught her.

For the next two weeks, Lynn Winslow stayed completely out of Ian Sterling’s sight, living her days with wild abandon.

Somehow, Mia Rhodes had managed to get back into Chloe Clayton’s good graces, and the two were hanging out again. Lynn Winslow watched them walk in together, sitting on a high stool at a newly opened lounge bar, her chin resting in her hand and her legs swinging idly.

Chloe Clayton scanned her surroundings. The decor was understatedly luxurious, a male singer was crooning on stage with a guitar, and a few people were scattered about in the booths. It didn’t look like much fun. She frowned. ”Why did we have to come here? This is so boring.”

Mia Rhodes explained with a smile, ”This is a new lounge bar in Quartos. I was here the other day, and the mixologist is incredible. I thought the drinks would be perfect for your palate, so I wanted you to come try them with me.”

Only then did Chloe Clayton nod. She lifted her delicate chin like a proud little peacock and said daintily, ”Fine, we’ll try them. But if they’re bad, we’re leaving immediately.”

Mia Rhodes lowered her gaze, concealing her true feelings, and led Chloe Clayton to a booth by the picture window.

”Why aren’t we in a private room? There’s zero privacy out here,” Chloe Clayton complained, her brow furrowed in distaste.

”The view from this table is even better than from the private rooms,” Mia Rhodes said, gesturing to the city lights outside. Chloe tilted her head to look. It was, admittedly, a nice view, so she relented.

Lynn Winslow propped her head on her hand, a slender, pale finger tracing the rim of her glass. She took in their entire dynamic.

Chloe Clayton took a sip of her drink. ”This really is good,” she praised. ”I have to tell my brother about this place.”

A glint appeared in Mia Rhodes’s eyes. ’I’ve already lost my chance with Ian Sterling,’ she thought, ’but maybe I can get somewhere with Liam Clayton.’

She asked tentatively, ”Has your brother been busy lately? I saw his interview in a financial magazine just yesterday.”

Completely unsuspecting, Chloe Clayton pouted. ”Yeah, he hasn’t been home much at all. He’s always at the office. I think there’s some big project he has to personally oversee.” Chloe paused to think but came up blank. She shrugged. ”I don’t really get it, but I know it’s a huge deal to him.”

Having learned what she wanted, Mia Rhodes didn’t press the issue and skillfully changed the subject.

Lynn Winslow scoffed. ’She really is relentless. If Ian Sterling is a no-go, she just pivots to Liam Clayton.’

”Looks to me like Mia Rhodes is just trying to curry favor with Chloe Clayton,” the mixologist remarked with a faint smile, sliding a freshly made cocktail in front of Lynn Winslow, having overheard her soft scoff.

Lynn Winslow hummed in agreement. In Quartos, aside from the Sterling Family at the very top of the pyramid, the Claytons were also among the most powerful and influential.

’The original novel never detailed how Mia and Chloe interacted,’ Lynn recalled. ’It only mentioned they were close because Mia had once saved Chloe from a scheme, which in turn earned her some goodwill from the notoriously cold head of the Clayton family, Liam Clayton.’

The mixologist continued, ”Mia Rhodes came in a few days ago with Joanna Jacobs and Veronica Leighton.” He glanced over at Mia and Chloe’s table, then lowered his voice. ”I planted a bug under their table. I heard Mia say she was planning to set Chloe Clayton up.”

Lynn Winslow chuckled softly. ’So that plot point, the one glossed over in a single sentence in the original novel, hasn’t actually happened yet.’

”Did she say anything else?”

The mixologist shook his head. ”Afraid not. Probably because they were out in public, Mia just mentioned it in passing. No details.”

Lynn nodded. She picked up her phone and sent a message, ordering an investigation into Mia Rhodes’s recent activities and assigning a few people to tail her.

After sending the text, she stretched lazily and instructed the mixologist, ”Keep an eye on them. Mia Rhodes wouldn’t bring Chloe Clayton here without a reason.”

The mixologist grunted in acknowledgment. With a final glance toward the pair, Lynn Winslow departed, her mood significantly improved.

The investigators she’d dispatched were fast. A message with their findings arrived shortly.

Leaning against her car, Lynn Winslow lit a cigarette. Its crimson tip glowed in the dim light, smoke curling around her. Dressed in a tight, purple lace dress, with her long, wavy hair tumbling down her back, she exuded an air of casual power, looking every bit the part of a mafia queen.

She scanned the message while taking slow drags from her cigarette, completely oblivious to the person getting out of a car nearby.

A smirk played on Lynn’s lips as she read the message. Mia Rhodes had actually bribed a few street thugs, telling them to make a move on Chloe Clayton when she was alone.

’How disgusting,’ Lynn thought, ’using a girl’s reputation to get what she wants.’ She almost wanted to applaud Mia Rhodes. What a perfect little ”white lotus” heroine.

A figure drew closer, and Lynn finally sensed something was amiss. She looked up, and when she saw who it was, she froze completely.

But she didn’t panic. Straightening up, she calmly exhaled a plume of smoke. And just as she’d expected, the man’s brows were knitted tightly, his lips were pursed, and his expression was growing darker by the second.