Chapter 411

The two girls, heads close together, jumped at the sudden noise and whipped around. Conrad Hilliard had silently appeared behind them at some point, one hand in his pocket, lazily glancing their way—with just enough quiet pressure in his gaze to make it feel heavy. Olivia Fletcher gave a nervous laugh, quickly turning around, "N-nothing going on here!" Calliope Godfrey kept her cool, meeting his eyes head-on with a small, knowing smile. "Girl talk. Obviously not for you to hear." Conrad raised an eyebrow but didn’t pry. With long, easy strides, he walked over and, almost instinctively, took her laptop bag from her hand before heading upstairs. Olivia leaned in toward Calliope, patting her own chest and whispering, "That scared me half to death. My cousin walks like a freaking ghost." They were just about to follow when a sharp, entitled voice cut through from across the lane. "Olivia Fletcher! So it’s true—you really live here now?" Olivia’s face darkened instantly as she turned. Not f