Shattered Rose He Held On Tight novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 How Unlucky That Girl Must Be

In truth, she wasn’t the one badly hurt–it was the thugs.

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If not for the mysterious man who had appeared with her and his capable lawyer, she and that man might have been the ones charged with assault instead.

Thinking back on the state those thugs had been left in, even after years on the force, the officer shivered. They had been brutalized. Truly, a ruthless hand.

Of course, the ruthless one was Sterling.

Everyone assumed the one who fought was Sterling. Claudia? That quiet, delicate, pretty girl? No one believed she was capable of such savagery.

And Sterling himself had let them believe it.

But the officer, sensing this family’s misunderstanding, deliberately twisted the knife with his words.

“She was in a bad way when she was brought in–covered in blood, her head cut, her arm injured. She was so shaken she could barely speak. Who wouldn’t be terrified, being surrounded at midnight by a gang of thugs? She had no family to call, just sat there in the corner, silent, cooperating with every question. It was pitiful to see.”

He went on, “When we told her to call someone to pick her up, she tried several numbers and couldn’t reach anyone. She said she lived alone. In the end, it was that kind stranger’s lawyer who bailed her out. We thought she was an orphan and didn’t want to reopen her wounds. But she has a family? Then why didn’t you come last night?”

It was an ordinary question, but the Lancaster family flushed crimson.

They had thought Claudia was sulking over the ruined proposal and, with Lydia’s health on their minds, none of them had the patience to listen. So, in unspoken agreement, they had all turned off their phones.

Jasper remembered the call he had received. He remembered her saying someone was following her, begging him to come. And how he had brushed her off, telling her not to make

trouble.

How frightened and desperate must she have been in that moment?

He thought of the promise they had once made–to always answer, no matter what, to never let a call go unanswered.

He had broken it.

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Chapter 7 How Unlucky That Girl Must Be

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A sharp pain clenched his chest, as though a giant hand had seized his heart.

Wilson was silent for a long moment. “Tell Claudia to come home for dinner tonight. Make her favorite dishes.”

Zane, who hadn’t expected this time to be anything but one of Claudia’s stunts, shifted awkwardly, half angry, half uneasy. “Did they at least catch those thugs?”

The officer confirmed they had.

Clarence’s face hardened. “We want them punished to the fullest extent. And that good Samaritan who helped my sister last night–do you have his contact information? We should thank him properly.”

He thought grimly of arranging for his secretary to send money. Since they hadn’t been there, it was only right to pay the man off.

The others murmured their agreement.

But while the Lancaster family peppered the officer with questions, the so–called good Samaritan–Sterling himself—was already paging through Claudia’s entire file.

His long fingers flipped slowly through the thick folder, his dark eyes unreadable.

Claudia’s life fell neatly into three stages.

Before six, she was the Lancaster family’s only princess–adored, spoiled, bright and cheerful.

After six, when the Lancasters adopted Lydia, Claudia faded into silence, a mere shadow. Rarely seen in public, she ceased to be known as the Lancaster heiress. That title belonged to Lydia.

For years, she lived without distinction, complying with Lydia’s every demand, a puppet

without a soul.

Then at seventeen, something had changed. Claudia transformed–defiant, vicious, her every move aimed at Lydia. Her relationship with her family only worsened until, after college, she left the Lancaster home for good.

Clint finished his report with a sigh. “The Lancaster sisters couldn’t be more different. The elder, gentle and talented, beloved by all. The younger, arrogant, cruel, untalented.”

In his chair, Sterling’s handsome face shifted only slightly. His lips curved. “Pathetic.”

No one knew who he meant.

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Chapter 7 How Unlucky That Girl Must Be

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Clint kept his eyes lowered, his lips sealed.

The Romero family was half the power of Liberty City, Sterling, heir apparent, could tilt the sky with a flick of his hand. If he passed judgment on someone, their life or death was sealed.

Why then had the golden boy suddenly taken an interest in a woman? Surely it wasn’t love. The very idea was absurd. He nearly laughed at himself for thinking it.

Besides, with the Reaper’s gaze on her, how unlucky that girl must be.

As Clint’s thoughts spun, Sterling’s eyes returned to the section on Claudia’s sixth year.

Lydia’s mother, Zoey Wallace, and Claudia’s mother, Lottie, had been sisters. Zoey was supposed to marry Wilson first, but somehow, Wilson had chosen Lottie.

Lottie’s marriage was happy–two sons and a daughter.

Zoey, however, had wed a gambler and abuser. Eventually, with her sister and brother–in–law’s help, she divorced, raising her frail, premature daughter–Lydia–alone.

But tragedy struck. On Claudia’s sixth birthday, Zoey–who had come to celebrate–died in a car accident while searching for Claudia, who had run away after a fight with the family.

From then, Lydia became half an orphan.

The Lancasters, guilt–stricken, adopted her. To atone, they treated her even better than their own daughter.

And Lydia thrived under it. She won every heart in the household. Even Claudia’s brothers loved their adopted sister more than her.

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