Chapter 253

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the penthouse restaurant as Lucy White peeled a boiled egg for her mother.

"Try this, Mom," she said, offering the pristine egg white.

Grace White accepted it just as her phone vibrated. A glance at the screen made her brow furrow.

"What's wrong?" Lucy instantly noticed the shift in her mother's demeanor.

Grace slid the phone toward her. "The Von family is trending again."

Lucy's lips curled into a cold smile. The screen displayed Frederick Von and Giselle Gould, their faces smeared with blood in a ghastly tableau.

"Serves them right," she murmured, calmly continuing to peel the eggshell.

Three days ago, she'd received an email from a private investigator—intimate photos of Giselle with various young men, each shot crystal clear, down to the hotel room numbers.

"I posted the first thread," Lucy admitted without hesitation. "But the ones after that weren't me."

Grace set down her chopsticks, her gaze complicated. "Your father—Frederick—values his reputation above all."

"Which is why he deserves to lose every shred of it." Lucy's smile turned icy. "They slandered you back then. Now they're getting exactly what they gave."

Memories flooded in. At fifteen, she'd watched Giselle scream in her mother's face, calling her a "homewrecker." The whole school had whispered that Grace seduced a married man, and even Lucy hadn’t escaped the pointed fingers.

"Does it bother you?" Lucy ventured.

Grace shook her head gently, her eyes serene. "I stopped considering them family long ago."

Another notification chimed—a video this time. Fiona Von shrieked hysterically in a hospital hallway, her usual socialite poise obliterated.

"How entertaining." Lucy propped her chin on her hand, watching with relish.

Grace turned off the screen. "Eat. Cold food upsets your stomach."

Lucy nodded obediently, though her mind was already calculating her next move. She knew Frederick's greatest weakness—his meticulously crafted facade of respectability.

Sure enough, by noon, Von Jewelry's stock prices plummeted. The board called an emergency meeting, demanding Frederick explain himself.

Meanwhile, in a VIP hospital suite, Frederick stared at his reflection. Blood seeped through the bandage on his temple, the man in the mirror a far cry from his usual polished self.

"Dad!" Felix Von burst in. "Grandfather wants to hold a press conference—"

"Get out!" Frederick smashed the mirror. Shards scattered, slicing his knuckles.

Twenty years ago, he'd thrown Grace out just like this—her arms wrapped around a young Lucy, her slender back straight despite the humiliation.

"Karma," he whispered as blood dripped from his wrist.

Across town, Lucy sipped afternoon tea, her phone buzzing incessantly with updates that deepened her smile.

"An eye for an eye," she murmured over her Earl Grey. "And this is only the beginning."

Sunlight bathed her delicate profile. No one would guess this seemingly harmless girl was orchestrating a masterful game of vengeance.