“If Andrew would divorce me because the Harris family falls from grace, it would only prove he’s not worth trusting. Victoria, do you understand what love is? I love Andrew, and I believe he loves me too.”
“Love?” Victoria sneered disdainfully. “Isabella, you’re truly ridiculous.”
“It’s not me who’s ridiculous, it’s you, Victoria. Your whole life has been like a joke.” Isabella slowly stood up, her eyes narrowing as she looked down at her.
“In fact, I’ve considered many ways to end you, but upon reflection, the best method is to bring you to justice. Victoria, you must live well in prison, reflect on what you’ve done and the lives you’ve ruined. I’ll make time to visit you.”
After saying this, Isabella arrogantly turned and walked away, her high heels clicking with each step as she left the hospital room.
Behind her, Victoria suddenly erupted into hysterical screams and roars, “I don’t want to go to prison! Let me go, let me go!”
Hearing the commotion, two guards outside rushed in and forcibly pinned Victoria back onto the hospital bed. She struggled helplessly and despairingly against the bed rail.
Perhaps letting her spend the rest of her life in prison would be more agonizing than ending her life.
Isabella glanced back at Victoria one last time with indifference before leaving the room.
Once outside, she pulled out large sunglasses from her handbag and put them on, then took an elevator down.
At the hospital entrance, there was a taxi stand. Isabella got into a taxi and told the driver the address, “Turner Family Foundation.”
The taxi stopped in front of the Turner Family Foundation’s building. After paying the fare, Isabella walked up the steps in her high heels.
Security at a company of the Turner Family Foundation’s scale was stringent. Isabella walked up to the reception desk on the first floor and removed her sunglasses.
As Andrew’s wife, she was allowed in without hesitation.
“Miss Isabella, right this way,” the receptionist greeted warmly, personally escorting Isabella to the elevator.
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Isabella said politely, then stepped into the elevator in her red high heels.
As the elevator doors were about to close, they suddenly opened again, and a woman hurriedly entered.
Isabella instinctively glanced at her. The woman was tall, elegantly dressed in professional attire that made her look mature and refined. What caught Isabella’s attention was her familiar face, as if she had seen her somewhere before but couldn’t quite place it.
Isabella raised her arm and pressed the button for the top floor, then politely asked, “Which floor are you going to?”
“The top floor,” Scarlett replied in a calm voice. She kept her head slightly bowed but her peripheral vision kept assessing Isabella standing opposite her.
This was Scarlett’s first close encounter with Andrew’s wife. She looked even more youthful and beautiful in person than on television. Though her attire was understated, every piece was a designer brand, and the handbag she carried was a limited edition Hermes.
Andrew had always been generous with his women. As his wife, Isabella must be adorned with the best.
There was a time when Scarlett had Andrew’s supplementary credit card, still kept in her drawer, although it had long been canceled by the bank.
The elevator stopped at the CEO’s office on the top floor.
Isabella stepped out of the elevator first.
The secretary in the CEO’s office greeted Isabella warmly, almost fawning over her.
This was to be expected; after all, Andrew held these people’s livelihood. Who wouldn’t fawn over the boss’s wife?
“Miss Isabella, you’re here. Would you like coffee or tea? Mr. Andrew has a can of unopened cappuccino in his collection, would you like to try it?” The secretary asked with a smile.
“Sure. Double sugar, no milk,” Isabella replied, then asked, “Where’s Andrew?”
“He’s still in a meeting. It should be over in about half an hour,” the secretary replied.
“Well, I’ll wait for him in his office then,” Isabella said, stepping into the CEO’s office in her high heels.
Shortly after, the secretary brought the coffee into the office, prepared as Isabella requested: no sugar but with double milk.
Meanwhile, Scarlett also exited the elevator and approached the reception desk. “I would like to see your CEO.”
“Do you have an appointment?” The secretary asked politely, though with less enthusiasm.
Scarlett certainly didn’t have an appointment. Getting to see the CEO of the Turner Family Foundation was not easy; the appointment process was quite complex and often ended with polite refusals.
“I know him from before,” Scarlett said shrewdly, deflecting. “He’s in a meeting, right? I’ll wait here for him.”
“Alright then,” the secretary led her to the waiting area and brought her a cup of instant coffee.
Scarlett sat on the sofa in the waiting area, flipping through a magazine out of boredom. She could faintly hear the two secretaries at the reception desk gossiping in low voices.
One said, “Isn’t the CEO’s wife too young? I looked it up online; she seems to be born in ’98, almost ten years younger than our CEO.”
The other lowered her voice, “Wasn’t there a rumor about his illegitimate child recently? Our CEO’s wife rose to power with her son; seems like having a baby is also a talent.”
“I heard the previous CEO’s wife was also a beauty.”
“What? Did Mr. Andrew have a marriage history before? Why haven’t I heard about it?” The other expressed surprise.
“I heard it from older colleagues. Mr. Andrew was engaged to the Taylor family heiress before, even the wedding date was set, but for some reason, the engagement was called off.”
“Oh, so our current CEO’s wife is a secondhand find,” another realized suddenly.
Listening to their conversation, Scarlett had crumpled the magazine in her hands without realizing it.