Chapter 290 Zephyrine Comes
"Knowing Thalia's personality, after feeding your corpse to the wolves, she'd still curse you out," Angelina thought.
She loved watching drama unfold and looked at William with a big grin on her face.
Thalia took the chance to pull her hand back. William steadied his emotions - he never really intended to get serious with Thalia, just wanted to teach her a lesson so she'd remember.
Hearing Angelina's mocking laughter, he asked, "Enjoying the show?"
"Very much," Angelina nodded.
"Come here then. If it's so entertaining, come take a good look at what kind of garbage quarterly report you handed me."
Angelina was speechless.
Thalia saw her chance and bolted.
.......
"You're killing me. I mean, you pick a fight with William, of course, he's going to make you suffer," Evelyn said, laughing so hard she was doubled over after hearing Thalia's complaints, spilling quite a bit of the coffee she was holding.
"Did I pick a fight with him? Do you understand what entertainment value means? Besides, I invested in this show myself - shouldn't I put in some effort?"
"Yes, you're the best."
"William, that bastard..." As the two stepped out of the elevator, following Thalia's complaint, a man nearby who had been looking at his phone suddenly looked up at her.
But Thalia didn't notice.
"Who was that just now?"
"Thalia Smith. Why? You know her?"
The man didn't answer directly, but asked instead, "What's her relationship with William?"
"William was the one who helped with the Smith family inheritance case, so they probably know each other. Thalia's spoiled, but she's not unreasonable. She's straightforward and popular with the heirs in our circle. Probably because of her personality and the fact that she gets along well with guys, most of the heiresses don't really like her. That's Evelyn Thomas next to her."
"Sounds like you approve of her?"
The person shrugged casually. "You'll understand once you get to know her."
"But these past two years she's rarely been around the social circle - she's been focused on her career."
"Doing what?"
"Entertainment industry. She's young but about to become a movie queen."
Michael's lips curved slightly, his deep eyes lowering. Looking closely, his features bore an uncanny resemblance to William's.
"What's up?"
"Nothing, just asking," Michael replied, watching Thalia get into an Emerald City car. He noted the license plate and sent it to someone.
........
"Mrs. Lowe, everything's arranged."
Zephyrine had just come downstairs in a blue-green dress when her secretary handed her a document.
Zephyrine flipped through it casually. "The location's hidden?"
"Don't worry."
"That girl I asked you to look into - did you find anything?"
"I did, but it might be tricky." The secretary looked at Zephyrine, hesitating. "She's Hayden's daughter."
"Who?" Zephyrine was surprised.
The secretary repeated, "Hayden and Grace's daughter. She was probably at the scene that night too, but left for some reason."
"Who did she come with?"
"Layla, her manager."
Zephyrine had a bad feeling, sensing that something must have gone wrong somewhere, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly where. "Find out where she is. I'll go meet her."
That day, Thalia had arranged to have dinner with Grace and Evelyn. By sheer coincidence, just as they sat down in the private room, the door was pushed open.
At first, Thalia thought it was Grace. Her eyes stayed on the menu without looking up, until Zephyrine's voice came through. Only then did she glance over.
Thalia raised her eyebrows slightly, pretending not to recognize her. After all, she and Zephyrine hadn't had many direct encounters. In this situation, with the other party clearly prepared, pretending not to know her was the best option.
"You are?"
Zephyrine replied, "Kurt's wife, Zephyrine. I heard you were here and came specially to meet you, Ms. Smith."
Thalia put down her menu. "If I remember correctly, I don't know you."
"Really?" Zephyrine smiled faintly, still standing, which gave her a somewhat superior position. "I thought you knew me, which is why you attended my party."
"Party?"
"Last Saturday, the villa in the development zone." Zephyrine stared at her, not missing any subtle expression on her face.
But unfortunately, Thalia was good at hiding things, too. Years of navigating the wealthy family, plus working in entertainment, had made this a basic survival skill.
She smiled lightly, picked up a new cup, poured some coffee, and pushed it across the table to the opposite seat - clearly inviting Zephyrine to sit.
This silent gesture made Zephyrine's gaze grow more guarded.
She had thought the other party was just a young girl she could take lightly, but now it seemed she had underestimated her opponent.
"I went to that party with a friend. I really didn't know you were behind it." As Thalia spoke, her fingertips held the cup and turned it. As her slender wrist moved, a jade bracelet was revealed.
Zephyrine was very familiar with this bracelet.
Years ago, Hayden had bought it at auction for a high price.
Zephyrine added, "Ms. Smith, I believe you when you say you didn't know, but I wonder if you felt unwell after leaving the party?"
"Like what?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.
"Vomiting, diarrhea, fever, things like that."
Thalia shook her head. "No."
Zephyrine didn't believe her and pressed on, "Really?"
Anyone who drank water that day would have had those symptoms, and she had checked the surveillance repeatedly - Thalia had drunk water.
It was impossible she had no symptoms.
So she was lying.
"What would I gain from lying to you?" Thalia looked directly at her, her honest gaze falling on Zephyrine without any evasion. Someone like this was either truly not lying, or had strong psychological resilience. And Zephyrine didn't believe Thalia was the first type.
Hayden's daughter - how could she not have schemes and tactics?
"I was presumptuous," Zephyrine said, slowly standing up. She nodded at Thalia and left.
"She just..." Seeing Zephyrine leave, Evelyn was about to say something when Thalia covered her mouth, using her eyes to signal her to look at the door.
The shadow in the door crack told them that Zephyrine had left, but hadn't gone far.
A cold sweat broke out on Evelyn's back. "Zephyrine's really something. Kurt's fooling around outside, and she still has the energy to come hit on you."
"Stop talking nonsense. They're a model couple," Thalia said, knowing Evelyn was doing it on purpose and playing along.
"I saw them at Eclipse Lounge last night. Let me show you."
"Mrs. Lowe?" The secretary at the door had also heard what the two were saying in the private room and looked up at Zephyrine.
The latter's face paled slightly as she steadied her emotions. "Let's go."