Broken Vows and Buried Twins novel Chapter 282

As she met his unwavering stare, Corbin's dark eyes felt unreadable, yet they radiated an undeniably oppressive intensity. Under his scrutiny, Seraphina felt entirely exposed, as if every lie she ever told was laid bare.

Her smile turned rigid, and she forced a weak laugh. "You're a very intimidating man, Mr. Hale. This is my first time meeting you in person. Of course I'm a little nervous."

She lowered her gaze, letting her thick lashes conceal the sheer panic swirling in her eyes. For someone who practically breathed deception, she found herself completely off-balance around this man.

Watching her fumble was driving Bianca up the wall. But with the investor standing right there, all she could do was plaster on a smile and run damage control.

"Please don't mind her, Mr. Hale!" Bianca laughed smoothly. "She's just naturally shy. She actually deals with a bit of social anxiety, which is exactly why she always wore a mask in her videos. We really have you to thank for this! If it weren't for your generous support, she would have never found the courage to step out of her comfort zone like this."

Corbin offered a faint, cryptic smile. He glanced at Bianca, then back to Seraphina.

"Oh? So you took on this show just for me?"

Seraphina stared at the ground, completely blindsided by the question. Unsure of how to play it, she simply offered a small nod.

Corbin's eyes narrowed slightly, making his expression even harder to read.

Standing off to the side, Bianca closely monitored his reaction. Even though his face remained a mask of polite indifference, the sheer drop in the air pressure around him was palpable.

This was bad. If she let Seraphina keep acting like a mute idiot, they were going to lose their biggest backer!

Bianca stepped up, ready to lay on the charm, but Corbin beat her to it.

Sure, Corbin Hale was a foreign billionaire, but men at the top of the food chain usually played by the same unspoken rules. Wealthy men loved their power, and they loved beautiful women. Seraphina was stunning and supposedly talented. If Hale had flown all the way out here just for her, he was obviously interested.

In Sinclair's mind, a mid-tier influencer like Seraphina needed to offer something tangible to secure high-end resources. He knew she was a widow tied to the Weston family, but the fact that they let her hustle in showbiz proved they didn't actually care about her. It had been three days, and not a single Weston representative had checked on her. She was on her own.

In his eyes, throwing herself at a golden goose like Hale was her smartest career move.

But Sinclair's sleazy networking was destined to crash and burn.

Corbin's handsome face remained locked in that flawless, polite smile. He patted Sinclair on the shoulder.

"I appreciate the thought, Director. But since she struggles with socializing, I don't think we should force her."