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time, we chose each
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Chapter 1
As the so–called mascot of the Vanderbilt family,, I decided to skip my evening study session to prepare for the family ritual.
Just when I thought I could finally catch my breath, the door to the family chapel was kicked open by some classmates.
“You wretch!” Vera Astor shrieked. “Not only did you seduce my boyfriend, but you dare defile his family’s sacred chapel? You’ve got a death wish!”
I was inexplicably insulted, and I snapped back, but these people had already decided I was seducing the young heir of the Vanderbilt family. They hurled the bronze figurine at me, hitting me square in the face, leaving me bleeding.
I touched my stinging forehead, speechless and choking on my emotions.
If I, the mascot of the family, got hurt, the Vanderbilt family would never be able to become the richest in town.
Vera Astor’s sycophants were loud in their accusations, but when they saw the blood, they quickly fell silent.
As I touched my blood–soaked forehead, my first thought was that the Vanderbilt family was about to face another calamity.
I was Claire Delmont, orphaned since childhood. Patriarch Vanderbilt, with his skill in astrology and fortune–telling, adopted me at the first opportunity and called an internal meeting to treat me as an honored guest.
“The rise and fall of the Vanderbilt family now rests solely in Claire’s hands. We must immediately build a villa in her honor and treat Miss Delmont with the utmost care, making it the first rule of our family!”
Thus, I grew up in a lavish villa built in my honor, where I was treated with great respect.
When Patriarch Vanderbilt passed away, the current family head, Jim Vanderbilt, heard the rumors that I had caused my parents‘ deaths, and he treated me with disdain, eventually throwing me out of the house. That very night, the family’s stock price plummeted, and even their son Wes Vanderbilt suffered a heart attack, nearly dying on the operating table.
It could be said that since I was adopted by the Vanderbilt family, my fate had been tied to theirs.
When I was happy, the Vanderbilt family prospered.
When I was hurt, the Vanderbilt family faced misfortune.
The servants of the villa, who had respected me since childhood, were paralyzed with shock as they saw me bleeding, frozen for a moment before screaming in horror.
“Who are you people? Who gave you the audacity to harm Miss Delmont? Kneel and beg for her forgiveness now, or you’ll regret it!”
Vera was still holding the bronze figurine she had used to strike me.
Trás bronze figurine was a valuable artifact that Patriarch Vanderbilt had custom–made for me in his lifetime. No one but me was allowed to touch it. Now tainted with blood, it spelled financial ruin for the Vanderbilts before dawn.
The foolish girl knew nothing of its significance. Blind with rage, she brandished it like a weapon.
“You insolent rats!” she spat. “I’m Wes’s fiancée! Soon, I’ll be the mistress of this house, and you’ll grovel at my feet!”
At this, Vera’s sycophants gained courage and began to poke me in the forehead.
“Claire, you’ve been flirting with teachers everywhere, but now you’ve even seduced the heir of the Vanderbilt family.”
“Everyone knows that Wes is going to marry Vera! How dare you get into his car? You’ll pay for this!”
1 pressed a hand to my bleeding temple, exasperated.
“Stop spewing nonsense. It was Wes who begged me to get in his car!”
Wes had always been reckless, the sole heir to his branch of the family. Jims, frustrated by his son’s waywardness, often berated him.
So, Wes came to me, asking me to speak well of his new girlfriend in front of his father. He had humbled himself, serving tea, opening doors, and doing things more attentively than any servant
The new girlfriend was Vera
Thad been preparing for the Vanderbilt family’s annual ritual and couldn’t wait for Jim to come home, so I had come straight to the villa, only to be attacked by them.
Without my blessing, Vera had no hope of marrying into the Vanderbilt family!
Open
Novels reading at night
I sat back in the center of the villa, sneering. The servants immediately stepped forward to treat my wound.
They carefully collected the bloodied bandages and cotton swabs, even reverently placing the strands of my torn hair on the ritual table.
Seeing this, Vera’s sycophants gasped in shock.
Vera, on the other hand, was furious. Grabbing a handful of my hair, she yanked me violently out of the ebony armchair.
“You’re just an orphan. How dare you act like this? You think you can play games in front of me in the Vanderbilt family chapel? As your future mistress, I will teach you a lesson!”
