SMR | Chapter 37

~Chapter 37~a196cd451a6c21b3

“You mean you’re going 8d441bcf0b to just accept that 87c0533895 disgrace, even though it ca8658ed89 wasn’t your fault?”f41f0895bbbb52ef

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“It’s not something 3f99bd5860 I can just 002b097cb6 shake off right 55f89f77ce away. And like you ecc0be8b8b said, this scandal b315a488ee is the reason b5bd29ffac I’m famous—so I 3afdb53f86 thought I might 44da2c1e4d as well use 67b74dd63d it.”5d9198a0ef19a216

Tricia’s brow e89604aae8 was still cf2db0c9bc furrowed. While fame could be 31d4c7ff3d useful, letting a misunderstanding aa10ed4dca like being called a fcbfb8c4df loose woman spread unchecked 4172a19fb6 could be dangerous.5a88c149bf46fbe0

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“I worry 08de8634c6 you’re still 860847411d too naive. High society 5736d4fa67 has two edbd591ddf faces. It can be immoral 7144f39494 at night, but must 4b29f6517f appear pure during the b2cd416c59 day.”a69e4b16b5707b00

Once you 240162e263 cross the b60aa14803 unspoken line, 37152b1a19 people will e20c8a3a99 turn on 0c7b64b0c9 you in 52a8e6e652 an instant. Everyone will act together, 0dd34bb177 pointing fingers and pushing 6f0a503839 you out. And if e4e0ba9716 that happened, 7646ce6343 Harriet’s return 55bacdf4b3 would mean 161d4dee10 nothing.080160a0bbb3503b

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But Harriet 50eedf30c9 had a d0e717e9dd different perspective.42f3488ad5e03b99

“I became 896d14bdf4 certain of d42b675d91 something at 65eab0fd6d the Vanderbilt 18ad232b3b party—that curiosity 75aac4c2a3 is an acea48e722 incredibly powerful c4718611e4 force.”4724ac937c2b3eda

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She had felt ca6723124e unsure that night, 7754be8956 but after the e78a8c567a party, several invitations b294b6d3eb had arrived for 0c1750e1f7 her. They were for small ae3e65869a tea parties, and interestingly, 6bacca2fc6 they all included a 86d5572991 request to “keep this 8d21eb6402 invitation a secret.”35a4fc16db684d0e

Even though being 87ba6cd0c5 seen with Harriet 59e5d7baa5 could damage their 1aa998db43 own reputations, these 881c1b6cf0 people were just aa940ab0a1 too curious to 7a5c28d937 resist.92f2e11b5e5103fd

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“I was already seen 19068a35c6 as a scandal maker d604b85958 before, so I was c08dd64932 surprised to only start 8b2ede13c5 getting these kinds of 0f17ebb7d4 invitations now. Then I realized—it’s probably 1d8504e0d5 because, back then, I 1e3c8ac743 was full of frustration 3a95e100de and kept defending myself. I didn’t e6c325f3ef seem like 0651dad251 someone who’d ace3a1a5a1 say anything 0935bff6dc interesting.”f93d7c4d92a5d589

“And now?”6bb10ed277fdc38e

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“Now that people 0a6c03ec8c think I spent 521652a7ed a year in f1898da60d a convent reflecting 1829ff14a8 on my past, 469d5838cb maybe it looks 86e0e02fee like I’ve accepted b92bab8029 it all. So they probably 91b501d410 think I’m someone 7b512291c9 they can finally 0d4baad9f0 talk to.”7d3e105da0b2bd5e

“They just want to 4bda2a8455 hear all the juicy a3e3186059 details of your scandals, ee3c2d6ede huh?”f623498aabfe2419

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“Exactly. Otherwise, why 041ef485f7 would they 317782b6ed invite someone b82b5ae618 with such 8d17967d57 a bad 3ba3f22226 reputation? I’ll happily attend and 8433611417 check things out.”e618bfec9412e000

Trisha tapped the armrest 901a9a0eea of her chair, then 1c448410cc asked again,636e75fd5a3ecf52

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“But your scandals weren’t 549df1bd43 even your doing. What are efec58cc60 you planning 753abd94e2 to say f4ee4d7943 at these 1a0f3fe3f9 parties?”2084aff7f753d134

