Chapter 169
Chapter 169:
Elias stepped forward, suppressing a smile. “Ladies, perhaps we sit down? The lobster is getting cold p>
Matriarch Vane looked at Elias. “Thorne. I see you’ve already staked a claim p>
“I’m just the security,” Elias drawled, pulling out a chair for Vane.
“Sit,” Aurora ordered.
The two most powerful women in New York sat down.
The lunch was an exercise in diplomatic warfare.
“She needs to come to the Vane Estate,” Margaret said. “The security is superior p>
“Kensington Manor is her birthright,” Catherine argued.
“I have my own penthouse,” Aurora interjected. “And my own security p>
Vivian, who had been exiled to the end of the table, whispered to Eleanor, “We need to destroy her credibility. If the Vanes back her, she’s untouchable p>
“I’m on it,” Eleanor whispered back. “I have a PI looking into her past. The Vance years. There has to be a boyfriend. A scandal. Someone trashy p>
“What about the Thorne connection?” Vivian hissed. “The PI report mentioned a marriage license to Sterling. We can use that p>
“Useless,” Eleanor dismissed with a wave of her hand, though her eyes were cold. “It was annulled almost immediately. Clearly, she was a gold-digger who trapped him, and Sterling paid her off to disappear. If we bring it up, it makes her look desperate, but it might also offend the Thornes. We need something grittier. Something from the gutter p>
Vivian smirked. “I bet she dated some loser in that trailer park p>
They didn’t know that Aurora’s ex-husband—the man she had married in secret to protect his inheritance—was indeed Sterling Thorne, and that he was currently trying to win her back. Their arrogance blinded them to the reality that Aurora had been the one to walk away.
gⱯ𝗅𝗇0ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.𝗰𝗈𝗺; 𝓯𝗶𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓼𝓮𝒆𝓷
“We found the grandfather,” Eleanor announced loudly, trying to shift the dynamic. “Arthur Vance. He lives in… The Bronx.” She said the borough’s name like it was a contagious disease.
Aurora’s fork froze halfway to her mouth. Her eyes darkened.
“Grandpa is in the city p>
“We located him this morning,” Eleanor said smugly. “In a rather… modest apartment near the expressway. We thought it best to bring him into the fold. To thank him for… keeping you p>
“If you touched him,” Aurora said, her voice dropping to a whisper that carried more threat than a scream, “I will dismantle your portfolio piece by piece p>
“We just want to visit,” Catherine interrupted quickly, sensing the danger. “We owe him a debt p>
“We are going to him,” Aurora said, throwing her napkin on the table. “Now p>
“But dessert p>
“Now,” Aurora commanded.
Elias was already signaling for the car.
The convoy of limousines arrived at the Obsidian Tower. Aurora had moved Arthur there months ago, setting him up in the guest suite of her penthouse, safe and surrounded by luxury.
Eleanor and Vivian looked confused as the cars pulled into the high-security underground garage of the most expensive building in the city.