The Perfect Wife's Perfect Revenge

Chapter 144

Ailie was sitting beside Victoria, happily dipping noodles into the bubbling broth and calling over the waiter every few minutes for more fruit. Meanwhile, Victoria was on the phone, but she barely caught a single word of her own conversation.

After chatting with Stein for a bit, Victoria ended the call. Ailie, undeterred, was still preoccupied with her meal.

"I've been looking into a couple of new ventures lately. Should be profitable. I'll draw up a detailed proposal and you can recommend it to Mr. Garcia for me," Ailie said, slurping up another mouthful.

Victoria regarded her friend for a moment. Curtis had used her as his mouthpiece, sure, but she knew full well she'd leveraged Quantum Core Technologies to boost the game's profile. If Violet hadn't played dirty, all three companies-Quantum Core, The Langford Group, and Golden Era Enterprises-could have walked away with tidy profits.

But they'd set off their own self-destruct sequence. She had no reason to feel guilty.

Business was business. If Victoria hadn't been a little cutthroat, McNeil wouldn't have held on to his throne for so long.

Ailie paused to sip her soup, eyeing the pot's broth as she considered mixing it with rice. Hearing Victoria's plan, she blurted out, "After everything Curtis did to you, you're still willing to help him? I thought you'd have quit by now."

Victoria didn't bother lying. "He sold the game and gave me a five-hundred- thousand-dollar cut."

They finished the meal, but Ailie ended up drinking a bit too much. By the time they left the restaurant, she was staggering, and Victoria nearly failed to keep her upright. In the end, they had to call Yasmine to help get her into the car.

The whole ride home, Ailie sat in the back seat, singing at the top of her lungs, as if she'd been the one handed half a million dollars. Watching her friend's giddy, drunken antics, Victoria felt an unexpected warmth in her chest.

outside until she saw her friend safely

the driveway. He rarely came home these days, and she wondered what had

waiting for her in the living room, but Yulia wasn't with

I picked up a set of emerald jewelry. Take a look-see if you like

at it but didn't reach

offers a gift for nothing;

there something you

no move to accept the box,

alive. I saw them and thought of

opened the box; the emeralds gleamed, clearly worth a small fortune. She

I'll thank you on her behalf," she

plenty to Yulia already. Anything he handed her

surprise, Simms didn't ask for anything in return. Instead, he just said, "I'm hosting a dinner tomorrow night. You're my daughter, so I expect

her, but I'm getting older, and I need someone I can rely on by my side. I don't have to marry her, but I do want

her around, there's nothing I can do to stop you. But I stand by what I've

Simms bit his tongue, forcing down the words

curled up on her bed, knees to her chest, staring out the window at the wild weather. The sounds

in McNeil's arms, their daughter nestled between them, the thunder in the distance only making her feel warmer, safer,