Chapter 74

Evelyn Carter was not someone to be trifled with.

"Mark my words." Her voice was ice-cold, dripping with venom. "From this moment on, Victoria Sterling and I are sworn enemies. If I ever go back on this oath, may I be shattered—just like this bracelet."

Her fingers trembled as she slowly uncurled her palm.

Nathan Blackwood's breath hitched.

Blood smeared her skin, mingling with the jagged shards of the jade bracelet she had crushed in her grip.

He knew how much she treasured that bracelet.

Yet here she was, clutching its broken remains so tightly she hadn’t even noticed the cuts.

A storm of emotions raged in his chest.

His gaze locked onto Evelyn’s face—twisted with fury, eyes burning with unspoken betrayal. Something inside him splintered.

"Ms. Carter! Your hand—!"

Julian Montgomery gasped, frantically patting his pockets for something—anything—to stem the bleeding.

But he came up empty.

Nathan’s fingers twitched toward the handkerchief tucked in his breast pocket. His jaw clenched.

He couldn’t bring himself to offer it.

Then, a whisper of expensive perfume drifted through the air as a woman in an emerald silk gown glided forward.

Evelyn froze.

Lillian Hartwell—her stepmother—gently pried the broken jade from Evelyn’s palm and slipped the pieces into her blazer pocket. Then, with deliberate care, she wrapped the wounds with a pristine handkerchief.

"Aunt Lillian—"

Evelyn’s voice cracked. She bit her lip hard, forcing back the words.

"Such lovely hands shouldn’t be marred like this," Lillian murmured, her tone deceptively calm.

Inside, she was seething. The Blackwood family would pay for this.

"Mrs. Kingsley! What a pleasure to see you!"

Penelope Whitmore’s syrupy voice cut through the tension as she rushed forward, all false warmth.

Jean Sterling, too, plastered on a simpering smile. "You look radiant as ever, Mrs. Kingsley!"

Most of high society believed Lillian had schemed her way into Harrison Kingsley’s bed after his first wife’s death. Few dared to slight her—especially since she was still a Larson by blood, despite cutting ties with her family.

Compared to her, Jean and Penelope were nothing.

"Mrs. Blackwood."

Lillian barely spared them a glance, offering only the barest nod of acknowledgment to Leonard Blackwood’s wife.

Jean, however, was completely ignored.

Her smile stiffened.

"Mrs. Kingsley," Penelope pressed, eyes glinting with sly curiosity, "do you know Ms. Carter well? She attended tonight’s auction as Mr. Kingsley’s guest. Quite the spender, too."

Lillian’s lips curved, though her eyes remained frosty. "Of course I know her. Sebastian invited her."

A calculated pause.

"Then you must not be too familiar with her, right?"

"Do I need to be?"

Penelope’s smile sharpened. "I’d say so. After all, Ms. Carter is about to become the wife of Monarch Group’s CEO. She’ll practically be family soon."

Lillian’s eyebrow arched. "Oh? Is Evelyn involved with Sebastian?"

"Indeed." Penelope’s gaze flicked to Evelyn, dripping with faux concern. "When she divorced Nathan, she left in Mr. Kingsley’s car. Poor thing—a country girl with no connections in Crestview. Who would’ve thought Mr. Kingsley would take her under his wing?"

The air around Lillian turned glacial.

Her fingers tightened imperceptibly around Evelyn’s wrist.