My Beloved Has Risen from Death's Embrace novel Chapter 195

"Know you're busy with the shoot; I'll keep it down."

"That still doesn't cut it!"

Samuel felt strange by her repeated refusals, "Xan, why do you seem so tense? It's like you're scared of something. Got a secret lover hidden in the house?"

Xanthea stumbled for a moment, and then laughed off his comment, "Samuel, are you joking? That's not funny at all. By the way, what sort of fun gifts did you get today?"

She deliberately changed the subject, successfully diverting Samuel's attention, "Apart from Simon’s golf club, everything else was pretty mundane. Oh, but there was this weird gift, a music box with a little girl dancing ballet inside. It even had a note attached to it; don’t know who sent that. I mean, come on, I’m not a woman; what do I want with that?"

"A ballet-dancing girl? Maybe it’s from some high-society lady secretly in love with you. You're totally missing the romantic gesture. Was there no name on the note?"

"Nope."

Samuel pulled out the note as he spoke, "Here it is, just says 'Happy Birthday'. I was wondering who it could be from."

Xanthea took the note and inspected it. Nothing unusual caught her eye, except…

"Samuel, don’t you think the handwriting looks a bit like mine?"

Now that she mentioned it, Samuel could see the resemblance. It wasn’t a natural similarity, but more of a deliberate imitation.

"Who would go to such lengths?"

Xanthea said, "Looks like it really blew up."

Kevin was cussing out furiously, and as he saw Xanthea, he approached her, helpless, "Xan, your scene might not happen today. Equestrian Meadows Stables broke the agreement last minute, and Crestwood doesn’t have another venue that large. We might need to switch to a different scene, but you probably weren’t prepped for that, were you? It's my fault; I stressed how important this scene was and told you to focus solely on these lines."

"I do know of a private ranch in Crestwood that’s even larger than Equestrian Meadows Stables, but I’m not sure if the owner would lend it to us."

Samuel interrupted, and upon hearing it, Kevin eagerly inquired, "Really? There’s a private ranch larger than Equestrian Meadows Stables?"

"Gallop Glade Ranch - a high-end racecourse near Horizon Ventures Ltd., it's Crestwood’s largest private ranch, spanning a hundred thousand square feet, complete with entertainment and racing facilities. The owner is Orion."