Chapter 3

I bought a plane ticket that night and flew to France.

At the winery, Mr. Abernathy, the old butler, looked surprised to see me.

“Ms. Sterling, what brings you here? Didn’t you say you were lending the estate to Mr. Thorne for an event today? And that all the family members were to be cleared out?”

Hearing that, I felt my anger flare.

Just as I was about to reply, Victor’s call came through.

“Darling, I’m in a cross-border meeting. I’ll fly back to you as soon as I’m done.”

Before I could answer, a syrupy sweet female voice faintly echoed from the other end.

“Victor, does this look good on me?”

The next second, Victor muffled the phone and walked away.

“Can’t talk now, meeting’s starting.”

Almost simultaneously, the winery’s ornate gates swung open, and over a dozen luxury cars pulled up in sequence at the fountain plaza.

Countless unfamiliar faces were ushered to their seats. I found a secluded spot and sat down.

Once everything was set, Serena Vance made her entrance in a fiery red haute couture gown, oozing the smug confidence of someone who’d just risen above her station.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Serena Vance, the new owner of this winery.”

“Mr. Thorne said that from now on, all the wine here, the castle, even every grape in the vineyard, is under my management!”

“To celebrate, all wines are seventy percent off, consider it a welcome gift!”

Seventy percent off? She was certainly generous. The cheapest wines here cost at least a million a bottle.

Some were such rare vintage collector's items that even the British Royal Family would have to think twice before I'd consider selling to them!

Mr. Abernathy, who had watched me grow up, was seething with rage.

“When did this winery become hers?!”

“And how dare Victor Thorne cheat on Ms. Sterling with a mistress?! Does he have a death wish?!”

Seeing the butler about to storm out, I quickly shook my head. Now wasn't the time to expose her.

I wanted Victor to personally admit his relationship with Serena, and then I would utterly ruin both of them.

Just then, the ornate gates opened again, and Victor Thorne strode in, impeccably dressed in a custom suit.

Serena immediately rushed into his arms, giggling as she shook his arm.

“Victor, I always said this brand suits you best.”

Victor’s eyes visibly stiffened, but he nodded impassively.

My internal fury, however, was about to erupt. The founder of that brand is our sworn enemy. My father was driven to his grave, heartbroken and defeated, by their ruthless schemes.

Victor knew this. Yet, he was publicly slapping me in the face.

Just as I could no longer hold back and was about to storm out, Victor’s friends surrounded him.

“Victor, look at your ‘little lady,’ so vibrant and full of life!”

“‘Little lady,’ our Victor just bought you a winery worth hundreds of millions! Where else can you find such a great man?!”

“From now on, this winery will be called the 'Vance Estate,' so how are you going to thank our Victor?”

Amidst their boisterous laughter, Serena lowered her head, blushing.

Just then, Mr. Dubois, the winery manager, who was bringing over wine, spoke up, confused.

“Called the 'Vance Estate'? Didn’t you just borrow this from our young mistress, Ms. Sterling?”

At his words, the guests exchanged bewildered glances, whispering among themselves.

“What’s going on?”

“I only heard this winery belonged to Mrs. Thorne, but isn’t Mrs. Thorne’s maiden name Sterling?”

“Huh? Then if she’s a Vance, could she be some kind of imposter?”

The manager’s face was already alight with fury.

“Mr. Thorne, how could you do such a thing behind Ms. Sterling’s back?!”

As he spoke, he reached for his phone to call me.

The next second, Victor’s bodyguards swarmed forward, pressing the manager to his knees.

Victor’s gaze swept coldly over the gathered crowd.

“Rip his mouth out. Make him pay for running his mouth.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried the ruthless chill of someone accustomed to high power. The banquet hall fell silent instantly.

Victor didn’t even lift an eyelid, his fingers casually caressing Serena’s face.

“Serena is the true young mistress of the Thorne family! Elara Sterling is merely a housekeeper we employed.”

A housekeeper?

I was almost laughing from pure indignation.

It seemed Victor had truly forgotten who had, step by step, propelled him to his current position of power.

If it weren't for me, he'd still be a nobody on the streets, getting kicked around, barely surviving!

I struggled alongside him for ten years, even taking two knives to the chest for him, and had my brother secretly help him.

When I was teetering on the edge of life and death, all I thought about was how to pave the way for him.

Yet, in the end, he called me a “housekeeper.”

No one present dared to cross Victor, and they all quickly chimed in.

“So that’s it! Mrs. Thorne is too generous, letting a mere housekeeper use the Thorne family name to swagger around and cheat people.”

Some even advised Serena.

“Mrs. Thorne, a housekeeper like that might try to seduce Mr. Thorne at any time.”

“You need to be careful. I think you should just fire her!”

“With such malicious intentions, she should be thrown into the ocean to feed the fish!”

The triumphant smile on Serena’s face was impossible to suppress.

The manager’s face was ashen, but he struggled desperately before being dragged away.

“I want to see Ms. Elara Sterling! She is the true Mrs. Thorne!”

The guests’ faces showed disdain.

“That housekeeper is truly cunning, even the winery manager has been fooled by her!”

“Mr. Thorne, you really can’t keep such an ungrateful snake around.”

Victor’s cold gaze swept over the crowd, his thin lips parting slightly.

“I’ll say it again: I only have Serena Vance as my wife. From now on, anyone who dares to disrespect her will face my wrath.”

The banquet hall fell silent. Only I slowly began to clap, the sound drawing everyone’s attention.

I took off my baseball cap, looking at them coldly.

“Then tell me, if she’s Mrs. Thorne, who exactly am I?”

Victor and Serena’s smiles instantly froze.