Chapter 285
“The Blackwood family charity gala is next week,” Eleanor Blackwood said, her tone razor-sharp. “You and Ethan better not humiliate us like last time.”
Her words were laced with venom as she glared at Sophia Kensington.
“Just because I let your previous blunder slide doesn’t mean you can parade around like you own this family.”
Sophia’s expression remained serene, almost angelic.
“Eleanor, I’ve already explained. It was all a misunderstanding. I had nothing to do with it.”
Beneath her composed facade, her fingers brushed against the business card she’d kept from Victoria Kingsley. The memory of that exquisite brooch still burned in her mind, stoking ambitions she had carefully concealed.
Originally, she had hoped to secure Ethan’s favor, but aligning herself with the Kingsleys now seemed far more advantageous.
“Nothing to do with you?” Eleanor scoffed, her voice thick with derision. “Ethan might be gullible enough to believe that, but I’m not fooled.”
Eleanor had been seething for days. Ever since Sophia married into the Blackwood family, everything had spiraled out of control.
Her husband’s affairs had once been discreet, his infidelities masked by polite phone calls and empty apologies. Now, their marriage was a hollow shell, his indiscretions laid bare for all to see.
And William’s birthday banquet? A complete catastrophe—all thanks to Sophia.
With no one else in the room, Eleanor abandoned her usual polished demeanor. Her voice, usually soft and refined, turned venomous.
“If it weren’t for that ridiculous video you orchestrated, how could the company’s secrets have leaked?” She shot Sophia a look dripping with contempt.
For days, Eleanor had waited for this moment. Sophia, ever the slippery opportunist, had dodged confrontation at every turn. But today, Eleanor was determined to make her pay.
“You think you’ve won, don’t you? That by destroying me, you’ll finally get what you want?” Eleanor’s face twisted with fury and regret.
She cursed herself for being so blind, for allowing this gold-digger to marry her son.
“If only Isabella were still here, none of this would’ve happened,” she muttered under her breath.
“You’re delusional if you think you’ll ever be the lady of this house,” she spat. “Not while I’m still breathing.”
A fleeting thought of her own secrets flickered in Eleanor’s mind—the young man she kept on the side, a little indulgence her husband had long ignored. They had an unspoken arrangement, a mutual understanding.
But now, thanks to Sophia, everything had been exposed.
William was so enraged that he had cut off financial support to her family, leaving her siblings in a panic, bombarding her with desperate calls.
Ever since Sophia entered their lives, chaos had followed.
Eleanor’s thoughts drifted back to the days when Isabella had been around. At least Isabella had been kind, obedient—a breath of fresh air.
“You’re not even a shadow of what Isabella was. She knew how to handle William, how to keep him happy. But you? You’re nothing but trouble.”
Her voice dripped with open disdain.
Where most would have crumbled under such an attack, Sophia merely laughed.
“If Isabella was so perfect, then why didn’t she save you when you were dying from that little headache?” Her smile was sweet, but her words were ice-cold.
“Oh, wait—could it be that no one in this family actually likes you?” She paused, feigning innocence before sighing softly.
“That’s right. Those were Isabella’s exact words, weren’t they? She’d rather give that medicine to a complete stranger than lift a finger to help you.”
Sophia’s words struck like a dagger, leaving Eleanor speechless.
