Chapter 253

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse restaurant as Aria Bennett peeled a boiled egg for her mother.

"Try this, Mom," she said, offering the pristine egg white.

Evelyn Bennett accepted it just as her phone vibrated. A glance at the screen made her brow furrow.

"What's wrong?" Aria instantly noticed the shift in her mother's demeanor.

Evelyn slid the phone toward her. "The Valmont family is trending again."

Aria's lips curled into a cold smile. The screen displayed Lucien Valmont and Vera Whitmore, their faces smeared with blood in a ghastly tableau.

"Serves them right," she murmured, calmly continuing to peel the eggshell.

Three days ago, she'd received an email from a private investigator—intimate photos of Vera with various young men, each shot crystal clear, down to the hotel room numbers.

"I posted the first thread," Aria admitted without hesitation. "But the ones after that weren't me."

Evelyn set down her chopsticks, her gaze complicated. "Your father—Lucien—values his reputation above all."

"Which is why he deserves to lose every shred of it." Aria's smile turned icy. "They slandered you back then. Now they're getting exactly what they gave."

Memories flooded in. At fifteen, she'd watched Vera scream in her mother's face, calling her a "homewrecker." The whole school had whispered that Evelyn seduced a married man, and even Aria hadn’t escaped the pointed fingers.

"Does it bother you?" Aria ventured.

Evelyn shook her head gently, her eyes serene. "I stopped considering them family long ago."

Another notification chimed—a video this time. Celine Valmont shrieked hysterically in a hospital hallway, her usual socialite poise obliterated.

"How entertaining." Aria propped her chin on her hand, watching with relish.

Evelyn turned off the screen. "Eat. Cold food upsets your stomach."

Aria nodded obediently, though her mind was already calculating her next move. She knew Lucien's greatest weakness—his meticulously crafted facade of respectability.

Sure enough, by noon, Valmont Jewelers's stock prices plummeted. The board called an emergency meeting, demanding Lucien explain himself.

Meanwhile, in a VIP hospital suite, Lucien stared at his reflection. Blood seeped through the bandage on his temple, the man in the mirror a far cry from his usual polished self.

"Dad!" Julian Valmont burst in. "Grandfather wants to hold a press conference—"

"Get out!" Lucien smashed the mirror. Shards scattered, slicing his knuckles.

Twenty years ago, he'd thrown Evelyn out just like this—her arms wrapped around a young Aria, her slender back straight despite the humiliation.

"Karma," he whispered as blood dripped from his wrist.

Across town, Aria sipped afternoon tea, her phone buzzing incessantly with updates that deepened her smile.

"An eye for an eye," she murmured over her Earl Grey. "And this is only the beginning."

Sunlight bathed her delicate profile. No one would guess this seemingly harmless girl was orchestrating a masterful game of vengeance.