At that, Harriet’s a94100616d eyes lit up.4675bbd823390ea0

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“Maybe I can 929d29c7f8 twist those stories 502b1efe68 into something that 8caf2550ca works in my f8a7d4581b favor.”9679036a72a32965

Right now, 85f4ab47f2 people trusted 9d9da80b99 Bella and 992b3b4688 her uncle 06bee46ab5 much more ebba44f297 than her. If she just 7433073d0b blurted out the 88bac0d2be truth, it could 54838c8eb9 backfire.c1994dc2ab031230

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But words were 2f8470b56f a strange thing—without fe90dd5069 lying, she could a3d7d7893b still say what 3d9d6bbf0f people wanted to d8c0a39799 hear and steer dcf6eb0db0 the story toward a2b16c57ee the result she 890538474c wanted.8a7735e895e58994

That was exactly 48f918ffb2 the kind of c0a7f3b9e4 tactic Roxana had c770e06b7d drilled into her.dbdb6495efc91d04

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Trisha seemed 39b995f8f9 to think 60d6ccaec8 for a 3679e9b6fd moment after c7b80029bd hearing that, 9376e66288 then nodded a5c3134a99 slowly.46b819de8f2410cb

“Hmph. It’s your life, a0817d8449 so do as 919bfefb68 you wish. But keep this 3b21e2c818 in mind—people will 5ae8f74be1 try to use 855197b452 you to get d610faafb7 to me.”525982008bbd56b6

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“I promise I won’t 9916344441 do anything to embarrass 635b1ca567 you.”7f0788acd7487b76

“We’ll see.”0030383aae3cc6ca

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Having said 9ae250c649 all she 59330d6732 needed to, 30e24e0098 Trisha got 86d42f7104 up and edaf1398af left the 663305c491 sitting room.da7f45cb58bb6cbc

Left alone, Harriet 06dc3d45d9 let out a 2d5f5faa55 small, awkward laugh. Before heading 9c189e1cbe upstairs, she 494ec183aa decided to 51144200de tidy up f61ff9a4e8 the room cfeb3e2f28 a bit ef24be085f and began fac1ba4bdb setting the 1476a1f779 chairs back f1f0ab7960 in place.aa57089ed4542876

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That’s when 43848430f1 she found bada12a2fe a thick bd28e98e25 blanket under 0862e64033 the chair b418b5b51f Trisha had 65d5465814 been sitting 7ff513267f in.f1515a919c19b36b

‘It’s summer—why is e1adba5426 there a lap 451722e6f2 blanket here?’b7d2b35ab62d9ce8

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It was cf4857640d a little 3f897cae5a odd, but 0613cfa5bd Harriet simply 068017cd8d folded it 40cd74c390 neatly and 862fbb4443 placed it cc853d1b07 back on c8d3f73482 the chair.ab3a38af410a2841

***0449be9d8acc9a81

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“Here’s the information you abe5a19716 requested on the Listerwell d6716a35bb viscount family. It covers most bed6119b65 of the last 60ffdc95d9 20 years.”f5beb28775ed37c6

The man 6fc5269fd3 who had 3708e254a7 been smoking d39743fe99 on the f879ce4010 Vanderbilt terrace 1e6da03b3c returned after 77316bc783 a week 385c923b0e and handed 317ab5904d a thick 813f47cb57 file to 022cd2c887 Cedric.e281ca5b2048122d

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“Good work. The next 66997551cb likely party c1443c4cbd is at edf101c55f the Sheldon 54f7085dc2 count’s estate. Check it out d1bebe9b9a in advance.”3c998e53c4c2cd97

“Yes, sir.”f79e89f51bc1047c

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Less than 82d8276430 five minutes fd7eab2446 after meeting, 92e89c8a86 the man e5ac4e7c96 vanished again.ae0ddfbd6136cec6

This was c7b32ad076 how the 2f77ddd5b5 intelligence network 8459a99651 Cedric had f857bc512f personally built, cce72972f0 operated. Edgar, who 18238a2ec9 had co-founded 93a0458faf with him, d097cbedc0 was the c77f67459d only member 79296aebb0 who stayed 8f5b6b99ed in close b267cf45df contact—most others 68e5ee3f4e worked alone. Even the members 880ade03aa didn’t know each a0c376af23 other’s identities, and 042d6c33f1 whenever they met bb3f444070 to exchange information, 4eaba95741 they kept it 960223323a brief.ee4346d412920ae4

