Chapter 100: The pawn

Daphne was still huffing in rage when she answered the call.

"What the hell is this, Daphne?" Tahlia’s furious voice came through immediately. "You were supposed to expose Elowen, not ruin yourself. Look at the mess you’ve created."

Daphne’s face crumpled. The anger vanished. Vulnerability laced her voice.

"Miss Blackwood, please help me," she pleaded. "Someone is deliberately targeting me. I’m sure it’s Elowen. She wants revenge, so she spread these fake photographs to destroy my reputation."

"Fake? Are you sure these pictures are fake?" Tahlia snapped.

She knew Elowen well enough to doubt that possibility.

Elowen was too innocent and straightforward for such schemes. Even after marrying into the Vale family, she had never learned to use the influence that came with her position. She had never even tried to take advantage of the Vale name, let alone orchestrate a calculated attack like this.

The timing, precision, and sheer ruthlessness of the posts suggested that someone powerful was behind them.

But who?

Two names immediately crossed Tahlia’s mind: Soren and Theron.

Theron loved Elowen obsessively. There was no way he would tolerate someone publicly humiliating her. And Daphne had made the mistake of dragging his name into the scandal by spreading rumors about his relationship with Elowen.

How could he possibly let that pass?

Besides, discovering Daphne’s relationship with Samuel wouldn’t have been difficult for him. Her questionable personal life was hardly a secret at Aurevia.

Tahlia became increasingly convinced that Theron was responsible.

"I am sure," Daphne insisted. "I don’t know these men. Those pictures are fake, and I have no relationship with Mr. Black. He is my distant relative."

"Don’t lie," Tahlia snapped. "Those pictures aren’t fake. Do you have any idea who you’ve messed with? Theron will never forgive you for what you’ve done."

On the other end, Daphne fell silent. "Th-Theron? You mean he posted those photos?"

"Who else could it be? You spread rumors about him and humiliated him in front of the entire office. Did you really think he would let you get away with it?"

Daphne’s face drained of color.

She had suspected Elowen was behind the attack. She had never considered that Theron might be responsible.

She recalled how he had publicly defended Elowen and dismissed the rumors. Yet he hadn’t taken any action against her or Samuel, who had helped her upload the photographs.

At the time, she had assumed Samuel had been careful enough to leave no evidence behind. She had even praised him for handling everything so discreetly.

But she had been wrong.

Theron had known everything from the beginning. He had simply waited for the right moment to strike.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she cried. "My reputation is ruined. I’ll probably be fired, and after this, no company will want to hire me. Miss Blackwood, you have to help me."

Her voice broke as she began sobbing.

Tahlia grew irritated, hearing her sob. "Crying won’t solve anything. If you want to get out of this mess, you need to turn public opinion in your favor."

Daphne immediately stopped sobbing. A flicker of hope appeared in her eyes.

"I’ll do whatever you say."

"Go live on social media. Make yourself look as pitiful as possible. Deny everything about Samuel. Tell everyone that you are being framed and that Elowen is behind it. Make people believe she is targeting you because you exposed her affair with Theron."

Daphne’s eyes lit up. "I understand. I’ll tell everyone that Elowen is the one having an affair with our boss. She couldn’t tolerate me exposing her relationship with him, so she fabricated these stories to take revenge."

"Exactly. Do that. Once public opinion turns against Elowen, Theron will have no choice but to distance himself from the scandal. He won’t want to get dragged into another controversy. Who would willingly risk their reputation by defending someone in such a situation?"

Tahlia didn’t particularly care whether Theron distanced himself from Elowen or not. What mattered was making Elowen the center of public humiliation.

If Theron came forward to defend her, it would only make his feelings for her more obvious. And once Valora learned that another man was openly protecting her daughter-in-law, she would never tolerate Elowen remaining in the Vale family.

Either way, Tahlia stood to gain.

Daphne’s confidence slowly returned. The fear in her eyes gave way to resentment.

"I’ll go live. I’ll make sure everyone knows what kind of woman Elowen really is."

"Good. And don’t forget to emphasize that Elowen is using her position as a member of the Vale family to bully you."

Daphne froze.

"Wait. What did you just say?" Her voice turned uncertain. "Elowen is a member of the Vale family?"

"She is the daughter-in-law of the Vale family," Tahlia revealed. "Soren’s wife."

Daphne felt as though the sky had fallen on her head.

The Vale family? The most powerful and wealthiest family in the city?

For a moment, she couldn’t speak.

If Elowen belonged to such an influential family, why was she working as an ordinary designer at a relatively small company?

"Are you sure there is no mistake?" Daphne asked cautiously.

"Do as I say," Tahlia roared, not giving her any explanation.

Daphne hesitated. She was already in trouble for offending Theron. The last thing she wanted was to provoke the Vale family as well.

"Wouldn’t that be like declaring war on the Vales?" she asked nervously. "If I offend a family like that, I’m finished!"

"Do you want revenge on Elowen or not?" Tahlia thundered. "Think about what she did to you. She took your position, humiliated you, and continued climbing the career ladder while you were pushed down to the bottom. Are you seriously going to let her get away with everything?"

Her words struck a nerve.

Daphne’s hatred for Elowen had never disappeared. She still remembered the humiliation of being caught plagiarizing and losing her position in the design department. In her mind, Elowen was responsible for everything that had gone wrong in her life.

But knowing Elowen’s background made her hesitate.

"Don’t let her family name frighten you," Tahlia continued, sensing her uncertainty. "Public opinion is what matters now. Once people sympathize with you, they’ll start accusing Elowen of using the Vale family’s influence to crush someone weaker than herself. The Vales won’t want to be dragged into a public scandal. They certainly won’t support her if doing so damages their reputation."

She paused before adding persuasively, "This is our chance to bring her down. Don’t lose your nerve now."

Daphne remained silent.

Part of her wanted to believe Tahlia. The thought of finally getting revenge on Elowen was tempting. But the fear of provoking the Vale family still held her back.

"What if something goes wrong?" she asked. "What if the Vale family comes after me?"

"Don’t worry. I’m here to help you. Soren Vale and I have known each other since childhood. He listens to me more than he listens to his wife. I’ll explain that Elowen is acting out of personal hatred toward you. He won’t believe her."

Daphne released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The reassurance eased some of her anxiety, though a trace of doubt remained.

"Are you really sure?" she asked. Her voice was still cautious, but anticipation had begun to creep into her eyes.

Tahlia nearly rolled her eyes.

She couldn’t care less what happened to Daphne after this. The woman was simply a convenient pawn. All Tahlia wanted was to use her to destroy Elowen’s reputation and provoke Valora into taking action against her.

Still, she concealed her impatience and softened her voice.

"Trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you."

That was enough. The last bit of Daphne’s hesitation vanished.

"All right. I’ll do it," she declared, her voice filled with renewed determination.