After Rebirth, I Became My Ex's Aunt-in-Law

Diana sat on her velvet throne in the lobby of Sinclair Tower, letting out a long, dramatic sigh.

She looked at the empty chair across from her. She had officially rejected every single applicant. The floor was littered with the crushed dreams and discarded resumes of Ivy League graduates and overqualified trauma nurses.

”I am surrounded by mediocrity,” Diana muttered.

She raised a manicured hand, lazily signaling for her designated operative to come collect her. He had already helped her into her wheelchair when...

”Wait! Wait, please!” a high-pitched, girlish voice squeaked from the direction of the barricaded revolving doors. ”Am I too late?!”

Diana didn’t even bother to turn her head. She kept her gaze fixed on the pristine wall ahead of her, her lips curling into a look of absolute disdain.

”If you have to ask, the answer is yes,” Diana called back, her voice carrying across the quiet lobby. ”I have absolutely no use for an employee who lacks the basic mental capacity to arrive on time. The position is closed.”

”Take me up,” she told the guard.

”Mom!”

A distinctly male voice echoed through the lobby, cutting through the quiet.

Diana froze. Beneath the dark tint of her sunglasses, her eyes rolled so hard they nearly gave her a migraine.

She recognized that whiny, eager tenor instantly. It was her useless son.

She took a deep breath, forcing her rigid facial muscles to relax. She was in a public, luxury hotel lobby, surrounded by Sinclair operatives and staff. She had an image to maintain.

Diana signaled the operative to turn the wheelchair around. She plastered a bright, sweet smile onto her face. ℯℯ𝘭.

”Lucas, my darling boy!” Diana greeted him, holding her arms out.

Lucas jogged across the lobby, bypassing the security checkpoint with a wave of his hand. He knelt down next to her wheelchair, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

Diana stiffly patted him twice on the back, keeping her cashmere coat safely away from whatever cheap cologne he was wearing.

”Mom, what happened?!” Lucas asked, pulling back to look at the thick white bandages wrapping her thigh. His eyes were wide with genuine, puppy-dog concern. ”Your leg! Why didn’t you tell me you were in the city? I would have met you at the airport!”

”It was just a little accident, darling,” Diana lied smoothly, waving her hand as if a 9mm bullet wound were a minor papercut. ”Nothing serious. And I haven’t been here very long. I knew you were swamped with your new little movie, and I didn’t want to bother you while you were working so hard.”

”You wouldn’t have bothered me!” Lucas insisted eagerly. ”The worldwide premiere is in a week! You are coming, right?”

Diana’s smile tightened until it actually hurt.

She genuinely could not care less about his D-list acting career. Sitting in a dark theater for two hours watching her son pretend to be an emperor sounded like a form of torture.

”I will certainly have to check my schedule,” Diana demurred politely, knowing full well she would rather chew glass. ”But I am so proud of you.”

Ahem.

A loud, highly intentional clearing of a throat sounded from the security barricade.

Diana looked past Lucas’s shoulder.

Standing right at the edge of the velvet ropes, currently being blocked from entering the lobby by two operatives, was a young woman.

It was the girl who had squeaked about being late.

”Oh, right! Sorry!” Lucas jumped up, turning around to wave at the guards. ”Let her through, guys! She’s with me!”

The guards stepped aside.

The girl rushed forward. ”I am so, so sorry for being late, Ms. Sinclair. I literally just heard about the job posting twenty minutes ago.”

Diana stared at the girl, peering over the rim of her sunglasses.

She was dressed in what was clearly an attempt at high-end, professional chic: a designer blouse paired with a tailored skirt, but it looked entirely too try-hard.

”Mom,” Lucas smiled, gesturing to the smiling girl. ”This is my friend, Bella Vale.”

’Vale.’

Diana slowly pushed her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose, her eyes locking onto the girl.

She had never actually paid attention to Lucas’s chaotic love life. Whenever he babbled about his girlfriends, Diana usually zoned out. She didn’t recognize the girl’s face.

But she recognized the last name.

A wicked, brilliant, malicious spark instantly ignited in Diana’s chest.

This was Aria’s estranged sister.

Diana slowly looked Bella up and down. She was an aspiring actress with zero nursing qualifications and zero medical background.

She was useless as a caretaker.

But as a weapon? She was flawless.

The idea of trapping Aria under the same roof as her jealous, fame-obsessed sister was simply too delicious to pass up.

”Bella Vale,” Diana purred, leaning forward in her wheelchair. ”You know what? I admire a woman who rushes to seize an opportunity. Punctuality is overrated anyway.”

Bella blinked, completely caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone. ”Wait... really?”

”Absolutely,” Diana declared, waving her hand at the security guards. ”You’re hired. For the next three weeks, you are my personal, live-in caretaker at the penthouse. Pack your bags.”

Bella’s jaw dropped. She hadn’t even handed over a resume. She hadn’t answered a single interview question.

”Oh my god! Thank you!” Bella gasped, clapping her hands together. ”You won’t regret this, Ms. Sinclair! I will take such good care of you!”

”I’m sure you will,” Diana smirked, already picturing the look that is going to be on Aria’s face.

”Mom, that’s awesome,” Lucas grinned. He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking around the expansive hotel lobby.

”Is Uncle Damien upstairs?” Lucas asked.

”Why on earth are you looking for Damien?” Diana asked, crossing her arms.

Bella stepped forward. ”Haven’t you heard the news, Ms. Sinclair?” she asked, her voice dripping with triumphant venom.

Diana frowned. ”What news?”

Bella reached into her designer purse and pulled out her smartphone. She tapped the screen a few times, pulling up Instagram, and turned the volume all the way up.

”This leaked onto the internet last night,” Bella announced.

She hit play.

A piece of raw, unedited audio began to play loudly from the phone’s speaker.

It was Aria’s voice.

”I am actually so glad the coma ruse is over,” Aria’s voice complained through the speakers, crisp and undeniable. ”Hiding from the world was getting exhausting.”

Diana froze.

She stared at the phone, her mind desperately trying to comprehend what she was hearing. It was a hoax?!

A deeply satisfied smirk stretched across Bella’s face.

”Aria Sinclair is officially canceled as of this morning,” she announced.