Chapter 57

Chapter57
As soon as Wendy stepped through the door noone bothered to greet her She stood quietly to the side feeling completely out of place amidst the lively atmosphere
Lilian’svoicebrokethesilence. “Wendy,you’reback.”
Everyoneturnedtheirattentiontowardher,theireyeslockingontoWendy inunison.
Edith s smile immediately vanished A look of disdain crossed her face Why is Wendy back
Lilian chuckled lightly Mom it s your birthday today I asked Wendy to come
Edith’stonesoured.”Idon’tneedher here.LookatTrish andJessica–howimpressivetheyare!AndthenlookatWendy.She’sjustacountrybumpkin withnostanding.Shecan’tevenholdherowninaroomlikethis.She’snothingbutadisgraceatmybirthdaycelebration!”
It wasclearEdithhadnoloveforWendy.
Tonight,JessicaandTrishhad bothdonetheirmakeuptoperfection,competingtooutshineeachother.TheycastacondescendingglanceatWendybeforesweetlyaddressingEdith.
“Grandma,it’s fine.Wendy’sback,afterall.She’syourgranddaughter.Youcan’tjustkickherout,canyou?”Jessicasaid.
“Grandma,today’syourspecialday.Don’tletsomethinglike thisruinit,”Trishaddedwithasmile.
Edith returned the smile though it was a little colder I m more than happy with you two as my granddaughters
Theunspokenmessagewasclear–Edithdidn’tconsiderWendy her granddaughteratall.
Wendyfeltacoldchillsettleinherchest.TheCronefamilyhadoncebeen inthedepths ofpoverty.Itwasherfather,Jerry,whohadbuilttheirfortunefromthegroundup.
AfterJerrybecamewealthy,hesentHarrytoschool,makingHarrythefirstinthefamilytoattenduniversity.Hehad alsohelpedArcherstartasteelbusiness,turninghimintoapowerfulbusinessman.
ButafterJerrypassed,thesepeopledidn’t mournhisloss.Instead,theydividedupallofhisassets,drainingeverythingtheycouldfromhislegacy.
They had been feeding off Jerry s blood
And Edith She was the most calculating of them all She gravitated toward whoever could bring glory to the Crone family
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Chapterba
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Crone family s status had risen even higher They could barely imagine how glorious it would be when Stanley became their son in law
Surrounded by admiration Jessica felt like she had reached the pinnacle of her life Stanley the kind of man who could satisfy every woman s vanity was everything she had ever
dreamedof.
She gazed at him her eyes sparkling with admiration
Stanley his gaze soft looked down at her for a moment his expression gentle
Wendy holding her glass observed them from the edge of the room Stanley and Jessica stood at the center bathed in the glow of the lights as they basked in the attention of everyone around them This was the supreme honor that Stanley had bestowed upon Jessica
When Stanley pampered a woman it was clear he did so completely
Wendy s thoughts drifted back to years ago to that time in the cave when Stanley had held her close and said I ll take you out of here I want you around
To this day she couldn t understand why the man who had once wanted her had then turned his back on her
Her shoulders sagged her heart heavy With a quiet sigh she turned and walked away
Just then Stanley looked up His gaze followed her as she made her way out of the room her figure disappearing into the crowd
A few of the executives followed his gaze and saw Wendy s retreating form Mr Hawk do you know that girl
Jessica s heart skipped a beat Not her again Wendy
Stanley s voice calm and distant broke through the tension I don t know her
He said he didn t know her
Jessica s heart lifted her anxiety evaporating Of course Stanley didn tc are about someone like Wendy she was just a country girl who couldn t even hold his attention
She glanced at Lilian who gave her a subtle nod The performance Lilian had been preparing for the night was just getting started
Wendy carried the glass to the kitchen but before she could leave a maid called to her
“Hurryup!Take thisbowlofchickensouptotheroom.Mrs.Lilianwantsitlater.”
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