She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 567

To celebrate the rapid expansion of the Winslet family empire, Yorick commissioned a lavish maritime gala aboard a newly launched, ultra-luxury yacht named *The Royal One*. He invited the absolute cream of Metropia's high society to party on the open sea.

Both Loyce and Lucian received invitations.

Along with the formal invite, Yorick sent Loyce a personal message regarding the microchip project Forrest was developing. He expressed a strong interest in investing.

Loyce thought he should take it up with her brother directly, but Forrest claimed he was out of town on business and couldn't make the meeting, explicitly asking Loyce to go in his place.

Originally having zero interest in a yacht party, Loyce eventually agreed for the sake of the business.

When Yorick called Forrest to express his gratitude, Forrest's response was icy. "If Elise hadn't personally called me, I wouldn't have let my sister attend. You know perfectly well what her relationship with Lucian is like."

Yorick remained silent for a moment before replying smoothly, "I've stood on the sidelines and watched for a long time. But right now, Lucian is drowning in controversy. He's not as invincible as he used to be. Why shouldn't I throw my hat in the ring?"

Forrest let out an indecipherable chuckle. "It's nice to be young."

*And dangerously naive,* Forrest thought, hanging up without finishing the sentence.

Deep down, Forrest actually considered Yorick a highly stable, reliable man. If Loyce truly ended up with him, she might have a very peaceful, happy life. But he refused to interfere; it was entirely up to her.

The day of the yacht party arrived with brilliant sunshine and seagulls crying over the glittering waves.

Amidst the blaring horn of the massive vessel at the Metropia harbor, Loyce adjusted the brim of her hat and leisurely strolled up the gangway.

She hadn't come alone. Morris and her grandfather, Gordon, had tagged along. Since Yorick had invited numerous older generation tycoons and socialites, the Lonsdale elders decided to join the festivities.

By the time they boarded, a glittering crowd of heiresses had already gathered on the main deck.

Morris despised being swarmed by women. Despite his gentle nature, he hated the relentless social maneuvering.

The moment they stepped onto the ship, Morris pawned all the networking duties off on Loyce and retreated to his private suite to compose music.

Gordon, having no interest in the younger crowd, quickly found a group of men his own age and sat down to sip herbal tea and swap war stories.

That left Loyce standing alone on the deck.

Spotting her by herself, several socialites immediately swarmed her, their faces plastered with overly friendly smiles. Even Yuna Lombard, who used to be Sybil's closest confidante, took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

Yorick naturally hadn't sent Thane an invite. But Sybil, realizing every single elite woman in Metropia was attending—and remembering how she used to sit at the head table beside Yorick—couldn't stomach the humiliation of being left out. She had begged Thane to take her.

She assumed that with Thane's extensive social network, Yorick would simply wave them through out of basic courtesy to a fellow heir.

She hadn't expected to spend hours getting glammed up, only to be publicly rejected at the door.

Thane, who had fully expected to waltz in on name recognition alone, felt his face cycle from green to red, and finally to a pale white. His grip on Sybil's arm tightened instinctively, making her wince in pain.

The salty ocean breeze whipping across the docks did nothing to cool his burning humiliation.

Dozens of his former friends were already on board, and the mocking glances they shot down at him felt like needles piercing his skin.

If it weren't for Sybil, he wouldn't be standing here looking like an absolute joke.

For the very first time, a dark seed of resentment sprouted in Thane's mind.

"Let's go!" he ground out through clenched teeth, practically dragging Sybil away from the yacht that had just stripped him of his dignity.