Saturday, at the Elysées Hotel, Ophelia was waiting at the hotel trance early


    With a lollipop in her mouth, she


    Shezily leancil against the driver''s seat, with a long gift box on the passenger se looked up to see Eric on the street corner, happily sipping on arge smoothie. It was quiterge.


    Ray had one hand in his pocket, holding a cigarette between his fingers. He asked. "Happy now? Acting like a kid content with just a bucket of smoothies. Don''t you chase after anything? Ene thought. Chase after? As long as I am being chased, why wish for it?''


    Lam


    He replied, "And what''s your goal? To smoke yourself to death? He nced at Ray, his obsidian eyes as innocent and curious as a child''s


    Ray shouted, "You little beat! Are you cursing me?" He raised a hand to hit Eric, but Eric swiftly dodged it.


    "Do you think I let you hit me for nothing?" Eric asked as he took a big sip of his smoothie. His cheeks bulged with cream. his handsome face radiating youthful charm.


    "You still haven''t said what you are chasing after, Eric said as he looked at Ray with curiosity.


    Ray stubbed out his cigarette and was momentarily unsure about his life''s goals. After thinking for a while, he finally said. "My goal is once I''ve earned enough money, I''ll buy a big house by the beach and maybe get a dog." "And find a wife?" Eric suggestedBelongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    Ray frowned and said, "Why would I want a wife? Isn''t lifeplicated enough already? Besides, I''m used to being alone."


    Eric replied, "Fine."


    Ray said, "What''s your attitude? Are you looking for a fight?"


    At this time, a few unassuming cars started arriving at the hotel entrance. Many people got out of the car. Their upants looked as if they were just there for a casual meal, each holding something in their hands. Ophelia immediately noticed the cars belonging to Natalie and Trent. She picked up the items from the front passenger seat and stepped out of the car.


    Ophelia called, "Mr. Louis, please stop for a moment."


    Trent paused his steps, causing Natalie to stop as well, both turning to look toward the voice.


    Natalie said, "It is you, Ms. Spencer. Honey, this is the designer I mentioned; the evening gown I''m wearing was crafted by her."


    With no expression, Trent''s shrewd eyes assessed Ophelia, obviously evaluating her. He didn''t need to guess how Ophelia found out about this ce.


    "Ms. Spencer, is there something you need?" Trent asked in a quite blunt tone, if not entirely cold.


    Ophelia said, "You know, it''s not the best time to talk. Find me when you have a chance. I just happened to find an authentic piece by Raphael, and I heard you''ve been wanting to gift one to the former mayor." Ophelia


    respectfully presented the long, red-patterned gift box with both hands.


    Trent lowered his eyes and nced at the gift box. He was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Come inside with me. Whether you can make a good impression is up to you. I''m not the kind of person who likes to owe favors."


    10:14 Fri, Nov 22 a B.


    Chapter 209.


    The two exchanged nces. Ophelia smiled slightly and replied "Okay"


    In a duel between masters, everything wasmunicated through their eyes.


    Only Natalie waspletely in the dark,


    Trent was very cautious. And Ophelia had already anticipated this.


    88%


    Trent could neither ept nor dare to ept such an expensive painting worth millions. But bringing Ophelia inside made a difference, as she could deliver it for him.


    Using her hand. Trent could give the masterpiece to the former mayor and still im it was from him.


    That way, if anything went wrong with the painting or any issues came upter, he could shift the me to Ophelia without suffering consequences.


    Aside from being sly and cunning, Ophelia couldn''t think of any other words to describe Trent.


    The banquet hall was modest and quite simple, aligning with the standard for political gatherings-nothing extravagant. nothing wasted.


    There were eight tables in total, each seating eight people, all arranged by rank


    Ophelia had no seat and had to stand on the sidelines like a server, ready to present the gift. asionally, someone would mistake her for a server and order her around.


    At the door, Cecilia came in arm in arm with Harris. And she instantly spotted Ophelia standing there. The smile on her face vanished instantly as she transformed into a hen ready to fight at any moment.


    Cecilia said, "Dad, look, it''s Ophelia. How can she be here? She''s like a ghost that won''t disappear."


    Harris nced over, his face emotionless. He remarked, "She has some skills."


    Cecilia asked, "Why are you praising her?" She was about to explode with anger. She thought, What skills can she have? Isn''t it all thanks to men with skills?


    Harris said, "Stay calm. Who cares how she got here? Haven''t you always wanted to get even for what happened on the yachst time?" He lowered his voice, a friendly look on his face but with cunning glinting in his eyes. He added, "This isn''t the business world. In business, she has the Carnegie family backing her, but that''s not the case in politics."


    Harris thought, "Even if there are consequencester, there is no evidence. We could make it a little spat between kids. How could it escte into something bigger?


    Cecilia''s eyes lit up, thinking, ''Exactly! Isn''t this the perfect chance? Finally, I could have my revenge. That wretch made me lose so much face. She has to make her pay today. Now, there''s no one to back her up. The thought of revenge brought an excited look to Cecilia''s perfectly made-up face. She thought, ''She delivers herself right


    to the door!


    Ophelia felt a gaze on her. She turned her head, and precisely met the eyes of Cecilia,


    Ophelia''s eyes were so piercing that even from a distance, they radiated hostility, making Cecilia''s heart tighten involuntarily. She swallowed a lump in her throat for no reason


    Cecilia thought, "Why am I feeling guilty? It should be that wretch who should be scared


    Cecilia deliberately walked past Ophelia, bumping her shoulder on purpose, her eyes filled with defiance.


    888%%


    Ophelia ignored Ceci, She knew that Cecilia had grown up wibout a mother. And wherever Harris went, he would bring Cecilia along with him.


    To outsiders, Harris seemed like a good father, portraying an image of doting on his daughter and staying faithful to his deceased wife. He had not remarried for years, earning the admiration of many.


    But only a few knew that Harris had two other children elsewhere, one of whom was even older than Cecilia,


    Harris was not the doting dad or the devoted widower that people thought he was. It was all just an act he put on


    This scandal would be exposedter by online news. It even involved arge amount of embezzled funds. And Ophelial wasn''t clear about the rest.


    So many things were bound to happen sooner orter. Ophelia didn''t need to do anything and didn''t want to waste her time on them.


    The party was quite simple; the former mayor was honest and upright. He wouldn''t have wanted a birthday party if it weren''t for these people organizing it. He knew their ns better than anyone.


    The gift-giving was very subtle, but when Ophelia''s painting was unveiled, the former mayor''s eyes lit up. It was clear he truly liked it.


    Seeing the former mayor ept it, Trent, who had been silent before, came over and praised the painting. Ophelia went along with it and graciously gave all the credit to Trent.


    When the dinner was halfway through, the former mayor made an excuse to leave. The atmosphere at the banquet became rxed, yet there was an underlying sense of corruption. Cecilia got up and walked towards Ophelia, holding a ss of red wine.


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