Chapter 367
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Chapter 367:
“Jocelyn Wolfe got lucky,” Edward sneered, leaning back in his chair. “She used a pretty face and a ridiculous contract to trap an apex predator. But a man like Gaston Collins will eventually get bored of a woman with no real intellectual pedigree p>
Victoria let out a soft, mocking laugh.
She had despised Jocelyn since they were teenagers — Jocelyn, the quiet, traumatized girl who hid in the library, while Victoria was the valedictorian, the socialite, the woman bred to rule boardrooms.
“She is a hotel manager,” Victoria said dismissively. “I have a master’s degree in finance from Wharton. I can actually speak Gaston’s language p>
“Use Elouise,” Edward instructed. “She is desperate for our approval. Make her your bridge into Jocelyn’s social circle. Once you are in the same room as Gaston, the rest is up to you p>
J𝗈і𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗋 𝘤𝗈𝘮𝗺uո𝗶t𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝗀𝗮l𝗻𝗼𝘷е𝗅𝘀.сom
Two floors above them, the reality was entirely different.
The attic guest room was a cramped, suffocating box. The ceiling slanted sharply downward, and the air conditioning barely worked.
Elouise sat on the edge of a lumpy mattress, staring into a cheap, warped mirror and aggressively rubbing night cream into her skin. The walls were paper-thin — she could hear the maids laughing and running the shower in the bathroom next door. The brutal drop in her social standing made her stomach churn with violent nausea. She gripped the edge of the vanity until her knuckles turned white.
The thin wooden door creaked open.
Edward walked in, followed closely by Victoria.
Victoria immediately rushed forward and seized Elouise’s hands, her face arranging itself into a mask of profound, heartbreaking sympathy.
“Aunt Elouise,” Victoria cooed, her voice dripping with manufactured warmth. “I am so incredibly sorry. Look at what they have done to you p>
Elouise’s eyes filled with tears. It was the first time in days that anyone had spoken to her with something resembling respect.
“It breaks my heart,” Victoria continued, settling beside her on the miserable mattress. “Jocelyn is living in a hundred-million-dollar penthouse, flying on private jets, and she lets her own mother rot in a servant’s room. She is a monster p>
The words struck Elouise’s deepest, most toxic nerve.
“She is an ungrateful, selfish bitch!” Elouise hissed, her face twisting with genuine hatred. “I gave her life p>
Edward sighed heavily from the doorway.
“If Jocelyn had even half of your grace and loyalty, Victoria, our family wouldn’t be in this mess,” Edward said smoothly. He turned his gaze to Elouise. “Victoria is trying to secure a meeting with Gaston Collins to save the Stein trust. If she succeeds, she will ensure you are moved back into a luxury apartment immediately p>
Elouise’s greedy eyes lit up at once. Her mind conjured vivid images of Victoria replacing Jocelyn, and of herself ascending once more to the top of the social hierarchy.
“Jocelyn is attending the Ivy League Alumni Gala next Friday,” Elouise blurted out eagerly. “I eavesdropped on her executive assistant confirming the RSVP over the phone, just before security dragged me out of the lobby. I know exactly what time they are arriving p>
Victoria’s eyes flashed with predatory triumph.
She leaned in and pulled Elouise into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Auntie. I promise I won’t forget this p>