“What?” Diane blinked, completely baffled. “What do you mean, ‘what am I doing here’? I’m here because you brought me. You told me to come.”“What?!” Brianna shouted. “Brought you here?! Why on earth would I bring a cheap, desperate nobody here?! Are you insane or do you even hear yourself?! In what part of the universe have we ever gotten along that I would bring you here to a place like this? Have you gone insane, or do you just enjoy embarrassing yourself in public?”Diane froze, her mind reeling as Brianna’s cruel words echoed in her ears. Her heart felt like it dropped to the floor. But no matter how stunned she was, one thing became crystal clear—Brianna had orchestrated this entire thing. She had been played.Tears stung Diane’s eyes, and she blinked hard as they rolled down her cheeks. “You… I see what’s going on here. You set me up,” she whispered, pain lacing her voice. “How could you do something like this to me?”Brianna scoffed and crossed her arms. “I have no idea what

Isabella was fuming. Her chest heaved with every breath, fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. She stood frozen, eyes locked on Diane who now stood beside Leon basking in the victory that should have been hers. “What is this?” She questioned, shocked and stunned. “How the hell did you pay for that?!” She glared at Leon. “I know you, Leon! I know you don’t have that kind of money. You’re broke!” Leon let out a cold scoff, his amusement obvious. He turned to the cashier. “I need your manager here. Now. Because you’re about to lose your job.” The cashier’s face drained of color. “W-What?! No! Please, sir! Don’t do that!” “Yeah, you deserve to be fired,” Diane chimed in, looking angry. “I’m sure you all planned this with Brianna because there‘s no way you didn’t see Brianna come in with me! She must have paid you guys off! Tell the truth!” “I-I… we…” “SHUT UP!” Brianna screamed, snapping before the cashier or the guard could stammer out another word. Her breaths came

Diane hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and nodded. “I almost got completely ruined today, Leon. Not just me… my whole family could’ve gone down with me. And all of it was because I decided to trust family. I can't believe I fell for that trap… I should have seen it coming…” Her voice faded as she lowered her eyes, still shaken by what had transpired. Leon didn’t interrupt her. He just nodded slowly, quietly taking in everything she was saying. “I should have expected this,” Diane kept saying to herself with her head lowered. “I feel so stupid. So naive...” “And what is it you want?” Leon asked her. She raised her head to to look at him. “I want to take a page out of Brianna’s book. She had planned to manipulate or blackmail me by staging this whole thing, but I won’t stoop to her level. No. Although I know… I know there’s something she’s hiding. Something she wouldn’t want Grandpa or the rest of the family to ever find out. There has to be.” Leon tilted his head sl

Victor stormed into his home, his face a mask of fury, eyes bloodshot, and chest heaving like he could combust at any second. Rage pulsed through every vein in his body. He made a beeline for the shelf lined with glassy flower vases and, with one violent sweep of his arm, sent them crashing to the floor, the sound of porcelain shattering echoed through the room like glass thunder. “AHHHH!” he roared, his entire frame trembling from the sheer force of his frustration. “Why?!” he shouted, his voice hoarse and ragged. “Why the hell won’t he just stay dead?! Why is that bastard still alive?!” He whirled around, flinging his hand toward a nearby stack of decor, hurling it to the ground, scattering shards and splinters in every direction. He paced in circles, gripping his head like he was trying to hold in his sanity. “What is happening?!” he gasped, breath short and shallow. His eyes darted around the ruined room as he remembered everything as clear as day. He nodded. “Yes,” he murmur

“I’m here because I’m curious about your relationship with Leon Ashford,” Roger said as he leaned back confidently into the chair like he owned the room. Jarvis raised an eyebrow, clearly unamused. “Curious?” he echoed. “And why exactly would that be your concern, Mr. Marston? As far as I know, my personal associations are none of your business.” Roger lowered his head, then he let out a slow breath attempting to keep his composure. “Look, I’ll be honest with you,” he said, locking eyes with Jarvis. “My son, Victor, is currently engaged to Leon’s ex-wife. And yet, Leon keeps reappearing like a shadow, constantly interfering and creating problems for him.” Jarvis said nothing, his expression unreadable. Roger went on, “That boy, Leon, is nothing but an orphan with no relevance to his name. Frankly, he’s insignificant, at least, he should be. But it’s clear that you’re enabling him, giving him a platform to act above his station. So I’m asking you plainly: why? Why are you even backi