chapter596

Lydia walked off without even looking back, leaving Elliot standing there, totally

thrown off. Was she really, honestly not interested in him at all? She was already out of sight, but Elliot just stood there, stuck and confused, replaying the moment in his head.

Then his phone rang. It was Leo, checking in. "How'd it go?"

Elliot let out a sigh, more frustrated than he'd ever been. "How do you think? I didn't even get to introduce myself. She shot me down right away."

Leo sounded shocked. "You showed up in person and she still turned you down?"

"Yeah, she didn't hesitate for a second."

Leo actually laughed, sounding kind of impressed. That's Katie's prot g for you. She's got the same kind of attitude.

Elliot rolled his eyes, not even trying to hide how annoyed he felt. "Honestly, Leo, you must be getting old. Otherwise Katie might've at least tried to help me out."

Leo went quiet for a second.

Elliot changed the subject. Any news from Melody Mastro?"

If Lorelei was a no-go, maybe getting Melody to write a song would make up for it. But Leo just sighed. No luck. Pianists are all about their pride. If she's not interested, there's nothing we can do."

"I'm just going to find a new manager. Later."

He hung up before Leo could reply, staring for a moment in the direction Lydia had gone. Honestly, it felt like the only reason he'd shown up today was just to get rejected.

Meanwhile, Lydia got into her car, still thinking about how full of himself that so- called superstar was. Did he seriously think she was trying to get his attention? Please. He needed to see a neurologist.

She had barely made it out of the parking lot when her phone rang again. Katie's voice was bright and teasing. So, babe, how'd it go?"

Lydia just scoffed. "My schedule is full."

Katie laughed. She'd expected this. Even if the legendary king of pop showed up, Lydia wouldn't care. "Alright then. I'll let you get back to it."

"Yeah, talk later."

When Lydia got to the hospital, she didn't see Jenson, Milana, or Sandy anywhere. The nurse and the bodyguard said they'd shown up that morning, but hadn't been

around since noon. They weren't with Luke either. s?novels

Lydia glanced at Mrs. Smith, who was lying peacefully in bed. She pulled a chair closer, sat down, and opened the surveillance app on her phone to check the room's security footage.

She watched Jenson and Milana come into the hospital room, both of them glancing around, obviously making sure they were alone. When the coast was clear, Milana pulled out a scarf and covered the camera.

Lydia couldn't help but let out a cold little laugh. "Finally showing your true colors?"

The camera stayed covered for about ten minutes. When Milana finally took the scarf off, she even shot a smug look at the lens, like she knew Lydia would be watching. That was definitely meant for her.

But what they didn't realize was that the room had more than one camera. Lydia switched to another feed just in time to see Jenson. pulling some documents out of his briefcase. He pressed Mrs. Smith's finger onto an ink pad, then onto a bunch of papers, even guiding her hand to sign where needed Neither of them said a word, working together as if they'd rehearsed it a hundred times.

When they finished, Jenson looked practically giddy as he put the documents back

in his bag. Milana cleaned the ink off Mrs. Smith's hand, and then the two of them

left the room, grinning from ear to ear.

Lydia didn't even have to guess what

they were up to. Finally, they were starting to show their true

intentions. Pretending to care for her grandmother must have been

torture for them. If they didnt want something out of it, would they even be here?

Just wait, she thought. The real drama was about to start.

Meanwhile, Jenson, Milana, and Sandy were leaving the bank together, their smiles brighter than the afternoon sun.