Chapter 353

Lila Sinclair stood frozen in place, her limbs locked in paralyzing shock.

"Lila..." Victor Sterling began, but she cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"Father, please leave me. I need to be alone," Lila said, her voice eerily composed despite the storm raging inside her.

Victor hesitated, then exhaled heavily before retreating upstairs.

Alone in the grand foyer, Lila sank to her knees, her spine rigid as steel. Waves of humiliation and fury crashed through her veins. She couldn't comprehend how her meticulously orchestrated plan had unraveled so spectacularly. By dawn, her disgrace would be the talk of every elite gathering in the city. The entire social circle now knew she'd staged that robbery to manipulate the Caldwells.

How could she ever show her face again? What whispers would follow her through gala entrances and charity balls? Her reputation lay in tatters.

The injustice of it all made her vision swim with crimson rage. Olivia Sinclair would pay for this humiliation. Lila swore to herself - this debt would be repaid tenfold.

Meanwhile, Victor entered his study and immediately dialed a familiar number.

"Victor? How did it go? Did Marcus recognize Lila as a family friend?" Grace Monroe's anxious voice crackled through the receiver.

Victor drew a long breath before recounting the evening's disastrous events in brutal detail.

Grace fell into stunned silence, struggling to process the revelations.

"I can't believe..."

"Olivia went through all this trouble just to humiliate Lila and elevate Evelyn! She's made her intentions painfully clear - she wants to destroy our daughter completely." Victor's words dripped with venom, each syllable sharp enough to draw blood.

"How is Lila taking this?" Grace asked hesitantly.

"Devastated doesn't begin to cover it," Victor replied grimly. "Diana's making her kneel in the foyer until she gives permission to rise."

Grace gasped. "What? How could Diana do that to her? Is she expecting our girl to stay there all night? I don't care what Diana thinks - I won't stand for this treatment of Lila!" Her voice trembled with maternal fury.

"Grace!" Victor's voice held a warning edge.

There was a pause before Grace hastily added, "I can't help it - I've always treated Lila as my own."

A dangerous glint flashed in Victor's eyes.

After a weighted silence, he spoke with deliberate emphasis. "You should be proud, Grace. The daughter you raised is truly... exceptional."

Grace's breath caught in her throat.

She had no response to Victor's scathing remark.