Chapter 117
"Make Elizabeth run away from the wedding," Vivian spoke each word deliberately, her eyes gleaming with malice. "Before the engagement party, you go see her. Use your past feelings to move her, make her leave with you. As long as she disappears at the engagement party, the Smith Family will become the laughingstock of the entire city! Jacob will be utterly humiliated!"
"By then, Elizabeth's reputation will be ruined, and she'll have no choice but to rely on you. And you—not only will you get the woman you love, but you'll also get sweet revenge on Jacob! Who knows, maybe the Aiden Family will reconsider the heir situation when they see what you're capable of?"
Henry's heart began to pound wildly. 'Let Elizabeth run away from the marriage? Go with him? Take revenge on Jacob? Get Elizabeth back? Or even return to the center of the family's power?'
The temptation was overwhelming! It instantly ignited all the resentment and ambition in his heart!
But he still had a trace of doubt, "Elizabeth only has eyes for Jacob now. How could she possibly leave with me?"
"That depends on your skills, Henry." Vivian gently grasped his hand, her fingertips suggestively drawing circles on his palm, her voice sickeningly sweet, "Weren't you the best at sweet-talking her before? She used to love you so much, willing to do anything for you. Even though Jacob has her fooled now, she must still have a place for you deep in her heart."
"You just need to remind her of the past, tell her about your pain and deep feelings now, and tell her that Jacob is just using her and will dump her once he's bored. Women are soft-hearted, especially when facing an old flame. Besides, you became like this because of her—she must feel guilty!"
Henry was completely swayed by her words.
Yes, Elizabeth used to do whatever he said.
Now that he was in such a miserable state, could she really have no guilt at all?
If he could make her remember the good times they had, stir up her sympathy and guilt, maybe he really could make her change her mind, even betray Jacob for him!
The immense satisfaction of revenge and the desire to regain control over Elizabeth, along with the potential benefits that might follow, instantly drowned out Henry's last shred of rationality.
"Fine!" He gripped Vivian's hand back, his eyes burning with a crazy fire. "I'll go find her! I'll make sure she leaves with me before the engagement party! Let that bastard Jacob taste what it's like to be publicly humiliated!"
Vivian was extremely pleased inside, but her face showed an expression of admiration and encouragement, "Henry, I knew you were the best! Don't worry, I'll help you when the time comes. Once Elizabeth leaves with you and the Smith Family is in chaos, we'll step in at the right time to help you stabilize the situation."
She was hinting at the benefits after their success.
The two discussed some details in low voices before Vivian prepared to leave with satisfaction.
She walked out of the Aiden Family villa with a triumphant smile on her face, as if she could already see the beautiful scene of Elizabeth's ruined reputation, Jacob's fury, and herself about to claim the position of Mrs. Smith.
However, as soon as she reached the garden path, a figure blocked her way.
It was David, the current frontrunner for heir.
He wasn't as handsome as Henry—in fact, he was rather plain-looking—but his eyes were much sharper and more calculating than Henry's. Right now, they were looking at Vivian with undisguised mockery.
"Ms. Brown," David drawled, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "such deep and loyal feelings. Henry's already a waste, and you're still pining for him, making special trips to visit? What, still hoping he'll make a comeback and take you to the top?"
The smile vanished from Vivian's face instantly, replaced by her usual arrogance and impatience, "David, my business is none of your concern! Move aside!"
"Still got that temper." David not only didn't move but stepped closer, lowering his voice. "But I'd advise Ms. Brown to keep your eyes open. Henry's nothing but trash now. Even the Aiden Family has given up on him. What do you think he can accomplish? Getting mixed up with him—be careful you don't get burned."
He glanced meaningfully toward the villa, "Especially if he's stupid enough to provoke people he shouldn't, like Mr. Smith, or his precious fiancée."
Vivian's heart skipped a beat. Had David overheard something?
But she forced herself to stay calm, snorting coldly, "I have no idea what you're talking about! How Henry is doing is none of your business! Move, I'm leaving!"
She didn't want to get tangled up with this gloomy David any longer. She shoved him aside and hurried away.
David stumbled slightly from her push, watching Vivian's fleeing figure. The mockery on his face gradually turned into cold, sinister calculation.
He turned to look at Henry's window, where the curtains were tightly drawn.
"Trash is trash, being used as a pawn and too stupid to realize it," he muttered to himself, a calculating gleam in his eyes. "But that works out fine. Let this fool who doesn't know his place test Jacob's limits. Maybe he'll even help me clear away some obstacles."
He straightened the clothes Vivian had wrinkled, his face returning to that plain, dull expression, then turned and walked in the opposite direction from Vivian.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows behind him, also reflecting the bottomless ambition and coldness in his eyes.
After returning to Smith Manor, the first thing Elizabeth did was retrieve the audio files from the tiny listening device she'd hidden on Vivian.
She had secretly placed the device in the folds of Vivian's collar during their shop confrontation—nano-sized, highly adhesive, and hard to detect.
When she heard Vivian and Henry's vicious and foolish plan to make her run away from the wedding, along with Charles's sinister scheme, her face showed no surprise, only icy coldness.
Just as expected.
These clowns never disappointed her.
She just hadn't expected their appetite to be so big, their nerve so bold, that they'd actually set their sights on Jacob and try to pull off a bride substitution.
They really didn't know what they were getting into.
She backed up and encrypted the recording, then carefully analyzed several key points in Charles's plan: exploiting the rule that Elizabeth had to marry from the Windsor Family; controlling her at the Windsor Family; having Henry lure her into running away; and finally having Vivian take her place.
Every step was full of holes and self-righteous stupidity, but if it were the old her, she might have actually wavered because of her old feelings for Henry and her last shred of hope for family, possibly even falling into their trap.
But she was no longer the Elizabeth who could be manipulated by anyone.