Chapter 499
As Hayley spoke, she started to cry quietly.
The people around her had a subtle shift in their gazes. Some looked at her with sympathy, others with pity.
Bette stood right in front of Hayley, her face calm and completely unfazed by Hayley’s words.
“Aunt Hayley,” Bette said calmly. “No one denies your contributions, but has the Blanchard family ever mistreated you all these years? Or has the Zamora family ever treated you unfairly?”
Hayley gave a cold, mocking laugh and lifted her chin to glare at Bette, her eyes burning with pure hatred. “Every bit of this is mine by right,” she spat.
Bette raised her hand, and the Blanchard family’s butler handed her a document. She held it out for Hayley to see.
“Aunt Hayley, do you remember this employment contract you signed with my grandfather?” Bette asked.
Hayley’s expression shifted dramatically. She never expected Durif to have kept that contract all these years.
“From the start, the Blanchard family never asked you to give up your own chance at marriage. My grandfather just wanted you to treat looking after Daron in the Zamora mansion as a job,” Bette said.
“Your pay started at about 100,000 dollars and went up to 300,000 dollars over the past few years. The Blanchard family never missed a single payment to you. Here’s your bank statement, and this is your card.”
Hayley bit her lip and stayed silent.
Bette looked at Hayley with a cool, detached stare. There wasn’t a shred of respect in her eyes.
“Aunt Hayley, you’re always putting on a show,” Bette said. “All these years, you’ve acted like you gave up being a mother and sacrificed your marriage for Daron, pretending you didn’t care about living alone.
“The Blanchard family just turned a blind eye. If you hadn’t started making trouble, we wouldn’t have exposed everything like this.”
Hayley snorted coldly. “Cut the act, Bette. You’ve wanted to bring me down for a long time. I made my bet, and I lost. Fair enough.”
As she spoke, Hayley pushed herself up off the floor, snatched up her wine from the counter, and knocked it back in one go.
No matter what happened now, her life would never be as wretched as it was back in her youth.
The Zamora family treated her well, and she’d pocketed a decent sum selling off Wilhelmina’s things,
After setting down her glass, Hayley shot Bette a cold look and said in a frosty voice, “Since things have come this far, my relationship with the Blanchard family is finished for good.
“Bette, don’t think you can use the Blanchard family’s money to control me anymore. From now on, we’re even.”
With that, Hayley turned and walked out of the Blanchard mansion.
Her back was ramrod straight, no sign left of the mess she’d been in just moments ago.
Bette watched Hayley’s figure disappear, shaking her head slightly.
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Chapter 499
And just like that, the whole farce was over.
Hayley just walked out, leaving most of the crowd feeling like the drama wasn’t over yet.
Everyone was eager to see how the Blanchard family, as the hosts, would handle things.
After all, this whole mess had completely thrown Durif’s birthday celebration into chaos.
However, Durif remained composed, chatting with his old friends as if nothing had happened.
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His laughter was cheerful and untroubled, showing no sign that the drama had affected him in the slightest.
Bette had the staff tidy up the mess, then put on a gracious smile and began mingling with the guests once more.
In no time, the atmosphere turned harmonious again. It was as if the earlier commotion had never even happened.
Marina stuck close to Elnora the whole time. When everyone finally drifted away, she leaned in and whispered, “Elnora, when did you and Bette come up with this plan? Why didn’t you give me a heads–up? That was seriously risky.”
If Daron still felt loyal to Hayley and decided to defend her today, it would’ve been way harder for them to blow her cover.
Elnora brushed a strand of Marina’s hair behind her ear, smiling as she replied, “Bette got in touch with me a month ago. Even before Lavern’s trial started, Hayley and Zara were already busy fanning the flames.
“I just didn’t want those two buzzing around you all the time. They’re not just annoying but straight–up gross. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll rub salt in the wound. If you don’t deal with them fast, things will get nasty real quick.”
Daron had never been able to decide what to do about Hayley and Zara, all because Hayley basically raised him for years.
Since he couldn’t make up his mind, Elnora and Bette joined forces and stepped in to make the decision for him.
Elnora was just curious to see which side Daron would pick in the end.
Obviously, Daron wasn’t clueless.
Marina had always been the type to look out for herself.
If Daron still couldn’t see what was really going on and kept defending Hayley, that tiny bit of trust Marina had finally opened up to him? She’d slam the door shut again, no doubt.
Marina went quiet after hearing Elnora’s words.
She looked over at Daron, who was busy talking with a bunch of guests.
His face was calm, those eyes totally unreadable, and he just answered questions here and there without showing much
emotion.
Marina pressed her fingers to her forehead, not saying a word.
Elnora shot a glance at Daron and said coolly, “If a wound just keeps festering and starts growing dead flesh, one has to clear out all the rotten stuff. Otherwise, it’ll keep spreading, and even the healthy parts will rot away.
“Honestly, Daron’s already gone above and beyond for Hayley. He never once asked her to return the cash she got from selling off Wilhelmina’s belongings. He even shelled out his own money to buy back every piece of jewelry she sold.”
As she spoke, Elnora took the pink diamond from her hand and set it in Marina’s palm. “Here, have it.”
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Chapter 499
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Marina stared at the pink diamond sitting in her palm, a little dazed, then blurted out, “Elnora, this was a get–well present from Mrs. Campbell. If you give it to me like this, how are you going to explain that to her?”
Elnora smiled and said, “Daron actually did a pretty decent job with this. He reached out to Reese and told her he wanted to buy the pink diamond back. Reese told him to check with me first.”
‘He probably figured that I’m relying on Reese right now in the Campbell family, and I can’t risk getting on her bad side over something like this,‘ Elnora thought.
Elnora smiled and slid the pink diamond ring onto Marina’s finger.
“Back when you married Daron, I never got you a proper gift. So, consider this pink diamond my present to you,” she gently said. Just passing on someone else’s kindness, I suppose.”
Marina said softly, “It’s just too valuable. Mrs. Campbell got it for you as a present, so if Daron wants it back, I’ll make sure he pays you for it.”
Elnora smiled. “No amount of money could ever buy what we have as sisters. This is my present to you. Just accept it. Don’t let money cheapen the bond between us.”
Marina felt a wave of emotion wash over her, her heart full.
She wrapped Elnora in a hug, hiding her misty eyes.
“Thank you, Einora,” she murmured.
Ever since Marina returned to Vrufield, Elnora had been relentlessly making sure nothing stood in her way.
