Chapter 730 A Face Down
Brenda’s menacing voice echoed loudly in the silent and spacious living room.
Christina calmly stared at the elegant Brenda and replied slowly, “Mrs. Lesley, you have misunderstood me. How can I dare to lecture you, an elder? I am merely considering my own and Victoria’s future.”
Brenda sneered, “Don’t bring Victoria into this.”
The status of the Lesley family attracted flatters from many people, but since Christina married into the Hadley family, she lacked neither status nor wealth and power. The only thing she was worried about was the reputation of her studio.
Brenda believed that the reason Christina hired Victoria as a chief designer was simply because she valued Victoria’s fame. Therefore, when Victoria had conflicts with her family and lost the wealth and status provided by the Lesley family, Christina took advantage of the situation and deceived Victoria into signing a so–called contract.
“The contract that Victoria signed with you is null and void starting today. The liquidated damages will be borne by the Lesley family,” Brenda declared as she raised her head proudly. “I have only one condition. Victoria and Sebastian must completely sever ties. After that, I request that you stop disturbing her new life.”
Brenda appeared resolute and unyielding.
Christina’s gaze instantly turned cold. “Mrs. Lesley, you may not yet be aware of the true consequences if Victoria breaches the contract with the studio.”
Brenda snorted coldly. “First, you tried to lecture me on how to handle things, and now you’re resorting to threatening me? To put it bluntly, Mrs. Hadley, when I was your age, I had already built a thriving beauty salon business. Being sensible and knowing when to advance and retreat is the best way to success.”
Came prepared, Christina smiled gracefully as she revealed her trump card. “Mrs. Lesley, I’ve long heard the inspirational story of your entrepreneurial journey when you were young.”
A disdainful smile appeared on Brenda’s lips. She had long grown tired of flattery and adulation. Christina continued, “But I heard that you have had a few more troubles recently. There was a medical accident at your most reputable beauty salon, and the client involved is said to come from a significant background. After using the products from your salon, she experienced serious facial skin problems.” Brenda’s face suddenly turned pale. This was the biggest problem she had encountered ever since she became a successful businesswoman. She had already tried to suppress the news. How did Christina find out about it?
“Now the customer wants to sue you and your beauty salon, and due to the political background of that young lady, all the beauty salons under your name are under investigation. If these problems are not handled well, both your career and the Lesley family will suffer severe consequences.”
Brenda struggled to control her anger. She nearly splashed the tea in her hand onto Christina’s face. Eyes filled with murderous intent, she fixed her gaze on Christina’s throat.
“You investigated my secrets thoroughly just to negotiate with me, didn’t you?” Brenda seethed with anger. “I’m very curious about how capable Sebastian is since he can persuade the esteemed Mrs. Hadley to intervene personally on his behalf.”
The sarcasm in her words was evident.
Christina responded, “I’ve said before, Mrs. Lesley. I’m not here to threaten you. On the contrary, considering my relationship with Victoria, I can help you solve the difficulties you’re facing.”
Brenda had approached almost everyone who could be of help, but they didn’t agree to help her because they were all worried about getting involved and potentially causing trouble for themselves. While Brenda was busy trying to resolve her career problems, she also had to deal with Victoria’s relationship. She was already stretched thin.
Of course, there was a more important reason Brenda strongly opposed Victoria being with Sebastian.
She attempted to arrange a marriage between Victoria and a young man from a political family she targeted. If the marriage succeeded, her problems would naturally be solved, and no one would dare to provoke her again.
Brenda believed her plans were foolproof and thought that no one could see through her true intentions. Little did she know that ever since Victoria’s relationship with Sebastian was exposed, the actions of the Lesley family were being closely monitored by Christina and Nathaniel.
Upon hearing that Christina could help her alleviate her problems, Brenda scrutinized her carefully.
If it were anyone else, Brenda wouldn’t be swayed easily. However, Christina had married a capable husband, and whatever Christina couldn’t achieve could be accomplished by Nathaniel better.
Sensing Brenda’s hesitation, Christina decided to play her trump card.
“Even if I can’t help you myself, Sebastian is there to help. He is a prominent figure around Nathaniel, and Nathaniel intends to train him to take over the company’s business overseas. At such a critical moment, Nathaniel will definitely not let any problem affect Sebastian.”
Christina continued, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Nathaniel actually supports Sebastian and Victoria’s relationship fully. You know very little about Sebastian and haven’t had much contact with him. You probably don’t know how popular he is among other girls. All those prominent and influential families want to recruit Sebastian as their son–in–law. But Sebastian is quite stubborn. Once he sets his mind on someone, he won’t easily change. His loyalty has caused Nathaniel some distress for a while because those who wanted to recruit Sebastian lost the opportunity to collaborate long–term with the Hadleys.”
It was common knowledge that the Lesleys were slightly inferior to the Hadleys in various aspects. Unaware that the collaboration between Preston and Nathaniel had gone south, Brenda proudly said, “I believe Mr. Hadley is not driven emotionally at work. You don’t need to go out of your way to speak well of Sebastian, nor do you need to use my weaknesses to threaten me. I will never agree to them being together.”
Christina stood up and smiled.
“You’re overthinking it. The things I’ve told you are not meant to show how outstanding Sebastian is or how he can’t live without Victoria. It’s about Victoria needing Sebastian. You know better than I do about Victoria’s stubbornness. She’s your daughter. What I hope for is that you can let go of prejudices and try to understand things beyond your social circle sincerely.”
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Just then, footsteps could be heard coming from upstairs.
9/2
“Ms. Lesley, Mrs. Lesley is mecting a guest. You can’t go down!” The butler’s urgent voice came through. “Step aside, all of you!” Victoria’s deep and powerful voice suddenly rang out.
As Victoria rushed to the living room from upstairs instantly, the butler and several housekeepers followed in fear. They were afraid of being dismissed because of this.
“Christina, you’re here!” Victoria pounced on Christina and grabbed her wrist. “Take me away quickly. I’ve had enough of being controlled.”
With that, Victoria held Christina’s hand and began to leave with her. Behind them, Brenda’s angry yells could be heard.
“Victoria, where do you think you’re going? Stop right there!”
Victoria dragged Christina along and didn’t look back.
Furious, Brenda glared at the butler and servants. “Are you all dead? Stop Victoria from leaving at once!”
