Chapter 417
Chapter 417:
Just then, Claudius’s phone buzzed. It was an unfamiliar number. He picked up, only to hear a saccharine voice on the line. “Mr. Cooper, it’s Rosanna p>
His brows drew together in distaste. Rosanna? How had she gotten his number?
Rosanna had coaxed it out of Mariana.
She knew that Mariana was in no mood for interruptions, so instead of calling, she had sent a carefully worded message: Claudius seemed to be interested in Maia, and she wanted to expose Maia’s true nature. Only then did Mariana reluctantly share his number.
“Mr. Cooper,” Rosanna began, her voice softening with a hint of nervousness, “I just saw Maia and Chris enter the hotel together. They were practically glued to each other at the door — and now they’ve gone upstairs. Would you like to come see for yourself? It’s the Starlight Hotel. Not far from where you are p>
Claudius’s gaze darkened like a thundercloud, but he stayed silent. He had just managed to push down his fury — and now Rosanna’s call stirred the coals again, reigniting his disdain for her.
What did she mean by “glued to each other”? Were they really that shameless?
What kind of magic did Chris wield that women kept throwing themselves at him?
Claudius’s jaw clenched, frustration smoldering just beneath the surface.
He would never admit it, but in that moment, jealousy flickered through his veins like a flame he couldn’t snuff out.
Rosanna, sensing his silence, pressed on. “Mr. Cooper, are you really not coming? Maia is still married and shamelessly seducing Chris. If her husband gets wind of this and exposes the scandal, it won’t just stain the Morgan family’s name — it’ll drag the Cooper family through the mud too p>
She had far more poison ready — she wanted to paint Maia as a criminal who had learned all the wrong lessons from her time behind bars.
But before she could sink another barb into the conversation, a furious, razor-sharp voice slashed through the receiver!
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 ⧼gⱥ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⧽𝖼𝗈𝗺
“Enough.” Claudius’s voice came out low, gravelly — taut with tension that barely concealed the rage simmering underneath.
Rosanna stiffened, phone still pressed to her ear. Her mind reeled. Had she just been… scolded? For what — telling him the truth? She had done him a favor, yet he dared to snap?
“Mind your own business,” he growled, voice clipped, almost biting. “Stop stirring up trouble p>
Then — silence. The call ended. And just like that, her number was blocked.
Claudius stared blankly at the screen before tossing the phone onto the couch. He could not even remember the last time he had lost his cool like that.
He reached for the glass of red wine in front of him and drained it in a single, sharp gulp. Then, without another glance at the room, he turned and strode out.
Back at the elevator, Rosanna stood rooted to the spot, her phone still in hand. Her face had gone pale, lips parted slightly in disbelief.
Her heart pounded as she tried to make sense of it. Claudius had just heard that Maia and Chris were in a hotel room together — and he simply did not care?
But then… maybe that was the answer. Maybe Claudius never truly liked Maia at all.
The realization hit her like a lightning strike — sharp and electrifying. A wicked sliver of hope began to bloom in her chest.
She slowly lifted her gaze toward the elevator, and her expression shifted. The sting of humiliation from earlier — the whispers at the banquet, the eyes that watched her fall — all of it fueled a newfound resolve. Maia had to pay.
If not for that woman, Rosanna would not have been humiliated tonight.