Rose's POV
The ping of my phone dragged my attention away from the chilled glass of Moscato in front of me. My mornings always began the same, silence, control, perfection, but today, that silence was shattered.
"Mom…" Mika's voice came out trembling, and when I looked up, her eyes were wide, glued to her own phone screen.
I frowned. "What is it now, Mika? Another influencer you can't keep up with?"
She shoved the screen toward my face. My pulse stilled for a fraction of a second before my blood began to boil. There she was. Her. The bane to my existence.
That brat. That ungrateful little mouse. Smiling, holding Kyle's hand, as if she belonged in his arms, in that world again. As if I hadn't fully erased her.
"@CocoJinx is trending mom," Mika hissed through clenched teeth. Her tone dripped with jealousy. "Everyone thought she was dead, gone, irrelevant. And now look! She's back, and with Kyle, of all people."
The image was clear. Coco's head tilted slightly toward him, his protective arm curling around her like she was something precious. The boutique lights glimmered above them like they were royalty.
Something hot, bitter, and vicious clawed up my chest. "This isn't possible," I muttered, gripping my wine glass so tightly I nearly cracked the damn thing. "We buried her. We buried her name. How dare she crawl out of the shadows without my damn permission?"
Mika scoffed, her face twisted in disgust. "She doesn't even look that good. The nerve of her, walking around in designer stores like she's somebody. Everyone knows she's just… pathetic."
Her voice shook, though. I knew the tone all too well, it was jealousy. My daughter had always measured herself against Coco, always fallen short, and always blamed the girl instead of her own weaknesses. How pathetic!
I leaned back, pressing my manicured fingers together in thought. "This is nothing but a stunt. A desperate grab for relevance, but if she thinks she can upstage us, take the shine like it belongs to her,"
"She's stealing my spotlight too, Mom!" Mika snapped, slamming her phone down. "All my followers are talking about her instead of me. They want to meet her. They're sending me DMs asking if I knew she was still alive. Some of them even said she looks prettier than me!"
Ah. There it was. The crack in Mika's perfect veneer.
I gave her a tight smile. "Then we will remind the world who she really is. A nobody. A fraud. A broken little girl who should have stayed hidden."
Mika's lips curved into a sly grin. "And how do we do that?"
The plan formed in my mind like poison seeping through veins. "Kyle may be dazzled now, but he's a man. Men… are simple. Distractible. If she is parading herself as his darling, then we'll make sure he sees the truth. Or better yet, we'll put him in a position where she looks like the liar, the manipulator. Just you wait my dear daughter."
Mika leaned forward, hungry for the game. "We could leak something. Twist the story. Everyone already thinks she's unstable after she disappeared. We can feed on that. Make her look unhinged, dangerous even. Kyle's parents adore Camilla, they'd never believe Coco over her."
I smirked, pride swelling in me at my daughter's ruthlessness. "Exactly, and if the internet is already eating out of the palm of her hand, then we will poison the meal. Slowly. Methodically. She will choke on her own name before this is over."
Mika giggled, mean and sharp. "She really thinks she can outshine me. Outshine us. Let her have her little moment, Mom. By the time we're done, she'll wish she stayed dead."
My smile sharpened into steel. "Then let the games begin.
The poisoned fruit
Rose's pov
I scrolled through the glowing screen of Mika's phone, the headline making my lips curl into something between a smile and a snarl:
"@CocoJinx Resurfaces? Hand-in-Hand with Billionaire Heir Kyle Carlisle."
One of the pictures was grainy, taken by some nosy onlooker at the V&A Waterfront, but the two of them were unmistakable. Kyle's tall, broad frame, his protective hand clasping hers. And Coco, my stepdaughter who had been nothing but a stain on my carefully curated household, was looking timid, almost delicate in designer clothes, definitely not hers, because I made damn sure of it. How dare she?
The audacity.
"She's stealing your life, Mika," I said coolly, sliding the phone back toward my daughter. "After all I've done for her, after all I've covered for her… she dares to crawl back into the light."
Mika sat curled in her silk pyjamas, eyes wide with envy and anger. "She doesn't even deserve him, Mom. Kyle Carlisle? Do you know how long I've been working my angles with him? She doesn't even post anymore, her socials were dead. People thought she was gone."
"They should have stayed thinking that," I muttered, tapping my manicured nail against the glass table. "If people begin romanticizing her little return, it weakens us. We built our reputation on being untouchable, refined, reliable, admired. If the spotlight shifts to her…"
Mika leaned forward, voice sharp. "Then we make sure it shifts for the wrong reasons."
I studied her, pride mingling with irritation. She had my blood, my cunning, but lacked subtlety. "We don't attack directly. We plant."
Her face lit up with mischief. "Like a rumour?"
"Not just a rumour." My lips curved into a predator's smile. "A carefully crafted story. Something that plays on what people already whisper. They thought she disappeared… so we say she was in rehab. We spin it as tragic, relatable even. A poor, broken socialite clawing her way back. That way, even if she tries to shine, the stain will always cling to her name."
Mika's thumbs flew across her phone screen, her eyes glittering. "Anonymous gossip accounts will eat that shit up. I'll send it to SpillTheTeaZA. They'll run it in an hour."
I sat back, satisfied. "Perfect. Add a little detail, something dramatic but believable. Say her disappearance was because of an overdose. Frame it as if you 'heard' it from someone close to her father's old circle. Gossip spreads faster when it has a thread of familiarity."
Mika smirked, tapping send. "Done. 'Rumour has it @CocoJinx wasn't MIA by choice… word is she's been in recovery for substance abuse since her father's death. Tragic, if true. Explains the new low-profile look."
I felt a rush of cruel satisfaction, a dark thrill buzzing under my skin. "By tomorrow, people will be questioning her instead of celebrating her. She'll either defend herself, look desperate, or stay silent, which makes her look guilty. Either way, she loses."
Mika grinned, cruel and radiant in her victory. "And Kyle Carlisle will realize she's nothing but damaged goods."
I raised my glass of wine, toasting the thought. "Exactly, my darling. Let's watch her crumble."