Chapter 168

Evelyn Sinclair couldn't wait to witness Cassandra Delacroix's reaction. The anticipation sent a thrill down her spine.

"Don't flatter yourself, Evelyn! You're no better than me!" Cassandra's voice trembled with barely contained rage. "We both rely on family connections, so who are you to look down on me?"

Her manicured fingers dug into her arms as she squared her shoulders. The elevator lobby's harsh lighting accentuated the venom in her glare.

"Weren't you thrown out by the Blackwoods too? Now you're just using your family name to chase after Nathan again?" Cassandra's laugh was brittle. "Pathetic. Tell me, Evelyn - is this really your worth?"

She waited for the outburst, the tears, anything to crack Evelyn's infuriating composure. Instead, she got a smirk that could freeze hell.

"Ms. Delacroix," Evelyn's voice was glacial silk, "even you should know this by now. The Blackwoods didn't discard me."

She took a deliberate step forward, the click of her Louboutins echoing in the sudden silence. "I walked away from Nathan Blackwood. And unlike you, I'd never degrade myself by changing my face for a man's attention."

The elevator dinged its arrival just as Evelyn turned away, leaving Cassandra gaping like a beached fish.

It took three heartbeats for the insult to register. Cassandra's shriek shattered the corporate calm. "How dare you! In my own building!"

Blind rage propelled her forward. She grabbed Evelyn's wrist with enough force to leave bruises, her other hand raised to strike.

The slap never landed.

A polished Oxford shoe connected with Cassandra's ribs first. The impact sent her sprawling across the marble in a tangle of designer fabric and shattered dignity.

Vincent Delacroix emerged from the elevator, his expression thunderous. "You'd lay hands on a Sinclair in my presence?" His voice dropped to a lethal whisper. "Should've stayed in that Seoul hospital bed, daughter."