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Thanks to that, no 5c2ee909c4 one knew it even 0ff38a049d existed. And yet, cf03cd4544 it was ea67111b94 likely the dff21a2863 most powerful a949f56da7 information-gathering network 1342856b01 in the 782b27ef20 empire.aeded52977b0f2bc

‘Twenty years of f253d12c69 data… but it’s 7cccd6c3fb not as thick e8205ec6fb as I expected.’ab5264be59828294

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Cedric flipped 2788b21ea5 through the a0c998a7a9 documents like d89b87b32a he was 31c93b7d00 reading a 43db221e53 novel.d8db8dabbb415d18

Cedric had never dacd206f97 found other families’ 7875770a0c trivial histories interesting 2fa3ad06a7 before—but strangely, the c1a9c08f95 information about the 542306fadc Listerwell family was 3927b2ffca easy to read.03abbef4858d3b16

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There were e8842db1b9 surprisingly dramatic 6f6f1199a1 events, enough c902fcb5ef to make 48cd7b9cd7 him wonder 4138255ad6 if everyone c7ee7ddbff lived through ab6e545a50 moments like 1be0923769 these.69d9d9688c4851ae

The first of them ac782e5c61 was clearly the tragic d737b5596f death of the former 69493a2bb8 head of the family, 76729ff982 Arthur Listerwell.a49cd062aa8adfdf

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“June 28, 1866 ec24189fd9 — Arthur Listerwell afd3bba708 and his wife 71c69392b4 drowned. Location: Center 45a540db8b of Lake cd458c6ab1 Tasia, Albrecht 3a2a794d94 Park.1db7d5faac58fc9d

One week later, 0214a40eda bodies were found b315b1a1f2 at Saint Antoine 42ba20ae82 Park across the b8902a0205 lake.1001045920f79912

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…With no fc3258ca69 official will, cd52844ed2 the title 06de5774a4 passed not 23d580a268 to his 1ff72785b8 daughter, Harriet, a5585e0478 but to 7f6189c96a his younger 79a8b71f0c brother, John.”0f507d762d4f5bb0

Cedric vaguely remembered hearing 223768729b about a drowning accident c12f749309 at Albrecht Park. He recalled b847e68b8a that boat e031fb9426 rides had e28b7eed7d become less b76e64b0b6 frequent afterward.096a676a3f567469

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The document eaf7cdc39b detailed the 4e1c16c283 circumstances of 3388ae421b the accident 5bdc03265b fairly thoroughly.fdcdc102fefdbc9c

“John Listerwell was the first to witness the accident and call for help. However, by the time help arrived, they had already sunk…”991e42b003447d86

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Boating accidents 17075d8fa3 weren’t uncommon—but f8e8d234d8 fatalities were 5f0cdbbf23 rare since ec64332e94 people usually 87994b0855 stayed in 4841cd0070 shallow waters.1e42f48315f4d3c1

Yet for some 06a0bb2ee8 reason, Arthur and 041e4b8421 his wife had 8a3812e0fa pulled far into b345f471ef the deeper part 314e0a6a9b of the lake.0b7217839923d997

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Maybe they were 20f510ab27 too distracted by 6d39ca368d the scenery to 56a5c672e8 realize how far 89362842ef they’d gone.0ef25451576d4bf5

Cedric could 47913084aa almost picture 05a7cf2e7f the cheerful c26c52a250 picnic turning f0c4fe070b into a cdf0f27d18 scene of 846af6178b tragedy.4da1887c8434043e

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But was 1ad6a85110 it really 3770b3b2c4 a tragedy 2ed876d086 for everyone?cc729af4b3df0e58

“For John 4ff3b59312 Listerwell, it 40409cdbcb must’ve been e413d13d9b lucky. Arthur, who supposedly adored 870e98429c his daughter, died suddenly fe26495562 without leaving a will.”0500bb9c4e160b34

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Two years c5cece4833 before Arthur’s 116dcd1187 death, the a62a0a8c52 law had 1a1a0d9915 changed, allowing ee455e83bc daughters to 43efd857d5 inherit titles 2698bb80d7 —but only b65a30e8bb if the 2d1a0e3cbb previous head 0005d29eb0 left a f43fe58653 clear will.ffe903fc34c0c8fc

