Riverdale City.It had been over a month since Ellis had last heard from Ondine. He had turned Riverdale upside down searching for her, but she was nowhere to be found. She had blocked him on every platform, and every text he sent from a friend's phone was met with another block.Using his connections, Ellis managed to find Ondine's home address. But when he arrived, a neighbor informed him that Yvaine had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and Ondine had taken her out of town for treatment. The neighbor had no idea where they had gone, only that Yvaine had been staying at Meridian Hospital before they left.Ellis went to the hospital, but he couldn't find any records of her.The news of Yvaine's cancer hit him hard. He remembered Ondine asking to borrow money and how he'd kept up his charade of being poor. The regret was crushing."Ellis, you're a monster," he muttered to himself, his voice thick with self-loathing. "Look what you did to her."He spent his days in a drunken haze, the memory of Ondine a constant, sharp pain in his chest....Christmas was just a few days away when Chantal's uncle, Harley, the vice president of Meridian Hospital, found himself in serious trouble.An anonymous tipster had accused Harley of bribing his way into his position. Worse, the tip alleged that during his tenure, he had engaged in embezzlement and used his authority to facilitate a black-market organ trafficking ring.The story exploded. Major news outlets ran with it, and Harley's name trended on Twitter and every social media platform. Public outrage was so immense that it couldn't be contained.The authorities moved swiftly, taking Harley into custody. The investigation quickly uncovered the officials he had bribed, implicating both the Jefferson and Henson families in the scandal.The Jeffersons had some influence in Riverdale and would normally have been able to make a problem like this disappear with enough money. But this time was different. No matter how much they spent, the story refused to die. Every time they managed to get a trending topic removed, it would pop right back up. News articles they paid to have taken down were reposted within hours. It was as if someone was actively working against them.No matter how hard they dug, they couldn't figure out who was pulling the strings.With the combined power of the Jefferson and Henson families proving useless, they turned to the Sheppards for help. The Sheppard's and the Hensons were old family. friends. Ellis's father, Garland Sheppard, owed a debt to Old Mr.Henson, Yarden, from years ago and agreed to intervene to repay the favor. Garland was a major industrialistfrom Boreal who had recentlyexpanded his business to Riverdale, and he had his own network of. contacts. He arranged a dinner preparing lavish gifts for theigh people, but was told that a major player was behind Harley's downfall. There was nothing anyone could do. No one dared to even whisper the name of this powerful figure. In the Sheppard family living room, the three families—the Sheppards, theJeffersons, and the Hensons-gathered in a tense circle. Content originally comes from Find✶Novel.netChantal's aunt, Jasmine, was weeping, her eyes red and swollen. "What? Even with Garland's help, nothing can be done? Who on earth is behind this?"Garland's face was grim. "Our three families combined are powerless. The person pulling the strings must be extraordinarily powerful. In Riverdale, there's only one family with that kind of influence: the Thornes.""The Thornes?" Jasmine stared in disbelief. "But we've never done anything to offend the Thorne family.""Are you sure?" Garland pressed. "Could you have offended someone connected to them?"noveldramaJasmine thought long and hard before shaking her head. "No, nobody.""That's strange," Garland said, baffled. "If it's not the Thornes, then who could it be?"Harley's father, Joshua Jefferson,leaning heavily on his cane, spoke in a gravelly voice. "We've spent tens of millions over the years cultivating our connections. Harley has always been cautious, never getting his own hands dirty. This is too bizarre. They uncovered everything, every last detail. The report was sent directly to the state authorities, bypassing the city entirely. It caught us completely off guard." "Who could it be..." Joshua muttered, his brow furrowed.The Jeffersons and Hensons were connected by marriage, and Harley's scandal had dragged the Henson family down with him, damaging the Henson Group's reputation. A few days later, Chantal's father was arrested for his involvement in a bid-rigging scheme.The Henson family was on the verge of collapse. If Chantal's father, Vincent, went to prison, the Henson Group wouldn't be far behind. Chantal and her mother were frantic, calling in every favor they could, but no one could get Vincent out.Their Christmas was destined to be a grim one.