Chapter 853
With that thought, Kelly steadied herself.
“Thomas, I’ll prove to you that I’m the one you’ve been searching for.”
She glanced at the time, then rose to her feet.
“I’ll go for now. In a few days, I’ll come back to see you.”
She knew Johanna would arrive soon, and she had to leave quickly.
The moment Kelly slipped away, Johanna entered.
Because Thomas was seated by the window, Johanna had caught sight of him from outside. A woman
had just been speaking with him.
Kelly had disguised herself, and Johanna hadn’t seen her face clearly-she assumed it was just some
random girl trying to strike up a conversation. After all, it had happened plenty of times before.
Casually, she asked, “Thomas, who were you just talking to?”
Thomas called the waiter over and ordered two coffees. “Kelly.”
Johanna froze, barely believing her ears. “Who did you say?”
“Kelly.”
She snapped her gaze toward the direction the woman had gone, but the figure was long gone. A shard of
ice flashed in her eyes, though her face revealed nothing.
Feigning ignorance, she asked, “What did Kelly want with you?”
Thomas took a sip of his coffee. “She claims she’s the one I’ve been searching for-that you’re the imposter. She said the earrings were hers, that you picked up the one she dropped, and had a fake made.
And…”
Johanna’s grip on her cup tightened sharply, her voice laced with a hint of murderous intent.
“And what else?”
Thomas studied her, the corners of his mouth curving in a half-smile. “She said she had no choice but to admit she was a fake so she could get out of prison early. That you’re a wealthy, powerful heiress, far beyond her reach, and she could only surrender to the inevitable.”
Johanna’s fists clenched.
Kelly dared to stab her in the back!
1/2
Had Kelly kept her tail between her legs, Johanna would have ignored her. After all, Kelly was a nobody, too insignificant to bother with. But instead, Kelly had been foolish enough to strut in front of her.
In that case… she couldn’t blame Johanna for showing no mercy.
Johanna was never one for soft-heartedness. In her mind, Kelly was already as good as dead.
Though she seethed with a desire to tear Kelly apart piece by piece, her expression remained calm.
“So, do you believe her?”
Thomas gave her an ambiguous answer. “I believe you’re not that kind of person. But… some of what she said does make sense.’
Johanna smiled. “True. Then let time prove everything.”
She didn’t rush to defend herself, nor stoop beneath the dignity of her status.
Rising slowly, she said, “Until I’ve fully proven I’m the one you’re looking for, we shouldn’t meet again.”
On the surface, it sounded lofty, a proud declaration. In truth, she wanted time free of distractions-to deal with Kelly first. Better to crush that gutter rat quickly, before she crawled back out to disgust her again. 2
Thomas said nothing, lowering his gaze to his coffee.
Johanna gave him one last glance before turning to leave.
A few days later, the moment Sharon stepped into the studio, she heard Wendy shrieking with
excitement, as though she’d won the lottery.
Pushing the door open, Sharon saw Wendy chattering away with Thomas.
“Wasn’t Kelly sent to prison? Someone must have bailed her out. But guess what happened?”
Thomas humored her with a mild, “What happened?”
Wendy grinned. “Someone chopped off all five of her fingers!” 3
2/2
