Chapter 100
Maeve’s lips curled into a cold, derisive smirk. She enunciated every single word.
“I said, you are a hypocrit p>
“Frederick!” Zoe’s voice echoed through the corridor, trembling with a sudden, pitiful sob.
“Can you come over here? The lights flickered off in this section, and I’m so scared p>
Before Frederick even turned his head, the comforting reassurance was already tumbling out of his mouth.
“Don’t panic, Zoe! I’m coming p>
He shot Maeve one final, glacial glare of warning.
“We will deal with this when I get back from Havenport. Until then, do not broadcast our private issues to the world, or you know exactly what the consequences will be p>
Maeve met his glare with an unflinching stare of her own.
“What? You’re perfectly fine doing it, but you’re terrified of people talking about it p>
Frederick didn’t bother responding. He spun on his heel and stormed off.
Moments later, the gentle, soothing tones of him comforting Zoe drifted through the empty mall corridor.
Even separated by a wall, the tender affection in his voice reached Maeve’s ears, and the tense, rigid line of her shoulders slowly sagged in defeat.
“Ma’am.” Samuel Vance appeared out of nowhere, standing respectfully beside her.
“Mr. Fairchild instructed me to drive you back to Wisteria Cove p>
“Fine.” Maeve straightened her spine, gritted her teeth against the throbbing in her ankle, and hobbled over to the car, pulling the door open and sliding into the backseat.
As the car pulled away from the curb, she noticed a black velvet box resting on the leather seat next to her. Samuel chimed in with a perfectly timed explanation.
“This is a peace offering from Mr. Fairchild p>
A peace offering?
Maeve raised an eyebrow and popped the lid open.
It was a designer bracelet that had recently gone viral online.
It was an incredibly generic, mass-produced luxury piece—the kind of gift that screamed zero effort or actual thought.
She lifted her gaze, catching Samuel’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Her tone was completely deadpan.
“Mr. Vance, your taste in gifts is abysmal. It’s no wonder you’re single p>
Samuel: p>
He was completely speechless. Wiping a bead of cold sweat from his forehead, he forced an awkward, terrified chuckle.
It seemed a trip back to her hometown had exponentially upgraded the Madam’s combat abilities.
He absolutely could not afford to mess with her.
Maeve looked away, snapped a few well-lit photos of the bracelet, and immediately uploaded it to a luxury second-hand marketplace app.
Even if the design was generic, it was still a trendy piece that would sell in seconds.
If she flipped it while the market value was still high, she could make a decent profit.
She would consider it the emotional distress compensation Frederick and Zoe owed her.
Maeve finally returned to Wisteria Cove. The moment she stepped through the door and set her purse down, a blast of water hit her directly in the face.
The water shot straight up her nose and down her throat.
She bent over, coughing violently as the stinging sensation burned her airways.
Before she could even catch her breath, something solid bounced hard off her forehead.
She wiped the dripping water from her eyes and looked down to see a heavy rubber ball rolling away across the floor.
A pair of chubby little hand ss scooped it up. Maeve’s gaze followed the hands upward, landing on Charlie. He was wearing a tiny blue cape and a plastic crown, standing dead center in the living room Putting on a fierce, heroic scowl, he pointed a toy magic wand right at her face.
“You wicked witch p>
“In the name of justice, I will destroy you p>
With a battle cry, Charlie charged forward, thrusting the plastic wand directly at her.
Maeve calmly sidestepped the attack. With effortless precision, she grabbed him by the back of his collar, completely immobilizing him. She snatched the wand out of his hand, tossed it onto the floor, and stared down at him with a glacial expression.
“Apologize right now, or you’re not getting any dinner tonight p>