Chapter 158
“Stop pretending!” Melanie stormed in. “Adrian’s engagement party is next week. He’s engaged to Kate, that snobby one. How could you not know? You’re Harrison’s wife.
“If you knew, why didn’t you tell me? Now I can’t do anything about it,” she yelled, her grip on the phone tight, knuckles white.
The news about Adrian’s engagement was on the phone screen.
Gwyneth was shocked. She just heard the news too.
‘Harrison and I got married the day we met. Gossip about Adrian and Kate was already around. So an engagement now isn’t too fast,‘ Gwyneth thought.
With a dismissive shrug, Gwyneth folded her arms and leaned against the doorframe. “The Lopez family calls all the shots. What can I do? I just married into that family.
“Besides, if you’d actually known how to keep Adrian interested, Kate wouldn’t exist. But you couldn’t even get the engagement news firsthand–that says everything,
A man you can’t win over can’t be kept.” After she finished, she checked her watch, brushed past Melanie, and went back to handle the Mercer Group business.
Melanie grabbed her wrist again. “Gwyneth,” she pleaded tearfully, “Both of us marrying into the Lopez family is a win–win. Just take me there once,
and I’ll win Adrian back. Please…”
Quentin hurried out too. “Gwyneth, after all, she is your sister. And by helping her and Adrian, you’ll gain support in the Lopez family later.”
Gwyneth stopped in her tracks, and Quentin and Melanie thought she was convinced.
Gwyneth slapped Melanie’s hand away sharply. “Melanie,” she said coldly, “I think you’ve lost your mind.
“Adrian and the Thornton family heiress are the real deal,” Gwyneth said coolly. “Show up there, and everyone will see you as the other wom
She emphasized the last two words before strutting away.
Melanie recalled how Kate had shamed her as the other woman. Hot tears of humiliation spilled down her cheeks.
Quentin mentally cursed Gwyneth a thousand times, but outwardly he simply guided his favorite daughter to rest.
Diana arrived moments later. After soothing Melanie, she learned about Gwyneth’s showdown with Miranda and the mass layoffs Group. Her face went stormy.
“So now the Mercer Group is all Gwyneth’s, right?” Diana said.
”
20
s at the Met
Every time Diana heard “Mercer Group“, she thought of Peyton. It made her both angry and scared. Even though Peyton was dead, trapped by her.
Dian
still felt
When Peyton was alive, Diana had cowered like a rodent. Even dead, Peyton remained Quentin’s rightful wife, keeping Diana’s Jenkins family records.
name
of the
Now, Peyton’s legacy was fading. But her daughter was a big obstacle to Diana and Melanie.
The Mercer Group was reborn from Peyton’s old studio. If Gwyneth actually revives it, I’ll be haunted by Peyton’s name forever, Diana Abandoning all pretense about her daughter’s romantic troubles, she stormed to Quentin’s office.
thought.
“Quentin, how could Gwyneth treat Miranda that way? Miranda is your cousin. Even if she took company money, that’s just keeping it in the family. It doesn’t affect you.”
“Can’t argue with that logic. Quentin didn’t like being kept in the dark, but he agreed Diana had
a
point.
Diana pressed her advantage, “Meanwhile, Gwyneth’s sweeping through the Mercer Group like a hurricane. She actually
“The Mercer Group is Peyton’s legacy. If Gwyneth revives it and tries to escape the Jenkins family’s control, what will we do? side–we’ve got to watch out. Her voice dripped with false concern.
to revive it.
Gwyneth isn’t
on
your
Oblivious to her scheming, Quentin patted her hand. “I know you have my best interests at heart.
“But the Mercer Group has been losing money for years, and Gwyneth dismissed everyone. With all the layoffs and no income, it can’t survive. Relax.”
1/2
Chapter 158
The more determined Quentin was, the more Diana worried. Anything could happen in business. She knew the only sure solution was to crush Gwyneth before she could rise.
As she calculated in her mind, Diana excused herself and sneaked away to meet Miranda in the lounge.
Miranda, still red–eyed from her earlier outburst, was freshening up after changing clothes. She took one look at Diana and turned away, Quentin’s stinging slap still fresh in her memory.
Diana didn’t get mad. “Miranda, Quentin is your cousin. We both support you.
“But you know Gwyneth was never loyal to us. If she sues, Quentin and I might not stop her. That’s why I’m warning you–if she starts digging, eve family connections won’t stop her.”
Miranda shot up from her seat. “You’re joking,” she scoffed. “You can’t control some upstart kid?”
Diana’s lashes fluttered as fake tears glistened. “She made Melanie and me cower in our own home–and we’re her stepfamily. You’re just her aunt.”
‘Diana clawed her way into Quentin’s bed before Peyton’s body was cold, Miranda thought, stunned. ‘Can’t she handle a girl?”
The moment Miranda remembered the incriminating documents still at the office, she turned and rushed out without saying goodbye.
Diana smirked behind Miranda, her eyes completely dry. ‘Let them fight, she thought. “The more chaos, the better. Maybe the Mercer Group won’t even be able to open its doors.‘
An hour later. Gwyneth grabbed some files and plans on the way, leaving Flora to handle things at the Jenkins Group. She headed alone to the parking lot, bound for the Mercer Group.
“Gwyneth, bad news.” Sharon’s panicked voice crackled through the phone. “We were auditing assets when these thugs burst in, trashing everything. Security’s trying to stop them, but most of our equipment and documents are already destroyed.”
The timing was too perfect–Miranda’s schemes were exposed one moment, and their accounting records were smashed the next. This was no coincidence.
Gwyneth’s eyes turned cold. Call the cops now. I’ll be right there.”
“Hurry!” The line filled with crashing noises as Sharon shouted over the chaos.
Gwyneth threw herself into the car, sweat beading on her forehead. ‘Please, don’t let anyone get hurt,‘ she prayed inwardly.
AD
