Chapter 38 – The Second Actress
Sharon was combing through Edward Laurent's hidden ledger when she found a folder tucked behind a stack of encrypted financial documents. The label was simple:
"Personnel – Temporary Assignments"
Curiosity drove her fingers to open it.
Inside were photos, notes, and schedules - proof that someone had preceded her in the role of Georgia Laurent.
Sharon's stomach tightened as she realized the implications:
• A previous actress had been hired to impersonate the heiress.
• Her tenure was short, and the notes suggested she had failed - catastrophically.
• Certain cryptic entries hinted that her disappearance was not voluntary.
Sharon's pulse raced. Whoever had been the first impersonator had vanished from all records, leaving behind only shadows and warnings.
The documents detailed subtle clues about why the first actress had been removed:
• Inconsistencies in behavior that drew attention from the board.
• Refusal to follow orders regarding appearances and scripted interactions.
• Curiosity about financial irregularities, leading to unauthorized access attempts.
Sharon's hands shook. It was like looking into a mirror of her potential future. The first impersonator had been smart, resourceful, and yet... gone.
The realization hit her cold: she was walking the same path, in the same shoes, under the same watchful eyes.
Every mistake she made could repeat history - and history had proven fatal.
Among the notes was a single line, scrawled in a hurried hand:
Do not dig too deep. They are watching. The walls have eyes.
Sharon's black phone buzzed immediately with an encrypted message:
Curiosity kills. Stop investigating or follow your predecessor's fate.
The warning sent a chill down her spine. The network protecting the Laurent fortune had erased a human being once - and they could do it again.
Yet Sharon knew stopping wasn't an option. The more she uncovered - the ghost accounts, the Lazarus Protocol, James Barnett's past - the more dangerous her position became.
She was not just impersonating Georgia Laurent. She was inheriting the shadows of every life erased by the empire, walking a path lined with secrets, power, and death.
The first actress had been a ghost. Sharon had the choice: survive and expose the truth, or vanish, leaving only whispers behind.
And for the first time, she understood fully: in Laurent Global's world, the cost of curiosity was measured in blood.
