Chapter 45: Chapter 40: Lining Up (2)

Her mother was Isla Prescott’s breaking point.

So this time, she absolutely would not let it go.

Yvette Shaw was not at Arcadia Heights. The butler said Mrs. Lockwood had gone to The Lanthian Club to play mahjong.

Isla Prescott headed straight for The Lanthian Club.

She had worked part-time at The Lanthian Club before, so she knew her way around and easily found the private room where Yvette Shaw was.

Yvette Shaw was playing mahjong with several wealthy socialites from Meritopia. Her luck was good today; she had won several hands in a row and was just getting into it when she saw Isla Prescott arrive uninvited. The warmth instantly drained from her face.

“What are you doing here?”

“Shouldn’t you know why I’m here, Mrs. Lockwood?” Isla Prescott walked straight to Yvette Shaw’s side, swept the mahjong tiles in front of her off the table, and asked in a chilling voice, “Why did you go to my mother and spread those rumors? You’re a mother too. How can you hurt someone like that and then sit here playing games with a clear conscience? Do you have any shame?”

“Shame? You’re talking to me about shame?” Yvette Shaw sneered, leaning back in her chair. She crossed her arms and said to the other wealthy women at the table, “See, everyone? This is what happens when you’re too kind. You end up with a modern-day version of the farmer and the snake.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Isla Prescott. “This girl has been raised by the Lockwood family for ten years. Not only is she disrespectful to her elders, but she also tried to seduce our Silas at home. As for that confession from Silas the other day, let me take this opportunity to clarify: it was all a trap she set.”

Isla Prescott took a deep breath. “Yes, I owe the Lockwood family a great deal. Back then, it was thanks to you, Auntie, saying you would adopt me that I had the chance to leave the mountains. All these years, you’ve also funded my entire education.”

“As long as you know it.” Yvette Shaw looked down her nose at her, her face a mask of arrogance.

“I know I’m indebted to you, Auntie, and I’ve never forgotten it. But which one of your eyes saw me seducing Silas Lockwood? What right do you have to make up such lies out of thin air?” Isla Prescott clenched her fists and said in a single breath, “Besides, Auntie, you didn’t adopt me purely out of the goodness of your heart, did you?”

Yvette Shaw’s eyes narrowed. “Isla Prescott, what are you trying to say?”

“What I’m trying to say… shouldn’t you know better than anyone, Auntie?”

Yvette Shaw had also come from a dancing background. Back then, she was a dancer that The Lumina Dance Troupe had poured all its resources into cultivating. The troupe’s leadership had intended to push her onto an even bigger stage, but after meeting Theodore Lockwood, she became pregnant out of wedlock. In order to marry into a wealthy family and become a socialite, she even gave up dancing.

Although it was her personal choice, the media at the time relentlessly mocked her. Some said she was a gold-digger, others that she had wasted the troupe’s investment in her, and still others claimed she couldn’t handle the hardships of being a dancer… In short, Yvette Shaw’s public reputation plummeted.

To change the public narrative, Yvette Shaw opened a dance school after her marriage, claiming she wanted to pass on her knowledge of dance. But within a few years, the school was exposed for a scandal involving negligent management that led to a student being permanently disabled during training. This embroiled Yvette Shaw in an even bigger storm of public opinion.

Yvette Shaw came forward to apologize and offered a huge amount of compensation to the injured student, but the media and the public weren’t buying it. The negative labels attached to her name only grew in number.

Her husband, Theodore Lockwood, not wanting to be dragged down with her, gradually stopped taking her to public events. Yvette Shaw was deeply troubled. She began to cling to charity work like a life raft, hoping to salvage her image.

Yvette Shaw met Isla Prescott while doing charity work in the mountains.

At that time, Isla Prescott was already showing a talent for dance. The village head had sent her to perform for the distinguished guests from the city—Yvette Shaw and her entourage. The moment Yvette Shaw saw Isla Prescott, a plan formed in her mind. She announced that she wanted to adopt her and personally teach her how to dance.

Just as Yvette Shaw had expected, the first time she presented Isla Prescott to the cameras, the little girl, dressed in tattered clothes, blinked her large, innocent eyes and tearfully expressed her gratitude to Yvette Shaw for changing her destiny. Even the typically venomous Meritopia media softened.

Soon after, Isla Prescott won first place in a prestigious dance competition. The media began to praise Yvette Shaw by extension, and she finally shed her negative image completely…

“Have you forgotten, Auntie, how you used to parade me in front of the media for show, teaching me what to say and how to cry for the cameras?” Isla Prescott stared directly into Yvette Shaw’s eyes. “You certainly helped me a lot, Auntie, but I also generated significant PR value for you and the Lockwood family. If you convert that value into money, it would more than cover my tuition fees, wouldn’t it?”

Yvette Shaw had carefully maintained her persona as a “charity ambassador” for all these years. In an instant, Isla Prescott’s words shattered that image.

The expressions on the faces of the wealthy ladies at the table instantly became fascinating to watch.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep