The Stand-In Who Burned the Script novel Chapter 260

Chapter 260

Vivian stared at her. “I’ll give you one chance. Go to the press, clear everything up yourself, and then turn yourself in to the police. In exchange, I’ll give you three million dollars.”

“Vivian!”

Zoe whipped her head around in shock. “She’s the one who turned everything upside down. Why on earth are you offering her money?”

Vivian raised a hand to silence her, keeping her eyes locked on the girl in front of her. She coaxed smoothly, “Well? Do we have a deal?”

“I…”

Sienna was equally stunned. “Will I go to jail?”

“Going to jail is fine. You brought this upon yourself.”

Vivian’s tone was remarkably sincere. “When you get out, you’ll have three million dollars. They only gave you fifty thousand. Whether you try to start a business or just blow through it, that money will be gone before you know it. But the money I’m offering? If you live a modest life, you won’t be able to spend it all before you die.”

A girl this young, coming from a poverty-stricken background and lacking a complete education, most likely didn’t have the vision or business acumen to make millions. She was the type who would just leave the cash in a bank account to collect interest.

A standard startup project for someone like her would be opening a tiny mom-and-pop shop.

In today’s market, what kind of shop could she possibly open that wouldn’t fail?

Fifty thousand dollars wouldn’t even cover the baseline operating costs.

If she were smart, she would take the three million.

Sienna bit her lip until it turned white. She lowered her eyes, masking whatever thoughts were racing through her head, though her tears only fell harder.

“I’m sorry… I’m just too scared. I’ll give the money back to them, okay? I don’t dare take your money either…”

Vivian’s gaze hardened. “So you refuse to do as I ask?”

“…” Sienna kept her head bowed in silence.

Zoe lost her cool entirely, jumping to her feet and snapping, “You made this mess, you fix it! She’s offering you money to do the right thing and you’re still throwing it back in our faces? You are beyond pathetic, you know that?”

“That’s enough.”

Vivian’s face betrayed no emotion. “If it’s a no, it’s a no. Let’s go.”

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Chapter 260

“But Sienna,” she added, standing up to look down at the girl huddled on the floor. “Everyone has to pay the price for their choices. I hope you don’t regret this.”

Exiting the stairwell, Zoe still couldn’t wrap her head around it.

“Vivian, why would she turn down three million dollars?”

“Because whoever she’s working for offered her something worth far more than three million.”

“But…” Didn’t she say she only took fifty thousand?

Vivian slid into the car, closed her eyes, and let out a heavy sigh before opening them again.

“That girl is far more calculating than we gave her credit for. The fifty thousand was real, but it definitely wasn’t the whole payoff. Otherwise, there’s no logical reason to reject three million.”

Vivian’s own offer had been half-truth and half-bluff, delivered with such conviction that even Vivian

herself almost believed it.

If intimidation and cash had both been put on the table, what was the missing piece?

Vivian frowned. “Here’s what we do. Get someone to tail her. Let’s see who she goes to meet next.”

“Got it.” Zoe immediately pulled out her phone to make the call.

Once the orders were given, Zoe suddenly realized she didn’t know their next move.

“Vivian, where to now?”

Everyone else had gone home; the office was completely empty.

“Go home.” Vivian rested a hand lightly against her forehead, hiding the emotion in her eyes. “Consider it a day off. Get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, everything goes back to normal.”

Zoe was worried, but she knew better than to ask questions when it wasn’t her place.

She nodded, stepped out of the car, and hailed a cab to leave.

Vivian rested in the silence of the car for a while before pulling out her phone.

She woke the screen, then let it fade to black.

After repeating the motion a few times, she finally dialed Silas Sterling’s number.