Reborn In Flames: The Heiress' Revenge Novel by Amos House

“What’s going on?” Zayn’s eyebrow furrowed slightly.

**

“I can’t believe I didn’t track her exact IP. I only have a rough location, Mike admitted, frustration edging his voice.

Where is she?” Eric and Zayn asked together.

“Seavity,” replied Mike.

The three exchanged looks, and Zayn chuckled, “What a coincidence. We’re fellow-townsman.”

Eric and Mike fell into silence.

All three had come from wealthy families and had been sent abroad due to their embarrassed position in their families. They rarely went back to Seavity, so it was funny to hear Zayn refer to it as his hometown.

“Well, Eric and I are actually heading back soon. Maybe we’ll bump into this adorable computer w*z, Za**yn said, sounding genuinely intrigued by Xylo.

But Eric’s smile faded as Zayn mentioned their trip back. It was clear that he wasn’t looking forward to it.

Challenging top-tier players like Mike was draining. After shutting her computer, Cassie flopped onto her bed, completely

spent

She didn’t push herself against those skilled hackers just for a ranking. She had a plan to help Murphy Group break into the internet industry, and she needed to find the best allies to make it happen.

Hackers didn’t care about the company or anyone’s social status. Most experienced hackers only valued skills. They were more likely to accept collaboration invites from those with stronger skills.

It was a bit late for Murphy Group to dive into the internet scene. To catch up with the competition, Cassie needed to recruit the strongest support.

That was why she was relentless in challenging top hackers. Only her identity as Xylo was recognized among hackers could she gain some influence.

Her phone buzzed non-stop. After a moment to collect herself. Cassie picked it up-it was Julia. It had been hours since Cassie started challenging Mike.

Before Cassie could say anything, Julia’s furious voice blasted through “Cassie, you just went to school without a word, then you accepted a media interview, and now you didn’t answer my calls or come back. What is going on with you?”

The angry questioning hit familiar notes. Cassie recalled countless times growing up when Julia had turned the tables on her.

Once, Julia broke Cassie’s stuff and before Cassie could even cry, julia would start wailing about how Cassie didn’t take care of her things and how Heston would definitely punish Cassie if he found out

–And also, Julia used to say to Cassie, “Why did you ace the exam? I’m just an adopted kid. If I don’t do as well as you, your family’ll think I’m a failure and toss me aside.”

There were a ton of memories like that. If Cassie really sat down to think about it, she could fill the night with stories. Julia, calm down. Honestly, I’m not sure how to face you right now, Cassie finally said.

*

*

Julia suddenly fell silent. After a moment, she spoke up, “What do you mean? Did someone say something to you? You promised me you wouldn’t listen to other people’s gossip. It’s clear someone is targeting me. Be smart, okay? Believing their lies is just making things worse for me.”

“Wow, what a talker. If I didn’t trust her, I’d be the fool and hurt her more, Cassie sneered silently as she replied, “No, it’s not like that. No one told me anything

Then why did you say that?” Julia was confused. What is Ca**ic even thinking? Im already on edge, and now she is freaking me out this late.”

Julia, I get that you’re the victim.” Cassie sand expressionlessly as she stretched her neck. “But I can’t shake those images from that day. Every time I see you, all I think about are those terrible things. It’s just hard for me.”

Julia was stunned. So, she actually thinks I’m dirty?

“Just give me some time. Once I forget those images, we can go back to being friends,” Cassie added.

She knew Julia must be angry now. But so what? Julia might not have a clue, but she knew all of Julia’s weaknesses. And she could use any one of them to take a shot at Julia whenever she wanted.

“Are you disgusted by me?” Julia finally asked. Even through the phone, Cassie could feel Julia’s anger boiling over.

Cassie should have comforted her right now. Instead, she hesitated for a few seconds on purpose before saying. “No, it’s just that I’ve never seen anything so scary, so I’m feeling a bit shaken It’s not your fault. It’s mine…

Before Cassie could finish her pretentious words, Julia hung up.

Cassie raised an eyebrow and let out a sarcastic laugh. Tossing her phone aside, she decided to run a hot bath and get ready for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, she’d start preparing for the big exam coming up.

Before middle school, Cassie and Julia went to different schools but both did well academically.

Once they hit the same high school, things changed. Cassie’s grades always shined. Julia couldn’t stand it and had tried everything to turn things around.

Cassie figured she must have been too pampered-almost like a saint in her previous life. Whenever Julia shed a few tears, Cassie would start writing random answers on her tests to bring down her grades, which had gone on until now.

Cassie had thought about trying to get back to normal, but every time she made an effort, Julia found some excuse to derail her. Luckily, all that madness had come to an end this time around.

In the dead of night, a sleek black car parked a short distance from the Murphy residence. Marcus sat behind the wheel, his long fingers casually resting on the steering wheel, staring out in Cassie’s house’s direction.

“Mr. Anderson, the security cameras in the alley behind the bar were down that night, so they didn’t catch anything. But I can confirm that the location in the video is definitely that alley. The background music fits the tuning from that night Joe’s voice echoed in Marcus’ mind.

After a moment, Marcus tore his gaze away and grabbed his phone. As he unlocked it, a video started playing again. It was the clip of Cassie being interviewed earlier that day. He had lost count of how many times he had watched it since it first

came out

Cassie’s changes in looks and personality were dramatic. But Marcus wasn’t surprised. She had been a strong-willed girl when she was little. He just didn’t know what had happened to her over the years.

Since that encounter in the bar alley, it felt like a switch had flipped inside Marcus. He found himself constantly coming up with reasons to see her. Yet, none of those reasons weighed as heavily as the one reason he couldn’t see her

*

He was treading a fine line. He couldn’t let anyone discover that Cassie was his weakness. If they did, not only would he be at risk, Cassie would be too. That thought calmed the stormn inside him, and the aura around him grew darker.

There had to be hidden threats behind what happened on the bar street that could endanger Cassie. He needed to act fast and deal with the enemies around him. Only then could be stand tall in front of Cassie and make it clear that he would protect her—anyone who dared to touch her would face serious consequences,

Julia spent the whole night tossing and turning, consumed by Cassie’s words. The anger and hatred bubbling inside her were like a raging fire, burning away her reason

She thought to herself. See what I’ve become! Even the se**nts dared to look at me with disdain, and I didn’t even dare to step outside the estate.

“But Cassie? In just one day, she has gone from a nobody to someone everyone admires-both at school and within the Murphy family.

I spent eight long years making her an ugly coward. And now, she turns everything upside down in just one day? Even Anne can’t hide how much she likes Cassie. How is this possible? She doesn’t deserve this!”

After a sleepless night, Julia got up to grab breakfast. She planned to casually let Cassie’s family know about how Cassie looked down on her, letting them see Cassie’s true colors.

As she walked downstairs to the dining room, Julia overheard Arine say, “You and Dad should head back today. I don’t want Cassie alone at home. I barely slept last night worrying about her. I’ll stay and keep Julia company.”

Julia felt her anger rise. After everything I’d been through, Anne spent all night worrying about Cassie, who was safe and sound at home with tight security?

Anne was watching news about Cassie when a se*a**

“Yes,” the se**t replied

Anne frowned in concern and headed straight for Julia’s room, where the door was slightly ajar.

As Anne approached, she heard Julia’s voice, broken and incredulous, saying, “Even if Cassie felt jealous about my closeness. with Anne, she wouldn’t go so far as to drug me and have someone humiliate me. Please stop saying that. I refuse to believe