Chapter 84: Eva’s Request

Dilan couldn’t answer immediately.

He might have been able to speak if he were questioned in private, but doing so in front of everyone was a different story.

Although he would be spared punishment, his reputation would be ruined.

He understood his older brother’s real intention. Luis simply wanted everyone to know that Miya had resorted to such a cunning and despicable scheme for her own benefit.

For that purpose, he didn’t care if Dilan’s reputation was destroyed.

He had an affair with another man’s wife, a woman old enough to be his mother. How was he supposed to face the young women of New York if this came to light?

On top of that, he even had a fiancée, the daughter of one of the Main Family Heads.

Although he had always found Gracie far more exciting, he didn’t want to lose such a beneficial relationship either.

"Dilan." Luis called him again.

"Do you really want to know?" Miya suddenly spoke up, breaking her silence as she set down the fork she had just used to feed Enzo.

Everyone’s attention shifted back to her, while Gracie grew nervous. She knew this woman could say whatever she wanted, including exposing her secret.

The people present weren’t just members of the public. Her own daughter and brother-in-law were here too.

If she could simply lie, she wouldn’t hesitate. But if she lied and placed all the blame on Dilan, would the young man really stay silent?

Luis didn’t respond to Miya’s question. He simply stared at her.

"Shouldn’t you already know?" Miya continued with a smile.

"So why bother asking over and over again? Do you want to use this against me?"

"Then what exactly happened?" Luis asked again, refusing to take the bait.

"Now I understand. You’re truly a man without a conscience. For your own benefit, you’re willing to humiliate your own younger brother," Miya remarked.

Luis furrowed his brows.

"Why is this suddenly my fault?" he asked.

"It was your fault from the very beginning. You chose an opponent you couldn’t defeat, and now your younger brother has become the victim of the consequences."

"You..." Luis grew angry again at Miya’s contemptuous words.

"Did the two of you sleep together?"

The question rang out, and everyone knew who it was directed at.

The person who had asked was a young woman with short blonde hair, wearing a suit jacket and trousers.

Eva Solace.

Enzo was surprised to see her step forward, her gaze shifting back and forth between Gracie and Dilan.

The latter probably didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty toward Eva, but Gracie certainly couldn’t say the same.

She staggered when her own daughter confronted her with the question.

Her lack of morals didn’t mean she could remain calm knowing that her daughter had discovered what she’d done.

"Eva, no! It’s not like that!" she hurriedly exclaimed.

Denying it would be difficult. Everyone had already begun to suspect the truth.

Whispers spread throughout the crowd.

"Miya, this must have been your idea, right? You ordered that woman to seduce my younger brother and trick him!" Luis shouted again.

"Why couldn’t it be the other way around? You ordered your younger brother to approach my subordinate and spy on her. This didn’t start today. It’s been going on for a long time. So don’t try to twist the facts and pretend you had nothing to do with it. You wanted to monitor the Stanley Family through the Solace Family, which has ties to us," Miya replied indifferently.

The two continued throwing accusations at each other.

"Boy, tell me. Am I right?" Miya asked Dilan.

She was certainly much more aggressive in this confrontation.

Dilan was still feeling awkward after Eva’s question, which had drawn the attention of many young men his age. Now Miya was accusing him of having initiated everything to spy on the Stanley Family.

"Miya, your accusations are completely baseless!" Luis snapped, annoyed that Miya had turned his own tactics against him.

"Gracie, tell the truth. Am I wrong?" Miya asked the woman.

How could Gracie possibly dare to answer anything other than what Miya wanted to hear?

"That’s how it happened. I admit that I took advantage of my own weaknesses, and this boy exploited them," she said, her face flushing red as she was forced to acknowledge her own immoral behavior and admit that she had been unfaithful.

"Sister-in-law, how could you?" Arthur Solace also spoke up.

"My older brother has treated you so well, and this is how you repay him?"

Gracie naturally couldn’t respond to that. She pretended not to hear him.

"Nonsense!" Dilan finally snapped, unable to remain silent after Gracie had placed the blame on him.

He even pointed at her.

"What’s nonsense?" she asked.

"You’re lying! You were the one who made the first move!" Dilan retorted.

"Made the first move? When? I don’t remember ever doing that. Perhaps that’s just your imagination."

"..."

"Enough! Can the two of you please stop?!" the Governor interjected, his face turning red.

His birthday celebration had descended into complete chaos.

He was powerless to stop it, but he still had his dignity to uphold.

All these officials might start treating him as a joke if he couldn’t do anything to regain control of the situation.

Miya simply smiled.

"All right, let’s end things here. We’ll be leaving," she said.

She took Enzo’s hand and casually began walking away.

It was obvious that she no longer saw any benefit in staying.

Of course, she wasn’t going to wait until midnight just to sing a birthday song for the Governor.

To her, this was her night with Enzo. She couldn’t keep wasting their time here.

"Where do you think you’re going? Prove your accusations!" Luis continued shouting, but Miya naturally ignored him.

Aaron had already left ahead of them. Eva, as Miya’s assistant, naturally had to follow. Gracie hesitated slightly because her daughter was there.

Although Eva kept her expression composed because she was still on duty, the way she looked at her mother made Gracie somewhat afraid.

She knew her daughter would explode with anger later.

Of course, what worried her most was how the Solace Family would react now that the scandal had been exposed in public.

"Mr. Roger."

Miya stopped in front of the Vice President.

Oliver was no longer beside him. He had gone over to Alice Howard.

"Mr. Roger, I’d like to ask you something. Are you really going to turn a blind eye to the terrorism taking place in City Z?" Miya asked.

"We’re not turning a blind eye to it. However, the CIA has no way of dealing with the situation, and we can’t push Oliver into a corner. Otherwise, we’d simply seize his research and continue it ourselves," the Vice President replied.

There were certainly many contradictions involved, since they had more than one desire and objective to consider.

"Do you have a solution?" the Vice President asked.

Miya nodded with a smile.

"This won’t be resolved overnight, but I’d like you to stop supporting Oliver. You should also encourage others to do the same. If you really want power, just come to me. I wasn’t lying when I said that, in the end, Oliver’s research would still require Bio Copper. The result of his research will be no different from what I can already accomplish. His method simply takes a much longer and more complicated route."

Miya continued walking after saying everything she wanted to say.

She didn’t truly blame the high-ranking officials for their various actions.

Everything they had done was, in its own way, human nature.

Enzo could only conclude that Miya was far from being petty.

She even seemed remarkably forgiving. The only thing she wouldn’t tolerate was anyone who genuinely intended to oppose her.

"Lady," Gracie called out to Miya when they arrived outside the building.

Miya turned to her curiously, since the woman still seemed uneasy.

"I will remain loyal to you forever."

Gracie could only say that after remaining silent for a few moments.

The real problem was the Solace Family.

If they expelled her because of this scandal, they might also demand that Miya withdraw the power she had granted her.

Miya and the Stanley Family certainly wouldn’t ignore the Solace Family, which had supported the Stanley Family for so long.

Instead of answering, Miya simply smiled, making Gracie feel extremely uncomfortable.

Her heart pounded as she became increasingly aware of the possibility that she might be discarded.

Perhaps granting her power and bringing her here in the first place had all been part of Miya’s plan to use her.

"Lady..." Eva suddenly spoke while Gracie waited for Miya’s response.

Miya turned to Eva curiously.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I’ve been considering whether you could transfer that power to me. After all, Bio Copper is extremely rare. I’ve studied it before. If you granted me that power, I could serve my master more effectively."

"Eva, you..." Gracie’s eyes widened.

"Good idea." Miya immediately nodded in agreement.

"..."