NovelEnglishChapter 10
In a twist of poetic justice, Dad hired the sthugs to drag Victoria into the woods, forcing her to endure the
exact brutality they had inflicted on me.
Victoria's screams pierced the night.
She howled for Dad and Caspian between ragged breaths.
But no one appeared to rescue her.
“Why isn’t anyone coming for me?” she sobbed.
| had once asked the squestion.
When they finally discovered her, Victoria was clinging to life. The medical report was unequivocal:
permanent paralysis from the waist down. She would spend the rest of her days in a specialized
bed, dependent on round-the-clock care.
1SSA
Dad and Caspian faced Class A felony charges for orchestrating the assault. The D.A. was pushing for
life sentences.
Their savage attempt at redemption meant nothing toanymore.
In Monaco, Grand-peére’s cliff-side estate commanded breathtaking views of the Mediterranean, the
massive property extending from the mountains to a private beach.
Our life together was elegant and peaceful, deliberately disconnected from the American nightmare
I'd left behind.
Until the anniversary of Mom's death, when Grand-pére collapsed during breakfast, his heart finally giving out
after years of grief.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtMonths before, he had meticulously updated his will, namingas the sole heir to the Rousseau Group and his
personal fortune.
As Grand-pére fought for his life in Monaco’s premier private hospital, a forty-something woman in last season’s
Chanel stormed the estate gates, demanding entry. She claimed to be Jean-Claude’s daughter, insisting on her
“rightful portion” of the Rousseau billions.
| immediately recognized her as Sophie Rousseau-the adopted daughter who had made my
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The Ruined Bride of Velvet Nights
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Chapter 10
mother’s brief homecoming a living hell.
Unlike Mom, | wasn’t about to be intimidated by this imposter.
“You're nothing but my grandfather's charity project,” I told her, examining my nails. “You should be on your
knees thanking him for not leaving you in whatever orphanage he found you in, instead of demanding his
money.”
Sophie's face contorted with rage when our eyes met.
“Listen, you little cunt,” she snarled, dropping all pretense of refinement. “I'm his real daughter! Twenty-five
fucking years | took care of him while your whore mother ran off with sAmerican nobody!”
“Get out of my way! | need to see Papa before you brainwash him completely!”
| smiled coldly, signaling the security team with a slight nod.
“Grand-pere has made it abundantly clear that you're not welchere. Not now, not ever.”
She beccompletely unhinged. “You manipulative bitch! You've turned him against me! This was MY
inheritance!”
My smile never faltered. “Insultagain, and I'll ensure you leave Monaco in a body bag.”
When intimidation failed, she collapsed tically onto the marble foyer, mascara streaking down her
overdone face.
driving my mother away, she too had been “cruelly Between heaving sobs, she claimed that afte discarded” by
Jean-Claude when he discovered her embezzling from the company.
“I've been living like garbage,” she wailed. “Fucking disgusting old men just to pay rent. You have billions-
BILLIONS! You won't even notice a few million!”
| approached her slowly, crouching down to her level, my voice dropping to a whisper.
“My mother left this house with nothing but the clothes on her back because of you. She built herself from
nothing while you stayed here, pampered and privileged. And now you think | owe you something?”
| stood up, brushing imaginary dust from my Hermes skirt.
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Chapter 10
“Security will escort you out. If you ever approach the Rousseau nagain, I'll personally ensure you're
prosecuted for every cent you stole.”
She left screaming obscenities, vowing revenge.
| wasn’t remotely concerned. | had inherited not just Grand-pére’s fortune, but his network of
influence as well.
In his final days, Grand-pére’s hospital suite overlooked the sMediterranean waters that had enchanted my
mother as a child.
During his lucid moments, he taughtabout the business empire | would inherit. During others, he spoke to
“Remember when you performed Swan Lake in the garden? Your mother was furious about the ruined roses, but |
couldn't stop applauding.”
I didn’t correct him. Instead, | held his hand and asked for more stories-collecting precious fragments of my
mother’s life that had been lost to me.
Between these tender moments, | explored the estate, discovering my mother’s childhood-her ballet slippers still
in her closet, diaries filled with teenage dreams, photographs of her laughing by the spool where | now
swam daily.
News reachedthat Caspian had died during a prison riot, his skull crushed by another inmate. Dad had
received thirty years without parole, his health already failing in maximum security.
When | mentioned these developments to Grand-pére, he simply nodded.
“The universe rights itself eventually,” he murmured.
On Grand-pere’s final evening, as Mediterranean sunset painted his room in gold, he squeezed my hand with
surprising strength.
“Tell me, ma chérie,” he whispered, “did Elise speak ofbefore she left this world?”
| rested my head gently on his shoulder, as | imagined my mother might have done, and answered truthfully.
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