chapter1040

"Lucinda, you're seriously the best.

"Yes, Lucinda, you're gorgeous and so kind! If Connor ends up marrying you, I bet he'll be grinning from ear to ear."

"No kidding. You are so pretty. It's impossible for any guy not to fall for you."

Lucinda's smile started to strain just a little. If that bitch Lydia had never shown up, she and Connor would have been perfect together. The kind of couple everyone envied. But now... if she wanted to become Connor's girlfriend, she had to get that annoying Lydia out of the picture first.

"Lucinda, how come we never see Connor around campus? Will we ever get to meet him?"

"Yeah, is he really as hot as everyone says? Is he super sweet to you?"

Lucinda's fingers curled tighter around her fork. She let out a small sigh, sounding a little down. "Connor's just really busy. He doesn't have much time to hang out with me..."

Her friends saw how sad she looked and rushed to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Lucinda. You're only a freshman. You've got plenty of time to get closer to Connor."

"Exactly. You never know, maybe you two will get married right after we graduate." "And when that happens, you have to invite us to the wedding!"

The words managed to cheer Lucinda up a bit. She smiled and nodded. "You're right. I'm only eighteen. There's so much time ahead."

She told her friends, but she was really saying it to herself. Lydia might have Connor for now, but that didn't mean things would stay that way forever.

Across campus, Lydia spotted Grace leaving the main gate, wearing a face mask. She quickly turned to Juna and said, "You finish lunch and head back. I have to go."

Juna looked puzzled. "Wait, you're leaving already? You haven't even finished lunch. Where are you going?"

"To meet someone."

Before Juna could ask anything else, Lydia was already gone. Juna let out a helpless little sigh. "She's always so busy."

So mysterious and in such a hurry. Was Lydia going to see Connor? That couldn't be it. If it was that controlling freak, he would have barged right in instead of waiting Lydia outside. Maybe... she was going to see some other cute guy?

for

Lydia slipped out, quietly following Grace down the street. After about five minutes, she watched as Grace entered an apartment building not far from campus. So Grace moved out after getting kicked from the Norwood house and rented a place. nearby, just so she could see Lucinda every day. Interesting.

Maybe it was time to dig into

Grace's background, and see if she

could find any leads on Night Eagle.

Upstairs, Grace had barely settled in when her phone rang. Lucinda was calling. "Lucinda, did you finish lunch?"

These days, Grace saw Lucinda almost every day. She didn't bother with formalities anymore. They were a lot closer now.

Lucinda made a little noise of agreement. Yeah. Grace, you told me you could find someone to take care of Lydia. Why hasn't anything happened yet?"

Lucinda was running out of patience. Every day she had to wait felt like torture.

Grace wanted Lydia gone as much as Lucinda did, but it was impossible without Night Eagle's help. Besides, Lydia was always surrounded by people. Getting rid of her would take a solid plan. It couldn't be a spur-of-the-moment attack.

Lucinda, I promise I'll help you with Lydia, but we need a little more time. We have to wait for the right moment."

"The right moment? How much longer do I have to wait?" Lucinda was starting to sound seriously frustrated.

Grace paused, thinking. "It's just too risky to do anything while she's here. If she travels abroad, that'll be our chance. We can make it look like an accident in another country. Even if the Norwoods investigate, there's no way they'll trace it back to us."

Lucinda frowned. If that's the case, why didn't you do something during the holiday when she was on vacation?"

Grace explained, "She was with Connor the whole time on that trip. It would've been even harder to get close. As soon as she's alone, I promise, she won't make it back."