The Abandoned Wife Dumped Him First (Victoria and Elias) novel Chapter 69

Victoria didn't stay in the lounge for long. After changing back into her own clothes, she used the access card Lucian had given her and left.

Meanwhile, in a now-empty conference room, Hawk entered through the door. "Mr. Shawn, Mrs. Shawn has taken the pill and left."

Elias sat in the chairman's seat, his back to Hawk, his unfathomable eyes gazing out at the city through the massive window. After a long silence, he finally asked, "Did she say anything?"

"She didn't say a word."

A nearly inaudible scoff escaped Elias's lips. He stood up and strode out of the room, instructing Hawk as he went, "Have everything in my office that she touched replaced."

"Yes, sir."

Hawk followed Elias into the elevator. "Mr. Shawn, Garnett's application for medical parole was approved. He was transferred to a special ward at Metropolitan General Hospital this morning. Should I have the specialist team we contacted take over his case now?"

"When did you start needing to ask me about things like that?"

Normally, it was a question Hawk wouldn't have needed to ask. Elias had already arranged for a team of international specialists before he even left for Havenport, setting the wheels in motion for Garnett's parole. At the time, Hawk had assumed that Mr. Shawn and his wife had reconciled. He never could have predicted...

That was why he felt unsure now. "I’m sorry, Mr. Shawn. I'll have the team stand down immediately."

"When did I say to stand down?" The elevator doors opened on the basement level, and Elias turned to give Hawk a cold look.

Hawk's scalp prickled. He quickly corrected himself, "I mean, I will have them prepare to take over his treatment immediately."

-

The Vale Estate.

Inside Genevieve's bedroom.

"What did you say? That's impossible! You must have made a mistake! I personally reviewed Victoria's application—she didn't even meet the entry requirements!" Genevieve stared at the list of semifinalists, where the name 'Victoria' was written in the very first row.

"Miss Vale, we've already confirmed it. The list is correct," the person on the phone said. "The competition organizers have three discretionary slots, and Victoria was one of their picks."

Genevieve's hand tightened on the mouse, wishing she could tear Victoria's name right off the screen.

"How can I get her disqualified? She cannot be in this competition!"

"Disqualified?" the person on the other end stammered. "Miss Vale, you're putting us in a difficult position. As you know, we can't just disqualify a contestant without a valid reason. And she's an organizer's pick, no less. That's... that's basically asking them to pull their funding."

Genevieve's hands, hanging by her sides, clenched into fists. "Mrs. Vale, Mr. Vale," she said in a low voice.

Ever since Lilly's birth, her life had been split in two. To the outside world, she was still the third miss of the Vale family, their adopted daughter, and she called them 'Mom' and 'Dad' to maintain appearances. But inside the house, she was forbidden from using those titles, and the staff were not allowed to call her 'Third Miss.'

Genevieve knew that if they weren't still hoping to use her to get closer to Elias and elevate the Vale family's status, her position in this house would be no better than a servant's.

Mrs. Vale snorted dismissively and said to Lilly, "Come on, Lilly. You kept saying you wanted to learn how to bake a cake, didn't you? Mommy will teach you."

"But I want to stay with my sister..."

Before she could finish, Mrs. Vale grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the living room without sparing Genevieve a second glance.

The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense and oppressive.

Mr. Vale took a sip of his tea and said gravely, "Sit."

"Yes."

As soon as Genevieve sat, Mr. Vale put down his cup. "A few days ago, I asked you to find out when Elias would be free to come over for dinner. What did he say?"