She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 519

Audrey Halevy froze.

"And Chloe, your company is desperately trying to borrow our research team to bail out your failing project. Surely you haven't forgotten?"

Chloe Thorne went deathly pale.

"Melanie, are you threatening us?"

Audrey snapped, stepping forward in defensive panic.

"Your father runs the Royce Group, not you, so don't think for a second we're afraid of you!"

Melanie simply smiled at the hollow bluff.

"By all means, test me, and let's see if the company answers to its Chief Operating Officer, or to a disgraced daughter who was kicked to the curb and forced to run a pathetic little studio."

"You!"

Aria seethed, turning green with fury.

A heavy wave of dread washed over Audrey and Chloe.

They had been so caught up in the drama that they forgot Melanie was still the COO.

Even with the rumors of the catastrophic Stellaris failure, Nathaniel hadn't stripped Melanie of her title.

Meanwhile, despite Aria parading around as the favored daughter, she held zero actual authority inside the company.

"Oh, Ms. Royce, please, it was just a massive misunderstanding! We didn't mean to insult you... Aria misled us! Please don't take it personally!"

Chloe scrambled to backtrack, throwing Aria under the bus instantly.

Aria stared in total shock.

These women were supposed to be her loyal friends.

"Exactly! This is all Aria's fault... if she hadn't brought up your degree, we never would have said those things."

"And honestly, degrees mean nothing! True talent speaks for itself."

"Right! And like your incredibly handsome boyfriend just said, Stellaris values your brilliant work ethic."

Hoisting her heavy gown, Aria composed herself and gracefully glided toward him.

Just as she closed the distance, she let out a delicate gasp.

The sharp sound caught the attention of the surrounding guests.

Feigning a sudden slip, Aria threw herself forward, collapsing directly toward Preston.

Melanie turned at the noise, watching Aria's theatrical fall.

Instinctively, any normal person would reach out to catch someone.

Aria had banked everything on that basic human reflex.

Instead, Preston calmly took a single step back, his face a mask of cold indifference as he watched Aria fall flat on her face.

Aria shrieked as she slammed into the hard floor, staring at him in utter disbelief.

The impact sent a jolt of real pain through her body, because she had genuinely never expected him to let her crash.