Chapter 77 You Don't Need to Be Afraid, Angel
Chapter 77 You Don't Need to Be Afraid, Angel
Victoria Blackwood froze where she stood. Her great ego as the Blackwood empress shook violently seeing how her sole crown prince—the man who usually ignored the entire world's board of directors—now stood upright like a guard dog ready to tear anyone's throat apart just to protect an ordinary woman in a navy blazer.
Elena's eyes widened perfectly, staring at Elijah with extreme panic. Her heart thundered wildly, not only because of Elijah's outrageous insolence, but because memories from six months ago suddenly spun sharply in her mind.
The middle-aged woman before her was no stranger.
Elena remembered clearly those cold, eagle-like eyes. She was Victoria Blackwood, the main empress of the Blackwood clan who had sat as an honorary judge when Elena won the Valora Gems best designer trophy half a year ago.
At that time, Victoria's presence had shaken the entire Manhattan grand ballroom. And now, the ruling woman of the financial district stood directly inside her small studio.
"Elijah, enough! Stay in your place behind me!" Elena whispered half in panic, her voice trembling, holding back fear that instantly attacked her nerves.
She then quickly straightened her body, looking at Victoria with a gaze full of respect and deep regret.
"Madam Blackwood, please forgive my assistant's rudeness. He... he did not mean to offend you. He is just overly protective of this studio's privacy."
Victoria Blackwood did not respond immediately. Her eagle eyes, coated with expensive makeup, shifted to look at Elena with a very sharp, assessing intensity.
The corner of her blood-red lips formed a thin, mysterious smile—a smile that contained amusement and veiled satisfaction seeing how her son, the highest dragon of Wall Street, was now acting like a guard dog ready to bite his own mother for a woman.
Victoria reached into her Hermès bag with a very graceful movement, letting her digital device, which had just received a cyber threat message from Elijah, remain locked inside.
"You still remember me, Miss Vance," Victoria said, her voice flowing crisply yet still leaving the vibration of the highest, intimidating caste.
"I thought your big win at the Valora Gems awards night that time had made you forget the face of the judge who gave you a perfect score."
Elena bowed her head slightly, squeezing the edge of her navy velvet blazer.
"I will never forget the honor you bestowed that night, Grand Madam. Your presence here today is a surprise I never imagined."
"I did not come here for small talk, Elena," Victoria cut in, her gaze turning as cold as ice, deliberately ignoring Elijah's presence still standing as solid as marble beside Elena with an increasingly thick murderous aura.
"My challenge remains the same. One trillion rupiah as an initial fund to design my ten-carat pink diamond tiara. But because your assistant just ruined my mood"—Victoria glanced at Elijah with a provocative flash from a mother deliberately testing her son's patience—"I am reducing the deadline. The first design must be on my desk within one month. If you fail to captivate my taste, I will not only close this studio, but I will ensure every jewelry retail network in North America blacklists your name."
Hearing that increasingly unreasonable wager, Elijah's firm jaw tightened severely. His sapphire blue eyes dimmed completely, radiating a very dangerous predator's gleam.
His right hand on Elena's waist tightened, an absolute claim of ownership as if ready to tear apart anyone who dared to pressure his woman. Elijah was about to open his mouth to order Apex Sovereign to seize all of his mother's diamond supplies in Paris that very second, but Elena quickly cut off his movement.
"I accept your challenge, Madam Blackwood," Elena said with a suddenly firm and confident tone.
Elijah immediately turned his head, looking at Elena's side profile with surprised eyes.
However, Elena did not return Elijah's gaze. She kept staring straight into Victoria Blackwood's eagle eyes with the dignity of a designer who refused to be trampled again by any financial caste.
"One month," Elena continued, her voice no longer trembling. "I will deliver the best pink diamond tiara draft you have ever seen. However, if I succeed in captivating your taste, I ask for one thing, Madam."
Victoria raised one eyebrow, seeming impressed by Elena's suddenly rising courage under pressure.
"Name it."
"I ask that the main Blackwood clan become the official financial protector of Elena Vance Atelier publicly, so that no more flies from the Valdez clan will dare to disturb my business perimeter in New York," Elena stated firmly, remembering how Morgan Valdez still posed a great threat to her life from across the ocean in London.
Elena smiled bitterly to herself, feeling that this was the most logical step. She thought Elijah was just an ordinary IT technician lucky enough to be backed by a mysterious Wall Street client.
If she could win the Blackwood clan's favor legally through her artwork, then she would no longer have to burden Elijah with the danger of cyber conflict against Morgan Valdez. She wanted to protect her poor lover in her own way.
Hearing Elena's request, Victoria Blackwood could no longer hold back her low laugh, full of incredibly foolish irony.
'Official financial protector? The unfilial son beside you even bought this building in cash with his own money, Elena!' Victoria thought amusedly, yet she maintained her son's grand charade from falling apart.
"An interesting deal, Miss Vance," Victoria said as she put her diamond-framed sunglasses back on. She turned slowly, her white fox fur coat fluttering in the air conditioning breeze. "One month from now. Do not disappoint me."
The two black-coated guards promptly opened the studio's large teak door. Victoria stepped out through the increasingly thick SoHo snow, leaving the studio's atmosphere suddenly deathly silent yet filled with new tension.
As soon as the teak door closed tightly, Elena immediately exhaled the long breath she had been holding. All her joints felt weak, making her body nearly collapse if Elijah's strong hands had not quickly caught her and pulled her into the warm embrace of his broad chest.
"Why did you accept it, Ángel?" Elijah's baritone voice flowed very low, vibrating with an annoyed and deeply dissatisfied tone near Elena's ear.
"You don't need to prove anything to that old woman. My client could destroy the rest of the Blackwood clan's business if they dare to touch your studio."