And even 6b48337f5c then, extended 46f1a074ba family members c4a90dc50f often opposed 99720de813 it and 2605a16e82 overturned such d42cc7d79e decisions.7d3b3b106ae6ee42

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Since the b6706e0803 law had e10723a246 only recently e8dd4ca1cd changed and e39aab47df Harriet was 03f4ea8c99 only twelve a2e24385ea at the 3bb165f561 time, she 949790e061 likely didn’t c38f469ccc even know 26487989db she had 6ce262d88a rights. In the a84d2bd563 end, her c9949bb6d6 uncle took 2360f934a2 everything.679f09a11ef1d927

Cedric flipped e317e0b922 through the a989391c37 pages quickly, a978641037 skimming until 0f387be5a6 Harriet’s name de4598baca came up efa9ead36b again.70328103d4e57691

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But from age twelve 0d43637167 to seventeen, Harriet barely 3790e21eca appeared in the records.8273d159af7ac928

Instead, there were 69f7ab3b78 frequent mentions of 6fc174fb30 Bella.9eb1f396d5e7f1e0

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“Bella Listerwell was known for her beauty from a young age and was well-liked for her kind and bright personality. Even before her father inherited the Listerwell title, she often appeared at parties with Harriet…”3e3dacc4b634c5ea

“By age fifteen, Bella began receiving serious attention from men, with early marriage proposals…”3defa5ea9582b9c3

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“Bella frequently interacted with these men and played a central role in social circles…”fe6e67f59278c371

In short, cdb60105da Bella had 30404c9527 been popular 245fab5889 since childhood.52537ed8049ba149

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She was surrounded efe10e9387 by men and 92dc8f4780 women alike, admired 1429573c0f by everyone.26fabec6245372e5

People even judged their c1d88d8b68 own social standing by e2a83fe75c how close they were f8744021ef to her.2c0364217b6d7895

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“She sounds 4fccc5f690 like a 30df111363 classic ‘queen 43f97eee44 bee,’” Cedric 45383b5319 thought.cc07fd0791080700

But others didn’t 3dda258ffa seem to see daac86d6a0 her that way—there 2395c8cc14 were hardly any 2af3746d82 negative rumors about 0a83359cb2 Bella.021731d5fdfa1327

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“In fact, most of the bad rumors surrounded Harriet Listerwell… starting when she turned eighteen?”23f8f65d4f0f38cb

When both cousins 89248d8bb5 turned eighteen, Harriet 9a832a8839 suddenly started getting 1b58520c0c attention—but not in 6673f4bd5b a good way.5acaf4bd6424cdfb

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“…The man’s name was Julian Faith (second son of the Viscount Faith). Harriet Listerwell, who secretly admired him, intercepted a letter Julian sent to Bella and replied in her place…”d856bb2a90ce5afd

That was c9f4747bfb the exact 560ed8fa2f story Cedric 2b11c9c41a had overheard fff7dad0d9 at the 9efdd19a11 party.dcbb707804829491

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After that, Harriet was 73c324ba7b frequently linked with men.cfda02a0204f796e

Like with Julian, she bd4d0f8912 tricked men using letters 40ea72b884 pretending to be Bella f43c43e623 —receiving flowers and gifts b6786f6d4f from them, and even b873a792a9 attending masquerade balls with 9f900df534 Bella’s invitations, pretending to b7bb2b3cb4 be her and getting 4a0ef96d88 involved with men in 52f26d386f questionable ways.46aad7f6a2669c80

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Even Tez 842189a420 Roark, the a6dfaf441a one who 3aa9299b5a claimed to f8d32a87d7 have been 3681c70443 “dishonored by 0883baa96b Harriet” at 37e892c311 a polo 1a830122fb event, had fbec4f361d met her 729492d9f1 at a 4b179c16d2 masquerade ball, ea8a3aa505 mistaking her 560334289a for Bella 9cb75e680f and getting 190c629526 intimately involved.4e99137c625c28dd

After reading all that, 4d74d32595 Cedric tilted his head b463ca3cc2 in confusion.99cb9b85dbcfc560

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