Chapter 5

Sitting in the living room, my mother held my hand as I rested my head on her shoulder. "Mom, Dad, you have to back me up on this. Tristan pulling this stunt was an open insult to the entire Stone family!"

My father nodded grimly. "Don't worry. After a scandal like this, the Lu Corporation's stock is going to take a bloodbath tomorrow."

The next morning, Chloe walked into my bedroom with a bright, satisfied smile. "Miss Stone, you're awake. Something huge happened last night—you're going to love this."

It turned out that shortly after we walked out, Tristan's mother—Dowager Mrs. Lu—received the news.

She was so furious that she reportedly smashed her prized antique tea set against the wall.

"That absolute idiot! He blew up our multi-billion-dollar alliance with the Stones over a cheap little secretary!"

"I thought that girl was just an ambitious assistant, so I never paid her any mind. Turns out she's a venomous parasite who dared to get knocked up!"

"Did she think pulling a stunt at the wedding would force Victoria to swallow her pride? Does she have any idea who Victoria Stone is? Richard Stone's only daughter, groomed as an heir since childhood—why the hell would she tolerate that insult?"

"Everything I meticulously built for Tristan's succession was destroyed in a single afternoon by those two fools!"

"She thinks carrying a piece of flesh makes her untouchable? Ha! The Lu family has no shortage of bloodlines!"

"Security! Drag Vivian Lin out of that hotel suite right now! Make her kneel before the press and beg the Stones for forgiveness!"

When the dowager's bodyguards dragged Vivian out of the suite, she was reportedly screaming like a madwoman: "Get your hands off me! I'm carrying the Lu family's firstborn grandchild! When Tristan finds out, he'll destroy you all!"

The guards didn't flinch. "This is on direct orders from the Dowager. She said you ruined the Lu Corporation's most critical deal, and you deserve whatever comes to you."

Vivian shrieked, "That's impossible! I'm carrying his baby! He's the future chairman! The Dowager can't do this to me! I am the future Mrs. Lu!"

The Dowager's personal secretary looked down at her with cold disgust. "Miss Lin, the Dowager instructed me to inform you that your termination letter has already been processed, along with an industry-wide blacklisting."

"You and whatever is in your belly no longer have the slightest connection to the Lu family."

Listening to Chloe's report, a wave of refreshing satisfaction washed over me.

The Dowager was just as ruthless and calculating as I remembered.

In my past life, that same ruthless efficiency had been weaponized to crush my family.

I took a slow sip of warm milk. "What about Vivian? Did the paparazzi catch her being thrown out?"

"Every single one of them," Chloe said, eyes sparkling with excitement. "The press went wild outside the hotel. The flashbulbs didn't stop for a second while security dragged her down the front steps."

"Her hair was a rat's nest, her makeup was smeared, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs that she was 'Mrs. Lu' and carrying the Lu heir. It was a complete circus."

"By six this morning, every financial and tabloid headline read: "Lu Corp Heir Caught Cheating on Wedding Day: Pregnant Mistress Stages Hostile Takeover." Lu Corporation's stock plunged to the daily limit right at the opening bell. Tens of billions in market cap vanished in minutes."

I smirked. Exactly as expected.

"Splendid."

Right on cue, my phone began vibrating violently. The caller ID flashed: "Tristan Lu".

I put it on speaker. His enraged roar blasted through the receiver instantly:

"Victoria! Are you happy now?! You stressed my mother into a hospital bed, and you've driven Vivian into a corner! The entire city is laughing at the Lu family! How can you be so utterly vicious?!"

I dabbed my mouth with a napkin, entirely unbothered. "Mr. Lu, so much temper first thing in the morning. Didn't sleep well? Ah, of course you didn't. Your darling mistress was thrown onto the street by your own mother. I imagine you're busy playing the white knight."

"You..." He choked on his own rage.

"Don't forget, Tristan—you were the one who publicly declared your undying love for her. You announced her pregnancy to the world."

"You were the one who dragged this farce into the spotlight," I said, my voice dropping to a freezing chill. "You brought every single bit of this on yourself."

"As for your mother, her chest hurts because your stock plummeted, not because your pathetic romance got ruined."

"You think I don't know what's happening?!" he barked. "My mother blacklisted Vivian across the entire corporate sector! How is she supposed to survive? Victoria, do you really have to drive people to suicide before you're satisfied?"

"That was your mother's call. What does it have to do with me?" I replied smoothly. "Though, I should probably send her flowers for taking out the trash on my behalf."

"Don't worry, Tristan. I won't drive anyone to death. I'd much rather watch her live a life worse than death."

With that, I hung up and promptly blocked his number.