Chapter 143: Conspiracy

Chapter 143: Conspiracy

Until Carol finished speaking, Daphne just stood there, staring at her without blinking.

Carol kept at it, going on and on.

"So, Daphne, I love you. Do you really think I'd push you like this if it weren't for your brother's wedding?"

Carol pressed on, her voice full of earnest pleading. "And honestly, this should be easy for you, shouldn't it?"

Daphne felt sick looking at Carol.

She kept her voice as steady as she could. "I really don't have that much right now. Once I graduate, I'll give you the money for the house, I promise."

"You don't even have two million dollars?" Carol sounded doubtful.

"Believe it or don't. Go ahead and make a scene if you want. Worst case for me, I get kicked out of the Montague family. But you? You'd go to prison."

Carol hadn't expected Daphne to turn the tables on her. Her eyes narrowed sharply. "Nobody can touch me without evidence."

Daphne gave a cold laugh. "If you try to ruin me, I become the witness."

"You—!" Carol suddenly realized she'd been cornered too.

She backed down, not wanting to risk it. "I never said I didn't believe you. Just don't try to fool me."

Seeing Carol give ground, Daphne softened her tone to throw her off guard. "You're my family. Why wouldn't I want you to be happy?"

Pushing down her disgust, Daphne reached out and took Carol's hand. "Mom, I know everything you do is for me. So please, don't do anything stupid from here on out. Just follow my lead, and I'll make sure you live well. Okay?"

The warmth in Daphne's voice stirred something in Carol — a flicker of the motherly love she'd long since buried. Her eyes softened. "Okay. I'll do whatever you say."

Daphne immediately let go of Carol's hand and stepped back two paces without making it obvious. "When you get home, send me your bank account number. I'll transfer five thousand dollars to you every month."

Carol lit up when she heard that. Five thousand a month — their whole family used to get by on less than that.

"Deal."

Daphne pressed her advantage. "But don't reach out to me on your own, and don't come looking for me. I'm an actress now — the smallest thing can turn into a headline. You understand?"

"I understand, I understand." Carol nodded eagerly and left the set in a cheerful mood.

Daphne sank into her chair, feeling hollow, like something had been carved out of her chest.

She couldn't help asking herself: if she hadn't stirred up that fake romance with Vincent, would that awful woman Carol have ever shown up?

At least not this soon.

And then she never would have found out what Carol had done.

It wasn't hard to imagine — if the Montagues ever found out that Claire's disappearance was connected to Carol, even if Daphne had no part in it, there was no way they'd keep her around.

So she had to move faster.

Get more deeply tied to Vincent.

So deeply that losing her would cost them too much to bear.

"Ms. Montague, she's gone." Selene came back after seeing Carol out and stepped quietly into the room, standing off to the side.

"Whatever happened here stays between us. Are we clear?" Daphne looked up, her voice sharp.

She wasn't about to let anyone know she had a mother like that.

As for what Carol had done — Daphne had kept her voice low. Selene wouldn't have caught any of it.

Selene nodded quickly. "Of course, Ms. Montague. I know."

Daphne thought for a moment, then said, "Get in touch with Haven Light Orphanage. I want to make a donation — supplies."

---

Next door in the makeup room, Rowan was stressing out.

Vincent and Daphne's relationship had been trending online, and Rowan had no doubt it was a publicity stunt.

What she did believe was that Claire was going after Vincent and trying to wreck Daphne's relationship.

She had a strong urge to go straight to Daphne and tell her everything. Daphne was a Montague — using her to take Claire down would be too easy.

But she had her hesitations.

A lot of women hate it when someone comes to them with news about a cheating boyfriend. If she went to Daphne directly and Daphne felt embarrassed, it could easily backfire.

She couldn't make up her mind, so she decided to sit tight.

Then that evening, after filming wrapped, Brooke called.

"Rowan, Claire actually went after Ms. Montague's boyfriend. She's done for this time."

Brooke wanted Rowan to go to Daphne right away and tell her the truth.

Rowan shared her concerns, but Brooke pushed back. "You're doing her a favor, giving her a heads-up before things get worse. She'll thank you for it. Why would she blame you? You're overthinking this."

So Rowan stopped hesitating.

---

The next day at noon, Rowan showed up at Daphne's makeup room.

"Daphne, there's something I'm not sure I should tell you. I'm worried it'll upset you, but I'd feel bad keeping it to myself." Rowan looked at her, clearly torn.

Daphne frowned slightly. "What is it? What's so hard to say?"

Rowan looked up like she was finally gathering the nerve. "Well... a few days ago, I saw Claire and Mr. Thorne at the hospital, acting very... close."

"My mom saw them together once too, and I—"

Daphne quietly smiled to herself without letting it show.

She hadn't even had to go looking for Rowan — Rowan had come to her on her own.

Perfect.

"Oh, that." Daphne took the cup of water from Selene and had a sip.

She seemed almost unbothered by what Rowan had just said.

Rowan hadn't expected this — Daphne already knew, and this was her reaction? She suddenly didn't know what to say.

Daphne set the cup down and spoke at her own pace. "It's nothing. Just them playing a part."

Rowan went quiet.

So it wasn't that she didn't care. She just had nothing to worry about.

That's what it meant to be a Montague girl.

"But doesn't it bother you at all?" Rowan wasn't ready to let it go.

Daphne smiled. "There are plenty of women around Vincent."

Rowan laughed awkwardly. "Daphne, you're so composed. Anyone else would've gone after Claire already."

Daphne caught the frustration on Rowan's face and smiled. "Actually, I'm a little worried about you."

"Me?" Rowan didn't follow.

Daphne's smile deepened. "You and Claire don't exactly get along. What if she holds a grudge and gets Vincent to push you out of the production? I'd hate to see that happen to you."

She added, "This project is Vincent's investment, after all."

Rowan had figured that once Daphne knew the truth, she'd go after Claire herself, and that would be that. No mess, no risk.

But Daphne clearly wasn't going to do anything?

Rowan started to panic.

Desperate, and without realizing she was being led exactly where Daphne wanted her, Rowan asked sincerely, "Daphne, what should I do?"

Daphne took another sip of water and put on a look of genuine concern. "That's for you to figure out. If I gave you a plan, it would look like I'm the one going after Claire — and that wouldn't be right, would it?"

Then she smiled warmly and added, "Really, you don't need to do anything. When someone does something wrong, karma has a way of catching up with them. They pay the price on their own. Don't you think?"

Rowan turned the words over in her mind, and a small, almost invisible smile crossed her face.

"You're right. People who do wrong things should pay for it."