The Paper Wife’s Empire novel Chapter 187

“Ms. Loring—”

“I’m not someone who enjoys playing mind games. Ms. Huxley, whatever happened between you and Yancey, frankly, I don’t care. But today, I’m really not in the mood.”

Halcyon cut Wisteria off, her tone sharp and her gaze coolly superior.

“If this is about Yancey, there’s no need. It’s not what you think. There’s nothing between us.”

Wisteria kept her face expressionless.

Halcyon laughed. “Funny, I haven’t even said anything yet, and you’re already defending yourself. Feeling a little guilty, are we, Ms. Huxley?”

Wisteria’s patience snapped. “What exactly do you want from me?”

“You spent all afternoon flirting with Yancey at my birthday party, and now you’re asking what I want?”

Halcyon slowly circled behind Wisteria, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor.

“You’re the Huxley family’s darling. It’s not like I can do anything to you. But I am your client. I don’t think it’s too much to ask you to have a drink with me, is it?”

As she finished speaking, the butler stepped forward and set a bottle of imported whiskey on the table.

Wisteria glanced at it, and her face immediately lost all color.

“Drink the whole bottle. Then stay away from Yancey forever. Do that, and I’ll sign off on the order. Otherwise, I’ll send it back with a complaint. And you know what that means.”

The threat was crystal clear.

Wisteria instantly understood that Halcyon had spoken at length with Solenne. One complaint was all it would take to have her fired.

If she lost her job, she’d fail her agreement with Solenne’s father and lose any shot at her mother’s inheritance.

Wisteria’s mother and Solenne’s father had been the closest of friends. Years ago, when her mother fell gravely ill, Solenne’s father had stepped up to care for Wisteria.

But Wisteria had always been wild and headstrong, impossible to manage. Things only got worse after she joined the Huxley family and trouble seemed to follow her everywhere.

Once, she’d even unwittingly brought a thief into the house and nearly cost the entire family their lives. Still, Solenne’s father had risked everything to save her—a debt her mother never forgot and never stopped feeling guilty for.

Wisteria’s own father had been a notorious scoundrel, dying young from his own vices. Her mother had always feared her daughter would follow the same tragic path after she was gone.

So, after much deliberation, on her deathbed, Wisteria’s mother entrusted her entire fortune—a $5 billion trust and a lifetime’s work in biotech patents—to Solenne’s father for safekeeping.

If Wisteria couldn’t meet the conditions for inheritance by the age of thirty, half the assets would go to Solenne’s father. The rest would be doled out to Wisteria as an allowance, at his discretion.

For years, Wisteria had fought against this, desperate to prove herself and finally break free from the Huxleys.

But every year, the foundation’s independent assessment found her wanting.

She knew why. The Huxleys had been sabotaging her from the start. They looked tolerant on the surface, but in truth, they’d never bothered to guide or discipline her, deliberately letting her flounder.

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