Secrets 78_From Ashes to Queen: Now I call the shots

Chapter 78 The Mask Drops

 Luke followed up quickly, trying to sound as sincere as possible. “If you don’t want your name on it, that totally fine. Everything’s negotiable.”

 Colt pressed his fingers to his temple, visibly running out of patience. “You’ve definitely got the wrong person. I don’t write scripts, and I’ve never touched a screeny in my life.”

 Stanley and Luke exchanged nces–both instantly sure they were being lied to. Colt must be trying to hide his identity.

 Stanley grit his teeth, then forced himself into a bowed, groveling posture. “Officer Colt, I’m begging you. If I can just get one more chance, I swear, any price you name, I’ll make it worth your time.”

 Luke nodded furiously. “Seriously. Anything. You don’t even have to lift a finger–we’ll handle the rest. You can just give a rough idea, or even an old draft, and we’ll do the legwork.”

 Colt started to sidestep them, but the two men crowded closer, cutting off every possible route of escape.

 He turned to Scarlett, giving her a helpless nce.

 She shrugged, clearly uninterested in ying the rescuer. Her patience for this kind of nonsense had worn out a long time ago.

 Colt sighed. “Look, I’m a cop. I don’t lie on duty.” He pointed at the emblem on his cap. “See this? I swear on this badge–1 am not the Dreamer.”

 That stopped both men cold.

 Just seconds ago, they’d been practically groveling at his feet. Now they stood there ck–jawed and blinking like broken NPCs.

 Colt didn’t waste the opening. He sidestepped the human blockade and made his escape, muttering, “Thirty–six Stratagems, number one: run.”

 “Wait!” Stanley spun around and scanned the area again, this time with renewed intensity. There weren’t many people around. It had to be one of the two they’d seen earlier.

 Luke’sst tracking ping had pointed to this exact spot. If Colt wasn’t the Dreamer, then…

 His gaze slowly drifted to Scarlett.

 No. Couldn’t be. 

 But the longer he stared at her, the more disturbed he felt by the possibility. “Could she actually be the Dreamer…?” 

 Stanley scoffed, bursting into a sharp, humorlessugh. “Her? You can’t be serious.”

 There, beneath the dappled light of the trees, Scarlett stood with her arms folded and her expression t. She hadn’t said a word since this whole ridiculous scene started That alone was enough to grate his nerves.

 He snapped, “She’s just a headache in human form. Besides that? Useless. If she really were don’t you think she’d be shouting it from the rooftops? Hell, she’d use it to ckmail me into spoiling her even more and casting Reba aside!”

 Dreamer,

 Chapter 78 The Mask Drops

 He turned sharply to Luke. “Come on, use your head. She’s not even in the same league at Reba never wins anything, never aplishes anything–just rides coattails and brags about nothing

 Colt, who hadn’t quite left yet, looked over his shoulder and frowned. He was starting to wonder if State needed his vision checked.

 Scarlett’s arms stayed crossed, her bodynguage utterly indifferent. She didn’t even bother responding 

 Stanley bristled at her silence. “Scarlett! Are you really not going to say anything? Pretending you don’t even know me now?” 

 His face flushed with anger, and his voice rose. “I’m telling you, you’re really getting out of hand! You could learn a thing or two from Reba. She’s thoughtful, she’s capable, she’s decent. You? All you do is make people ufortable!”

 He looked at Luke again, clearly expecting backup. “Can you imagine this one writing a bestselling drama series? If she’s the Dreamer, I’ll do tenps around the whole medical campus–on my hands!” 

 He clenched his fists. “Call that hacker again. He must’ve traced the wrong IP.”

 Luke nced at Scarlett, frowning in uncertainty. Aside from her stunning face, she didn’t really seem like much. No presence, no ir, no clever maniption.

 He started to think he must’ve gone crazy earlier for even considering the possibility.

 This? This couldn’t be the Dreamer. Right?

NovelLamp

Secrets 78