The twins continued to play with the toys Jonathan had brought them after lunch. After Liam and Kyle left, she sent the twins for their afternoon nap. Finally, Jonathan and Liliana sat on the swing in the garden as they talked. “You seem very free today,” Liliana broached the topic. “I cleared my schedule,” Jonathan said without mincing it. “I am flattered,” She said with a laugh. “Why does the entire Aprice family hate you so much?” He asked directly. “What do you mean?” She feigned ignorance. “I heard Lydia Aprice came back to P city after our press conference. Lester Aprice and Lydia Aprice have both been looking for you. They even went by your studio in Central Mall. They have something against you,” He clarified. “Alas, the first question you have asked, I am unable to answer. At least not entirely,” Liliana sighed. “Can you tell me how deep the grudge runs? I need to update security accordingly. The Aprices and Stones aren’t invited to the inauguration,” He explained.

“Lil, I am going to enjoy it,” Mariana shouted. “Me too!” exclaimed Jenn. “Jenn, don’t use your own devices. You suck at anything electronic, not medically related. They will find you within minutes. Use Mer’s alternate phone.” Lil explained. “Mer, you know what to hold and release, right?” Liliana vaguely asked. “I know. I know. It’s like the 10th time you have said it since morning. I will only provoke that woman enough.” Mariana replied, exasperated with the nagging. “I have a professional team who could have done this without my nagging. Don’t give me that attitude, darling. You wanted to do it. Don’t screw up!” Liliana snorted. Henry giggled, and Mariana glared at him but did not retort. “You are so nice to Jennifer but fierce with Mariana. Why?” Jonathan moved to sit beside her and asked in a whisper. Liliana replied without a pause, “Personality differences!” She explained, “Jenn, despite her playfulness, is quite serious about anything she does. Mer bulldozes through

However, many of the guests were from the upper class. They had seen the ins and outs of schemes throughout their lives. They were smart enough to guess something was off. “Maybe there is more to it than meets the eye. We should wait and see things through before judging anyone.” “President Smith may be ruthless in business, but he is not so cold-blooded.” “President Smith is smart enough to know that if Vivian Stone is truly the victim, it will negatively affect him and L&L Designs. His silence means things are yet to unfold.” “Mrs. Liliana is undoubtedly a kind person. Every year, L&L Design sponsors 100 underprivileged students in the Design major and 100 in other fields. She loudly proclaimed Vivian as her rival. She does not seem like someone who would do something sneaky.” “Judging by things, it looks like they are waiting for the police. Maybe Vivian Stone staged all of this.” “That’s likely as she had created quite a farce at the Welcome banquet as well.” The chatter co

The crowd burst into laughter. Mrs. Liliana was the queen of sarcasm. Lydia was about to vomit blood hearing Liliana’s words. That was what she had always hated about her - that sense of superiority and the aura. Even when they had forced her to act as the servant at the Aprice Mansion when she was a child, Liliana had quietly gone about her job like she owned the place. Lydia hated her to the core. She could not wait to tear her to pieces. “You bitch, how dare you?” She exclaimed and made her way towards Liliana. “Miss Aprice, stop it!” Terry Draw stopped Lydia in her tracks. Most people in business knew Terry as he was an elite employee hired by the Smith Group with generous rewards. After being appointed, he became the manager of the Central Mall in a few short years. He had achieved everything on his own merits without any background help. Big bosses admired him and wanted to poach him, but Terry had shown excellent strength of character and wisdom by depicting loyalty an

While everyone was sighing in admiration for Liliana, the two women were utterly embarrassed. Vivian could not have imagined she could get humiliated further after her fall and be isolated like she was. Not to mention the cuts hurt so much. People had always admired her and looked up to her for her academic qualifications - both for the Kings High alumnus and for her prestigious degree from abroad. But Liliana hogged all the attention away from her in one fell swoop. While Vivian had never even heard of the Kings High scholarship, Liliana had not only qualified for it throughout her time at Kings High but also sponsored other students using it. With one kick, she cemented her position as someone with both intelligence and money. Everyone was talking about how wonderful a person Liliana was, and they had thoroughly ignored Vivian. Even when they looked at her, it was a gaze full of pity or loathing. Similar to Vivian, Lydia also felt humiliated. That fatal blow was hard to accep