Chapter 141: House Ashbourne’s Crisis (2)

Vivienne stared at her father in utter shock. Although this wasn’t the first time she had been slapped because of Shani, she felt she was completely in the right this time.

"Shani slapped me! She insulted me! She trampled on my dignity! Why are you—"

SLAP!

Another sharp strike landed across Vivienne’s cheek, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling backward.

Emilia immediately rushed forward to catch her daughter. "Vivi, don’t fight back! The companies— no, House Ashbourne is in a total crisis because of Shani!"

Vivienne turned toward her mother, her bright red, swollen cheek on full display as she stared in sheer confusion. What could Shani possibly do to plunge House Ashbourne into a crisis?

Emilia then proceeded to explain the dire situation surrounding Ashbourne Jewel and Ashbourne Feed Factory.

Though Vivienne had yet to step into the family business, these companies were meant to be under her leadership one day.

Meanwhile, Dominic returned to his desk, leaning back as he rubbed his temples in exhaustion.

Catching a glance at his secretary, who looked as though he were bracing to deliver yet another piece of bad news, Dominic raised a hand, asking for a brief moment to compose himself.

He closed his eyes to quiet his mind, but barely a second later, a shrill screech from Vivienne forced his eyes back open.

He glared furiously at his daughter, who was now shaking her head in violent denial.

"Impossible! There’s no way Noella Rosenbaum would ruin us just for that wretched orphan!"

Vivienne refused to believe that the most successful figure of her generation would go to such lengths to defend Shani.

"This has to be the Prince’s doing! Who knows how many times Shani offered her body to the Prince just to make him indulge her insane demands!"

Vivienne hurled vile insults, her parents frowning deeply as such filthy words spilled from their daughter’s mouth.

Yet Vivienne didn’t care.

To her, Shani had nothing to offer besides her body. No one would ever help her out of the goodness of their heart, so there was undoubtedly dirty play at work.

"Stop swearing! This entire mess is the result of your own foolish actions!" Dominic roared, shutting Vivienne up, though her eyes remained brimming with disgust and hatred.

Standing beside the desk, Dominic’s secretary could no longer hold back the news he needed to deliver.

"Sir, President Finch— Peter Finch is on the line."

Dominic offered a grim expression before giving a stiff nod.

Moments later, Peter’s voice echoed through the secretary’s smartwatch, which had been put on speaker.

"Lord Ashbourne, stop calling me. Gideon and Vivienne are no longer partners."

Peter’s voice dripped with barely suppressed rage, though whatever had transpired on his end remained unknown.

The sharp dismissal instantly sparked fury in those listening. "Hey, you nouveau riche bastard! You—"

Beep. The line went dead without warning on Peter’s end, cutting Dominic off mid-sentence.

BAM! Dominic swept everything off his desk in a burst of violent rage. "Damn it!"

Terrified by her father’s fury, Vivienne ducked her head and cowered behind her mother, afraid he might take his frustration out on her next.

Even so, she couldn’t refrain from muttering under her breath, "Who even wants to be Gideon’s partner anyway? I’m stronger than him. He’s always the one begging me."

Emilia cast a brief glance back at her daughter without commenting on her words, as Dominic was staring straight at them, or more precisely, at Vivienne cowering behind her.

"Vivi, you are going to apologize to Shani," Dominic said, his voice heavy and resolute.

Vivienne shifted slightly to the side, though keeping most of her body shielded behind her mother, casting a rebellious look at her father.

"I will never apologize to that orphan!" Vivienne spat back.

"You won’t?! Do you honestly think you have a choice?!" Dominic barked.

"I don’t care! I will never apologize to that bitch!" Vivienne shook her head fiercely.

A flicker of fear passed through her eyes, not from Dominic’s booming voice, but from the sudden memory of Shani looming over her like a giant that could crush her with ease.

Dominic couldn’t care less about what was going through Vivienne’s head. She was the one who caused the mess, so she had to take responsibility for it.

Vivienne’s persistent defiance sent Dominic’s temper flaring once more. He stepped forward to slap her again, but Emilia quickly held him back.

"My Lord, Vivienne is a young lady. Her face matters. She is merely being stubborn for a moment. I will speak to her again and ensure she apologizes to Shani."

