LOGINEdric froze.Tabitha looked at him, her eyes filled with resentment. "Edric, you ruined my life. If it hadn't been for Ivy, I might not even be alive today. I'll never forgive you for that. At this point, I'm just waiting to see where all of this gets you."Edric frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"Tabitha stepped closer. "It's bad enough that you chose your mistress over me, but Ivy is your own daughter. And today, you almost ruined her life over one photo."Edric's throat tightened. After everything that had happened between him and Tabitha, he had never been especially close to Ivy, but he never wanted to hurt his own daughter."Ivy is my daughter, too. Why would I ever want to ruin her life?""Maybe you didn't mean to, but did you even think about what would happen when you showed everyone that photo? If Nathan hadn't gotten there when he did, did you ever stop to think about what Ivy would've had to deal with afterward?" Tabitha pressed."I…""Edric, everyone but yo
Every guest in the room turned toward the boxes."Mr. Lowe, are those gifts for Mr. Quinn?""What's inside?""Open them. Let us see!"Nathan opened the first rosewood box himself. The interior was lined with white velvet, and a pearl necklace rested in the center.Each pearl was perfectly round and luminous, with a soft silvery sheen. A rare deep-red ruby was set into the clasp, catching the light from the chandeliers and scattering brilliant flashes across the room. It was clearly an extraordinary piece."I found this White Empress necklace at an auction overseas while I was there on business," Nathan said. "It's one of a kind."A collective gasp swept through the room.Nathan then opened the second box. Inside lay an exquisite rosary made of flawless rock crystal, each bead perfectly clear and engraved with a tiny cross."Grandpa, I know how much your faith means to you. I had this rosary blessed by the bishop at St. Matthew's Cathedral. May it bring you peace, comfort, an
Roger had not only torn into Noelle but also punished Edric. His position couldn't have been clearer. Everyone in the room now understood that Ivy would one day inherit the Quinn family fortune.Roger turned to Nathan, regret in his eyes. "Nathan, I'm sorry our family drama dragged you into this and put both you and Ivy in such an uncomfortable position."Nathan gave a slight nod, his expression softening as the tension around him faded. "You don't need to apologize, Grandpa. I know the Quinn family wasn't behind this. You handled it fairly and stood up for both Ivy and me. That's what matters."Nathan then turned to his assistant, Baxter. "Document everything and follow standard procedure. Have Lowe Group's legal department send a formal cease-and-desist letter regarding the false accusations and deliberate attempt to damage my marriage."Baxter nodded. "Understood, Mr. Lowe."That was enough to make everyone in the room uneasy. Whoever had started this would now have to an
Noelle went silent on the other end of the line. She didn't expect Roger to call her out so bluntly, let alone embarrass her in front of everyone.The sob in her voice faltered as she rushed to defend herself. "Mr. Quinn, I don't understand what you mean. I was only trying to help.""Help?" Roger gave a cold laugh. "You gave Edric a cropped photo and told him to show it today, while half the city's most influential families were gathered at my birthday party. Explain to me how that was supposed to help anyone."The guests nearby had gone quiet. They hadn't been able to hear much of the call before, but Roger made no effort to lower his voice now. Every word carried across the ballroom.The room fell silent as people turned to look at Edric. By then, everyone understood that Noelle, the woman on the other end of the line, was behind the entire stunt.Panic crept into Noelle's voice. "Mr. Quinn, the photo looked like that when I got it. How was I supposed to know it had been cropped
Edric's stomach twisted. Roger was actually going to speak to Noelle.For years, Noelle had been desperate to win Roger's approval. Under any other circumstances, Edric would've been thrilled that his father was finally willing to take her call.But Roger clearly wasn't answering to welcome her into the family."Dad, let me get that," Edric said quickly.Roger gave him a sharp look. "I said I'll handle it."His tone left no room for argument.Edric fell silent.Roger answered the call.Noelle's soft voice came through immediately. "Edric, how's it going?"Outside, Noelle and Kate were still sitting in the back of a luxury sedan, eagerly waiting for the scene inside to play out. They were certain the photo would ruin Ivy's reputation for good.Kate leaned in excitedly. "Did Dad pick up? Put him on speaker. I hope Grandpa gets so angry that he throws Ivy out and finally lets us into the family. Then I'll be his favorite granddaughter."Noelle shot her a warning look, then pu
"Nathan, who is that woman?" Roger asked."She's the general counsel for one of our overseas business partners," Nathan replied calmly. "We were meeting to discuss a multibillion-dollar acquisition, and three other executives were sitting at the table with us. Whoever took the photo cropped them out on purpose to make it look like we were alone."The guests immediately began whispering among themselves."She's a corporate attorney?"Just then, Nathan's assistant walked in. "Mr. Lowe, I have the café's security footage.""Put it on the screen," Nathan said.The full, unedited footage soon appeared on the large screen.It clearly showed all five of them entering the café together. Throughout the meeting, Nathan and the woman kept a polite, professional distance. Nothing even remotely inappropriate happened.The so-called private date was manufactured by someone who deliberately cropped the others out of the photo to create a scandal.The ballroom erupted in shocked murmurs."So
Nathan never expected to see Ivy here. "What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise.Ivy held up a set of design sketches. "I was working. I stepped out for some air and happened to run into you."Her eyes shifted to Stanley and Wendy. "Aren't you going to introduce your friends?"Nathan
Sierra looked at Zada. Even though she had tried to drive a wedge between Zada and Halsey, she knew that Zada still genuinely cared about Halsey.Seeing Halsey, pregnant and betrayed by Shaun, clearly made Zada anxious.Sierra smirked to herself. She really couldn't understand what made Halsey so
Zada's hands were shaking as she said, "The doctor ran the tests. It's true, Halsey was poisoned. And the poison came from the chicken soup I made.""What?" Sierra gasped, eyes wide in mock shock. Her acting kicked in flawlessly. "You poisoned Halsey's chicken soup? Why would you do something like
Shaun and Halsey finally reached their happy ending, and Wendy couldn't help but tear up.Her best friend had finally married the man she truly loved.Wendy's eyes blurred with emotion as she clapped hard.Just then, a hand reached toward her, offering a tissue.She looked down and saw five long







