Chapter 155
Chapter 155:
Phyllis’s face contorted with rage, her features twisted into something almost unrecognizable.
Marie studied her daughter’s pathetic expression and felt fury surge through her veins. She had spent countless days drilling the same lesson into Phyllis’s thick skull—cunning was acceptable, even admirable, but stupidity was unforgivable. Yet this girl remained hopelessly dense.
“You should stay away from Vivian,” Marie snapped, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. “She orchestrated Brenden’s dramatic entrance at your wedding, and even if chaos followed, she would walk away unscathed. Her brother runs the Vasquez Group empire. We’re nobodies compared to them. Why do you think she wastes time with you? Because your foolishness makes you the perfect puppet p>
Marie’s words gained momentum, each one sharper than the last. “We had our chance with Gabriela and we botched it completely. Now she has Mr. Moss’s protection, so swallow your wounded pride and learn from your mistakes!” Marie stared at her daughter, a crushing wave of disappointment settling in her chest. How could she be so stupid?
Even Gabriela possessed the intelligence to align herself with power, while Phyllis had stolen her worthless boyfriend and strutted around like she’d won some grand prize. The sheer stupidity made Marie’s blood boil.
𝖴𝗽𝖽𝖺𝘁еѕ е𝘃𝖾𝗋𝘆 𝗐𝗲𝖾𝗄 𝘰ո ѕ.𝘤o𝘮
Marie’s harsh criticism struck deep, and Phyllis bristled with defiant indignation. She opened her mouth to deliver a cutting response when Josh’s footsteps echoed through the hallway and he appeared in the study doorway. Marie’s demeanor shifted instantly. “Leave us,” she commanded, her tone cold and authoritative.
Phyllis offered a curt nod and retreated toward the exit, her movements stiff with barely contained resentment. As her hand touched the door handle, she left it slightly ajar—just enough to catch fragments of the conversation within.
The moment Phyllis disappeared, Josh’s stern expression melted away, replaced by a warm smile directed at his wife. “Gabriela called earlier,” he announced, settling into his favorite chair. “She won’t be joining us for New Year’s this year p>
Marie’s heart plummeted like a stone into dark water.
“Yourself,” Josh murmured, his voice softening as it always did when Marie’s temper flared. He offered gentle reassurance like a man trying to soothe a wild animal. “You’ve been managing the company brilliantly all these years and must have accumulated substantial savings. We can purchase another villa once we vacate this one p>
Marie’s lips curved into something that might have been a smile if not for the bitterness that poisoned it; her expression grew more thunderous by the second.
Before taking control of Haynes Group, she had harbored a destructive addiction—gambling consumed her like a disease. Sixteen years earlier, she had accumulated gambling debts exceeding three hundred thousand dollars, a crushing burden that Gabriela’s mother had paid in full before her death. Then Gabriela’s mother entrusted both the company and her daughter’s welfare to Josh’s care.
Josh possessed the soul of a scholar, finding deep contentment in poetry, but business management remained as foreign to him as a distant planet. Though Marie lacked experience initially, she burned with ambition and determination and quickly seized control of Haynes Group with iron-fisted efficiency.
During those early years she threw herself into the work with religious devotion, genuinely abandoning her gambling habits, but temptation crept back gradually until addiction reclaimed her completely. Just last month, during what was supposed to be a business trip to Ceswlenia, she had succumbed to the glittering allure of a high-end casino, losing tens of millions in a single devastating night and secretly draining company funds to cover the catastrophic losses.
How could they possibly afford a new house when financial ruin lurked around every corner?
Josh studied his wife’s increasingly stormy expression and lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. “But if Gabriela’s boyfriend discovers we’re occupying what rightfully belongs to her, his displeasure could create serious complications for us p>
Marie seemed genuinely intimidated by Wesley’s influence; invoking his name should provide the necessary leverage, shouldn’t it?
Marie instantly felt an oppressive weight settle over her chest like lead.
The world had shifted beneath their feet, and while she might successfully deceive her naive husband indefinitely, Wesley possessed the sharp intelligence of a predator who saw through deception with ease.
If Gabriela decided to voice complaints to her powerful boyfriend, they might find themselves stripped of not only their luxurious home but the company that sustained their entire existence.