Chapter 368
Chapter 368:
Edward signaled the housekeeper, who hauled me up by my uninjured arm and guided me toward the dark, dusty servant’s corridor at the back of the house.
As I limped down the narrow hallway, I glanced back over my shoulder. Edward’s gentle smile had already vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating sneer. He was dialing his phone, his voice echoing faintly off the marble walls just as the servant’s door began to swing shut.
“Victoria,” Edward said, his tone sharp and triumphant. “Cancel the original plan. We finally have a disposable pawn to infiltrate the Blackstone inner circle p>
The heavy wooden door clicked shut, sealing me in the dusty darkness. I didn’t care what corporate game he was playing. I was simply grateful to have a roof over my head.
Victoria POV
The heavy oak doors of my father’s study shut out the rest of the world, sealing us in a room that smelled strictly of old money and cold ambition.
Edward Sterling slid a red financial dossier across the polished mahogany desk. “Liquidity is drying up, Victoria. If we don’t secure a massive capital injection by the end of the quarter, the Sterling legacy is bankrupt p>
I flipped open the file, my eyes landing on the staggering net worth of Kain Blackwell. The Lycan King. “And you think Blackwell is our way out p>
“He operates above human law,” Father stated, his eyes gleaming with predatory calculation. “But he is currently tied to that wolfless Omega, Adelina. A pathetic Mating Contract that won’t last. She is a liability. You, however, with your Wharton MBA and flawless pedigree, are the strategic partner a king actually needs p>
S𝗵𝘢𝗿е 𝘺o𝘶𝗋 𝘵𝗁o𝗎𝗴𝗁𝘵𝘴 on
I smiled, a genuine thrill rushing through my veins. I had despised Adelina since we were girls. The thought of that inferior creature occupying the den of the continent’s most powerful man sickened me. “She doesn’t belong on that throne. I do p>
“Then let’s use the trash she left behind,” Father said, rising from his chair.
We walked down the narrow, dusty servant’s corridor to the attic guest room. The moment I pushed the thin wooden door open, the sour, rancid scent of Carolyn’s desperate Omega wolf hit me. She was huddled on a lumpy mattress, trembling with the terror of becoming a true Rogue.
I immediately dropped to my knees, forcing my face into a mask of profound pity, and reached out to take her rough, scraped hands in mine.
“Aunt Carolyn,” I cooed, letting a practiced tear slip free. “Look what they’ve done to you. Adelina is a monster for abandoning you like this. So ungrateful p>
Carolyn’s breath hitched, her eyes burning with reignited hatred. “She took everything from me p>
“Help Victoria get close to Kain,” Father interjected smoothly, stepping into the dim light. “Save this family, Carolyn, and I will personally move you back into a luxury penthouse tomorrow p>
Greed instantly eclipsed her sorrow. Carolyn gripped my hands tighter. “The Ivy League Alumni Gala,” she whispered frantically. “Next Friday. Adelina is attending, and she might bring Kain with her. They are scheduled to arrive at the Yale Club at exactly eight o’clock p>
“Thank you,” I whispered sweetly.