Chapter 69 It's All Lies
The atmosphere in the Rodriguez Mansion's living room was so heavy it felt like the air itself had solidified. The silence was sharp, the kind that made you believe you could hear a pin drop.
Glenn's face was dark as forged steel, his grip crushing the freshly printed pages until they were nothing but wrinkled folds.
"Thea! You'd better explain right now… what the hell is this?"
Thea's chest tightened, her eyes locked on the papers in his hand. She didn't know exactly what they contained, but anything that could provoke this level of rage from Glenn had to be something that could ruin her.
In an instant, she slipped into a mask of fragile innocence. Tears welled up, spilling effortlessly. "Glenn, what are you talking about? I don't understand… what do you want me to explain?"
She reached for his arm, but he shook her off with a violent snap.
"Still pretending at this point?" Glenn flung the papers at her face. Sheets scattered across the polished floor, fluttering like pale snow.
"The evidence is right here! I treated you with genuine care, but from the very beginning you were aiming for the Rodriguez Group. All that talk about falling in love, about caring to the bone… lies. Every single word."
His eyes were bloodshot, locked on her with a fury that burned hot enough to scorch. His hand came up and the slap landed hard across her cheek.
The crack echoed through the room. Thea's head jerked sideways, a flush of red blooming into the shape of five fingers. She stared at him, shock and wounded pride mixing with a sharper, colder anger beneath the tears.
"Dad! How could you hit Mom?"
Blair burst into the room, throwing herself in front of Thea, her voice raw with outrage. "This has to be Bianca! She's framing Mom. Those documents are fake! You can't believe them!"
"Fake?" Glenn's laugh was short and bitter. "I've suspected for a long time, but I had no proof. Fortunately, Bianca put the evidence in my hands. Without it, the Rodriguez Group would eventually be wearing another family's name."
Blair's gaze turned murderous. In her mind, she was already tearing Bianca apart piece by piece.
"From today onward, both of you will stay inside the Rodriguez Mansion. Without my permission, you don't go anywhere."
"No, Dad, please!" Blair's voice cracked with desperation.
Glenn didn't look back. His steps were firm, final.
"Mom… what are we going to do? I don't want to be trapped here." Blair's tears spilled freely now, her hatred for Bianca deepening with every breath.
Thea stroked her back, voice low and soothing. "Don't worry. He won't keep us locked up for long. Your grandmother's birthday banquet is coming up. He'll have to let us out. And when he does… we'll settle every score with Bianca."
Blair nodded sharply, her eyes going cold.
For the next few days, Bianca's life was blissfully quiet. No Blair lurking in her path, no petty interruptions. The calm was almost decadent.
"Ms. Rodriguez, you have an invitation."
The butler presented a crimson envelope with formal precision.
Bianca took it, flipping it open with casual fingers.
She murmured, "The birthday banquet for the Sharp family matriarch."
Her mind drifted, her lips tightening, brows drawing down. She remembered with perfect clarity — in her last life, it was at that birthday banquet that she had been drugged, nearly ruined by that fool Alaric Sharp.
The memory of that humiliation made her fingers curl into a fist. Rage burned hotter with each heartbeat.
She knew Blair and Thea's hands were behind it. But back then she had no proof, and instead Blair had managed to splash the blame onto her, drenching her in false accusations.
The sneers, the contemptuous stares… they still haunted her. Bianca's eyes snapped open, sharp as glass.
This time, she would be there. If Blair and Thea thought they could set the stage, she'd make sure they choked on their own script.
Days bled into one another until, almost without warning, the eve of the Sharp family matriarch's grand banquet was upon them.
"You really think you can get my son married?" Odette Sharp's tone was threaded with skepticism.
"After all these years, you still don't trust me?" Thea's smile was warm, almost indulgent. "Just wait for the wedding. You've seen Bianca — with a face like that, your son will fall for her."
"Bianca doesn't seem to listen to you. And isn't she already engaged to the Anderson family? We can't afford to cross them."
Odette's hesitation was clear. Years of knowing Thea had taught her one thing — the woman always had an agenda.
"Women… once they've been compromised, they bend. Get some video, and she'll have no choice but to obey. You could even use it to squeeze benefits out of the Anderson family." Thea's voice dipped, each word deliberate.
Odette's eyes flickered. That last line — benefits from the Anderson family — hit her like a spark on dry tinder.
The Sharp family had been fading for years. If they could tie themselves to the Andersons…
Her breath quickened, an eager light breaking through her restraint.
Seeing the shift, Thea pressed harder. "Your son's never even been with a woman, has he?"
Odette's lips parted. "What are you planning?"
"Obviously…"
Elsewhere, Terrence was leaning back in a leather chair, sleeves rolled to his forearms, pale skin stark against the dark fabric. His eyes moved over the financial report in front of him.
Bianca pushed the door open just as he glanced up.
"Terrence," she said, leaning casually against the edge of his desk. "Tomorrow is Mrs. Sharp's birthday banquet. Are you going?"
Terrence paused mid-page turn. "The Sharp family?"
"That's right." Bianca's gaze met his.
The Anderson Group was a titan in the business world. A second-tier family like the Sharps didn't even register on his calendar.
Which was perfect. She needed a stage without his shadow looming over it.
If Terrence attended, they might hold back. And she wanted them reckless.
"No," he said simply, his voice carrying its usual edge of pride. "Their circle isn't worth my time. Why? Are you going?"
"I'm going to watch the show."
Relief flickered through her, curling her lips into a faint smile. A glint lit her eyes.
Terrence didn't miss it. His report closed with a soft thud, and he leaned forward, fingers laced, gaze locking on her. "You seem… pleased I'm not going."
Her smile froze for a fraction, then she lifted the coffee cup from his desk, tracing the rim with her fingertip.
"Not at all. I just think you're too busy to waste time on this kind of social fluff."
"Oh?" His brow arched, curiosity sharpening his tone. "As far as I know, you don't know Mrs. Sharp. So why crash her banquet?"
His eyes narrowed, hawk-like, as if peeling back her thoughts.
Bianca coughed lightly. She had no intention of hiding… but if she told him everything, he'd demand to know her sources.
"You said it yourself — I have no connection to the Sharp family. Yet they've invited me. That means Thea's pulling strings in the background. I want to see exactly what she's planning."