Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

Pearl forced herself upright, but the sudden movement tugged at the wound on her back, splitting it open again. Blood seeped out instantly, warm against her skin. She sucked in a sharp breath, biting back a curse. God, knife wounds hurt way more than she'd imagined. If she'd known it would be this bad, maybe she wouldn't have been so hard on herself in the first place. There was no way this would heal in less than a couple of weeks.

Across from her, Fiona and the others waited, patient and silent, just watching, giving her no room to stall or dodge.

When the pain faded enough that she could talk, Pearl finally broke the silence. "The woman I grew up calling my mom? She's not really my mom. She's actually the head of the Larkin family."

She paused, gaze drifting somewhere far away, her voice growing soft. "My real mother died when I was little. She and Ms. Larkin were twins. That fire at the Larkin estate-it only 'killed' the family on paper, including Ms. Larkin. But she survived, changed her name, and took my mom's place. She's been pretending all these years."

Fiona's face barely shifted. She'd heard too many lies to believe any story without proof.

"Found something," Tyler cut in, waving his phone at Fiona. "Take a look."

On the screen was an old news article. Sure enough, it said Pearl's mother and Ms. Larkin were twins. Fiona glanced at it, handed the phone back, and turned to Pearl. "So why do you think Ms. Larkin would want you dead? She's your aunt, after all."noveldrama

"Aunt?" Pearl snorted, as if the word tasted bitter. She spat onto the floor, her eyes flashing with hate. "She's a psycho, that's what she is. If I hadn't accidentally uncovered her secret, she'd have killed me without blinking—and I'd probably have helped her cover it up."

Fiona took a moment, replaying everything in her mind. Suddenly, it all lined up. Pearl had shown up at the bar on purpose, drawing Fiona and Tyler into her mess. She'd created chaos, made sure she got injured in the process.

Fiona recognized the knife wound. Pearl had counted on her to notice, to put the pieces together. Every detail she'd let slip was bait, leading Fiona straight to Ms. Larkin's secret.

Pearl knew once Fiona figured it out, she'd send the detective to the hospital- and when the detective took Ms. Larkin away, Pearl would finally be out of danger.

Fiona clapped slowly, a crooked

smile on her lips. "I have to admit,

you played this game well. You even

had me fooled from the moment

first stepped into Woods Corporation. You're pretty damn good at setting traps, Pearl

She smiled again, but then, suddenly, Fiona lunged. Her hands closed tight around Pearl's throat, squeezing hard, cutting off her air Pearl' face started to turn blue, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. She clawed at Fiona's hands, but there was no way to break free.

"Too bad," Fiona said, her voice cold. "Looks like your luck just ran out."

Pearl thrashed on the bed, panic in her eyes, struggling for breath. But Fiona wasn't about to let her off that easily. Just as Pearl started to go limp, Fiona let go, then grabbed a vial of clear liquid and poured it into Pearl's IV. She gave the bag a quick shake.

Pearl reached for the needle, desperate to pull it out, but Fiona just smiled at her,

a look that chilled straight to the bone.