Chapter 159

This woman, with her sharp features and designer attire, was a far cry from the Vanessa Ari vaguely remembered – a girl with round eyes and a bubbly personality who had been his classmate for a while in college, back when he still used an alias. Ari had trouble recognising her, but then, anyone would. Her heavily made-up face, a caricature of the sultry seductress, seemed more like a poorly applied Instagram filter than anything natural. Even the FBI wouldn’t be able to identify her from an old college mugshot with those enhancements – fuller lips, more arched eyebrows that looked like they were permanently surprised, and sharper cheekbones that could cut diamonds. Ari could sense Elodie beside him sizing up the woman, observing the situation like an amused bystander. The irony of it all was almost laughable – bumping into a forgotten fling from a past life, just as he cemented his relationship with Elodie. ‘So, Ari,’ Vanessa pouted at the frosty reception she received from him. ‘It’s