Dominic stared at his wife, whose voice carried absolute conviction, before turning his gaze back to his daughter.

Though her head was lowered, the defiant glare in her eyes told him she remained thoroughly repulsive to the idea.

Ultimately, he turned around and returned to his desk.

Given the sheer scale of this devastation, he was certain Shani wouldn’t be satisfied with a mere apology from Vivienne. Soon, he himself might have to apologize to her directly.

Dominic then dismissed Vivienne, as he needed to call an emergency meeting with the senior executives of Ashbourne Feed Factory and Ashbourne Jewel.

Before letting her leave, he grounded Vivienne, forbidding her from going anywhere except the academy, and cut her monthly allowance, which had already been slashed multiple times before.

Vivienne bit her lower lip, but this time, she didn’t dare argue.

She walked briskly, almost running toward the exit, but her steps froze when she heard the secretary speak.

"Sir, I received an update from the shadow guild regarding the individual who commissioned and uploaded those fake posts about Miss Vivienne back then."

Dominic and Emilia looked up in surprise.

For nearly two months, they had searched for information on that leak, only to learn that the commission had been handled by Red Mountain.

In truth, securing leaked information regarding a Red Mountain commission was virtually impossible, which was why they had been left completely in the dark until now.

Dominic eyed him with suspicion. "Where did this source come from—"

"Who commissioned it?!" Vivienne barked, taking wide strides until she stood right in front of the secretary, ignoring her father’s furious glare.

The secretary cleared his throat, utterly taken aback by Vivienne, whose eyes blazed with enough fury to swallow him whole.

"The commission was placed under the name Orin—"

Before the secretary could finish, Vivienne, who had interrupted people repeatedly today, cut him off once more. "That damn Nora Clay!"

Vivienne didn’t need to hear another word. She knew all too well that Orin was completely smitten with Nora and would do anything for that wretched maid!

"Control yourself! Don’t you dare cause another scene!" Dominic scolded, knowing how volatile his daughter was.

He then turned back to his secretary. "Set up the virtual meeting room. As for the leak you obtained, set it aside for now. We need to focus on the company crisis first."

Vivienne was still standing there, listening to her father’s words, but the only phrase that resonated in her mind was: ’As for the leak you obtained, set it aside.’

Vivienne’s rage hit its absolute boiling point. She stormed out of the study, her heavy steps heading straight for the first-floor kitchen.

The moment her eyes landed on Nora, she lunged at the girl dressed in a maid uniform.

Unlike her previous slaps, Vivienne was driven by pure, unfiltered rage this time. She grabbed Nora by the hair and hurled slaps with the full force of her B-Rank physique.

Nora crumpled onto the floor with Vivienne straddling her torso. Nora’s hands flailed frantically, silently begging for help.

The surrounding maids shrank back step by step, paralyzed with fear. Only Nora’s mother begged the nearby bodyguards to pull Vivienne off her daughter.

Yet the bodyguards stood like motionless statues, as if deaf to Nora’s agonizing groans, Vivienne’s furious shrieks, and Nora’s mother’s hysterical weeping.

Still, their eyes remained locked on the scene, as though they had been instructed to step in only if the assault turned lethal.

Sure enough, the moment Nora’s nose cracked and another strike was about to land, the bodyguards finally moved, hauling Vivienne back.

"Let go of me, damn it! I need to teach this wretched servant a lesson!" Vivienne cursed, thrashing wildly to break free from the two bodyguards.

But despite her high rank, her essence capacity paled in comparison to theirs, leaving her completely pinned.

Nora’s mother rushed over to her daughter, whose face was now drenched in blood.

"I’m sorry, Nora... I’m so sorry your mother is just a servant!" Nora’s mother wept bitterly, guiding the other maids to help carry Nora back to her room.

The physician already waiting inside the room quickly cleaned her wounds and applied medicine. As for the broken nose, the doctor administered an anesthetic before setting the bone.

Nora’s mother wept continuously beside the bed. "Nora, I will use all my savings and borrow whatever is left to buy out your employment contract."

Looking at her mother’s tears, all Nora felt was intense disgust and burning hatred.

"Don’t pretend to be heartbroken. It’s precisely because you’re poor that all this misery happened to me!"

...