Chapter 255


    ine stood her ground, waiting for the woman to give way. In Banyan City, she was pampered, a


    socialite whose path was never obstructed, a queen in her own right.


    Yet the woman before her didn’t budge, almost as if she was intentionally blocking ine’s


    way.


    Impatient, ine nodded subtly to her side.


    The female bodyguard, imposing and fierce, stepped forward. “Can’t you see Mrs. Lippert is here?


    Scram!”


    Whitney crossed her arms, a grin spreading across her face. “Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Lippert!”


    That voice, slightly hoarse…


    ine, stunned for a moment, felt a sense of familiarity. She sharply lifted her head.


    When she saw the haunting visage behind the veil, ine’s eyes widened in disbelief.


    “Whitney?” she eximed, staring at Whitney as her phone ttered to the floor. She stumbled


    backward, screaming, “Ghost! A ghost!”


    “ine?” The bodyguard rushed to support her.


    “How are you here? You’re supposed to be dead!” ine, gripping with fear and almost wetting herself,


    stared at Whitney.


    When she finally saw Whitney’s shadow, ine’s face turned ashen, and she murmured with a mix of


    calm and trepidation, “You… You didn’t die?”


    Impossible. ine had watched the destruction of a woman’s body that the rescue team had retrieved


    years ago!


    Whitney stepped closer, her coldugh making her pale face even more chilling. “Disappointed I’m not


    dead? You seem awfully sure. It’s as if you were there that night, forcing me, a pregnant woman, to the


    brink, watching me plunge into the ocean depths!”


    ine quickly regained herposure, her gaze turning sinister.


    The bodyguard immediately blocked the two socialites trying to enter and closed the restroom


    door.


    ine sized up Whitney,pletely unharmed and now even more radiant than before, her jealousy


    evident.


    She smirked coldly. “So you survived the ocean? They say the wicked live long. Have you been hiding


    these past three years, hoping to scare me today?


    Whitney, wake up. Three years ago, Ipletely obliterated you. What makes you think you can make


    aeback?”


    16:08


    “Bodyguard, dunk her in the toilet. If she drowns, just toss her out.”


    ine watched disinterestedly as two bodyguards advanced toward Whitney.


    In the dim light, something suddenly shed, and the two female bodyguards instantly hit the floor.


    ine was appalled. She had no idea what had just happened.


    The next moment, Whitney grabbed ine by the throat.


    ine gasped, her nails trying to scratch Whitney’s face, her foot kicking fiercely.


    “Ah!” Her scream was abrupt. As a distinguished socialite, she severelycked physical strength.


    Whitney kicked ine to the ground, dragged her by the hair like a dead dog, and mmed her head


    against the door three times before dragging her to the toilet.


    “My nose! What are you doing, Whitney… When did you learn to fight?”


    N?velDrama.Org holds this content.


    Blood spurted from her broken nose as ine stared in shock at the bloodstains on the door,


    trembling uncontrobly, not daring to underestimate Whitney anymore.


    Then, Whitney shoved her head into the toilet and turned on the faucet. ine struggled fiercely.


    Whitney stepped on her delicate wrist and leaned down with a sinister smile. “I picked up a few tricks.


    You mocked me for being helpless and pregnant three years ago, remember? Now I’m light as a


    feather, and I can strike back at a wretch like you whenever I please. How does it feel? You like it?”


    “Let me go! Ludwik… Ludwik will make you pay for this!”


    ine was on the verge of tears, the filthy water choking her as she screamed in panic.


    “I don’t know how Ludwik ‘will make me pay‘, but right now, I certainly am going to make you pay,”


    Whitney said with a softugh.


    With a hard gaze filled with hatred, Whitney remembered the desperation of that night three years ago


    as she fled towards the end of her life with her child, the agony of giving birth alone,


    and the humiliation Tiana suffered.


    Whitney cackled as she repeatedly dunked ine’s head into the water, soaking her hair through. She


    pulled ine up and, with a swish of her wet gown, tapped the droplets off her hands.


    Whitney reveled in ine’s disheveled appearance, her face twisted with a desire to tear Whitney


    apart. “This is just the beginning. We have a long way to go, ine. You’ll pay for everything you’ve


    done to us.”


    Then, she walked out, leaving ine behind.


    214


    16:08


    ine clenched her fists in rage, her face smeared with grime. She ground her teeth in a fury, her voice


    seeping through the door crack. “Whitney… Why won’t you die? You couldn’t beat me three years ago.


    What makes you think you can now?”


    Whitney’s lips curved in a cool smile as she rejoined Orion in the shadows.


    Orion felt a chill and shivered, looking over. “Where have you been?”


    Whitney ripped off the wet hem of her dress and asked, “What’s the bid at?”


    “Uh… that son of a gun Ludwik bid 20 billion. I’m tapped out.”


    Without wasting a word, Whitney stepped on Orion’s polished shoe.


    “Ouch,” Orion yelped. “Whitney, don’t push it.”


    “The value I’ll create for Imperial Gem Corporation is worth far more than 20 billion. Keep going,”


    Whitney demanded.


    Orion winced but raised his bidding paddle.


    At the same time, Whitney’s phone buzzed with a message from Bryce on Facebook. [Don’t worry,


    Whitney. I’ll protect the assets your grandfather left you. Why don’t youe sit by me?]


    Whitney looked up to find Bryce’s gaze warm and inviting from across the room.


    She felt a surge of warmth and pocketed her phone.


    Ludwik adjusted his tie, irritation bubbling as Bryce and Orion’s provocations stirred his anger.


    As he raised his bid to 20.2 billion, ine returned.


    Her hair was slightly damp, and her makeup was carefully retouched, though the swelling on her face


    was still evident.


    Ludwik, who usually paid no mind to her appearance, paused at the sight of her injuries. “ine, what


    happened?”


    With a mix of fear and vulnerability, ine pursed her lips and soon began to weep softly. “Ludwik…”


    She looked up at him with a wistful gaze. “Did you know Whitney’s back?”


    Her eyes were fixed on the man’s face, searching for a reaction.


    Ludwik’s expression tensed for a split second, a telltale sign that ine caught, confirming he might


    have known beforehand.


    Her fingers clenched in silent fury, the rms in her head ringing loud and clear! She burst into


    16:08


    tears. “I was just in the restroom when I bumped into her. I was surprised and happy to see her, but


    she’s changed a lot. She attacked me without warning…”


    At that moment, Ludwik was holding up his smartphone to the light, illuminating ine’s face, which


    was swollen to the point of being unrecognizable.


    Ludwik’s brow furrowed, and he spoke with simmering anger, “She dared to hit you? That madwoman


    is out of control!”


    ine looked up at him.


    back…”


    In truth, ine had not had the chance to fight back. Her lips curled in a silent snarl.


    Despite iming she was not feeling aggrieved, she wept even harder.


    To Ludwik, she was practically his fiancée, and Whitney’s assaulting her was akin to a p in his face.


    That malicious woman–Skye Gem Ltd. faced auction because she had disappeared three years ago,


    and now ine wanted thepany. What was so wrong about that?


    His anger red, teeth clenched, a cold smile on his lips. “Why should I give it to her?


    Thepany will be my gift to you, and she must apologize to you!”


    ine’s crying ceased, and a sly smile spread inside her.