A Fake Heiress’s Guide to Love and Power novel Chapter 442

“I just can’t shake the feeling that he’s trying to emphasize something, you know? It’s weird.” Joyce frowned as she recounted everything Fortune

had said to her, word for word.

Her memory was sharp–she could recall almost everything Fortune told her, practically verbatim.

“Joyce! Are you serious? He’s totally gaslighting you!” Esme couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Exactly! He keeps showering you with compliments on the surface, but underneath, he’s belittling your background, criticizing your choices, and even trying to drive a wedge between you and Lessie. No wonder you’ve been so obsessed with prices lately, always zoning out. What on earth has been going through your head?”

Mia frowned, feeling inexplicably annoyed at the sight of Joyce’s confusion.

“It’s just how it goes–when you’re in the middle of it, you can’t see it clearly. If you’re caught off guard in a conversation like that, it’s easy to get swept along. And honestly, does she look like the kind of person who’s on guard against anyone?”

Compared to Esme and Mia’s outrage, Alessia appeared much calmer.

Joyce rubbed her nose, sheepish. “I… Well, I snapped out of it in time, didn’t I? Sorry, Lessie. I’ll tell him I’m not going.”

She grabbed her phone, but Alessia snatched it from her hand.

“Lessie?”

“No, you have to go.”

“Huh?” All three of them looked puzzled.

“Wait, you know it’s a trap and you still want her to go? Have you lost your mind, Alessia?” Mia jumped off the bed in a panic.

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Chapter 442

“This is the perfect opportunity. I’d be a fool not to take advantage of it,” Alessia said, her composure making it hard for anyone to keep up.

“In any case, Joyce, this is your moment.”

Alessia’s smile sent a chill down Joyce’s spine, but she nodded anyway.

Fortune, who knew the truth, let out a dark laugh. “So what? You can stop pretending. You drank it too–none of you are getting away!”

His eyes flashed with malice.

“Drank what? Sorry, that stuff’s not for us.”

Alessia snorted, her tone mocking.

“What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Fortune’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t drink?”

“From start to finish, did you see us eat or drink anything?” Alessia sank into her chair, Cole’s hand resting protectively on her shoulder as he gave Fortune a cold glare from above.

Thinking back, Fortune realized that Alessia and Joyce had picked up their glasses several times, but never actually took a sip.

“You did it on purpose!”

“Congratulations, you finally figured it out,” Alessia said dryly.

No sooner had she finished than several police officers burst into the

room.

Cole crouched down, and with a click, unlocked Fortune’s hands–only to cuff them together before he even had a chance to react.

It was over.

“Your words mean nothing now. You’re in this as deep as anyone. Do you really think you’ll walk away clean?” Fortune struggled, still trying to sound menacing.

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Alessia and Joyce exchanged a glance and, in silent agreement, unclipped their brooches.

“Officers, here’s all the evidence and footage from the gathering,” Alessia said calmly, shattering Fortune’s last sliver of hope. His face drained of color, and he crumpled as if the life had been sucked out of him.

After years of scheming, this was how it ended.

Alessia stared at him without a hint of sympathy.

“There are plenty of roads you could’ve taken, yet you chose the one that leads straight into the shadows. You brought this on yourself. Don’t start blaming your circumstances–there are people far worse off than you, but you don’t see them acting like the world owes them.”

Cole, Six Dawson, Eddie Chase, Tristan Hollis, even members of the Morton family–each had clawed their way through hardship to get where they were.

But if you let hatred destroy your conscience and become a slave to power, your path is bound to end in ruin.