The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 01

The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 01

Six months after the Reed family took me back into their fold, I’d earned a reputation as the jinx of high society.

A bucket of slop splashed over me mid-walk. My birthday gown split wide open right in front of everyone. Once, a flower pot crashed down and landed me in the hospital.

The whole town snickered that I, the rough-hewn long-lost biological daughter, was born for hardship and wasn’t cut out for the good life.

Only Landon Nash would rush to my side every single time, shielding me from the gawking crowd.

Then one day, I wound up back in the ER with a gash across my forehead. Scrolling online, I stumbled on a viral thread.

#Pranking the Country-Bred Long-Lost Heiress: Live Footage#

Every humiliating moment of mine had been edited into cheap entertainment clips.

Beneath a video where I shook, soaked head-to-toe in garbage water, Waverly left a comment.

[Spoiler alert~ At tomorrow’s family homecoming banquet, I’ll doctor her face onto explicit footage and play it for everyone to see.]

I reached for my phone, ready to beg Landon to make this right. Outside my hospital room, I heard my mother’s lowered voice. “Landon, hide the camera well. Don’t let Laurel spot it.”

My father replied flatly. “It won’t matter if she finds out. She’s just a country girl. Without the Reeds, where else could she go? She stole Waverly’s identity and her engagement. It’s only fair she cheers Waverly up.”

Landon laughed lightly, his tone effortless. “This time I’ll catch every flicker of panic on her face, perfect for Waverly’s posts.”

The stitched wound on my head went numb.

Landon had never raced over to save me. He only came to film me at my lowest, most broken moments.

I glanced down at the text he’d just sent me: [Darling, I’m coming to take you home soon.]

For once, his promise of “home” brought no tears to my eyes. Instead, I forwarded the banquet guest list to a man I hadn’t spoken to in three years.

[There’s an empty seat at the honor table. Could you come and back me up?]

…

The hospital door swung open. Landon stepped inside, carrying a pink cartoon-patterned insulated thermos.

“The nurse said you haven’t eaten a bite today. I made this soup at home—try some?”

He settled onto the edge of my hospital bed, his eyes filled with such genuine concern it almost felt real.

If I hadn’t overheard that conversation moments earlier, I would’ve fallen for that tender gaze all over again.

He twisted off the lid, and a rich aroma of chicken broth flooded the small room.

I turned my head away and didn’t move an inch.

Landon chuckled softly and scooped up a spoonful, his voice laced with fond exasperation. “What’s wrong, little princess? Do I have to feed you bite by bite?”

I lifted my hand to push the spoon aside. Right before my fingers brushed the bowl, Landon gave his wrist a slight jerk.

Scalding chicken soup sloshed out, pouring straight over my IV-draped hand.

Searing pain shot through me, and I flinched backward. The IV tube jerked sharply, leaving a dark purple bruise beneath my skin.

“Laurel! I’m so sorry, did I burn you?”

Landon scrambled for tissues from the bedside tray and pressed them hard against my blistering, red-hot skin. The rough paper scraped across my burns.

Tears spilled down my cheeks instantly.

He pulled me into his arms, just as he had countless times before, his voice thick with panic and remorse.“Don’t be scared. I’ll get the nurse right away. You’ll be fine.”

His familiar crisp cedar scent wrapped around me. Once, that smell had felt like safety.

But this time when I lifted my eyes, I saw it.

Tucked into his tie clip was a tiny pinhole camera, no bigger than a bean. A faint red light blinked steadily.

It captured every second of my humiliation, every grimace of pain on my face.

Another cruel prank, just like all the rest.

My vision blurred with rage. I shoved him away hard. “Don’t touch me!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs. The stitches on my forehead throbbed violently.

Landon stumbled back half a step, a faint frown creasing his brows. “Laurel, what is it? Did I hurt you?”

I swatted away his reaching hand and pointed straight at the tie clip, my voice trembling uncontrollably. “Landon, tell me—what is that?”

He glanced down at where my finger pointed, and his smile faded. “It’s merely a tie clip. What is this about?”

He met my stare directly, his expression open and guiltless. “Laurel, you’ve had one accident after another lately. Your nerves are frayed, aren’t they?”

I stared at his innocent act and burst out laughing. “Landon, you should’ve been an actor.”