Chapter 28

Grace checked into a new hotel room for the night. As she was about to rest, her phone buzzed with a message from the work group chat. Curious, she opened it and found her coworkers gossiping about her. Someone had posted a picture of her back.

“Valy is Grace. Staying in a hotel. She probably has some date tonight. She’s always surrounded by men, right? Honestly, she only got into the company because of her connection with Mr. Henderson.”

Grace raised an eyebrow, realizing they had probably forgotten she was in the group. She quickly typed a message: “Since when have I had a lot of men around me? How come I didn’t know?”

The group chat had been pretty lively, with people speculating she had slept with Yancey to get into the company. But once they saw her message, they suddenly remembered she was part of the group. The group chat went quiet. Grace tagged the person who had taken her photo and questioned, “Have you never stayed in a hotel before?”

The group chat became even quieter. If this weren’t a work-related group chat, it would’ve likely been disbanded by now. Grace comfortably went to sleep, knowing it wasn’t her fault they were talking behind her back. Their embarrassment wasn’t hers.

When Grace arrived at the office the next day, she immediately felt the awkward tension. She pretended like she had no idea what was going on and focused on her work at her desk.

After work, someone called her and asked if she wanted to go shopping. Since Grace had bought a new house, there were still some furniture pieces she needed to check out in person, despite already ordering some items online. The house was relatively new, so the future felt new as well. She’d had a clear come-in, and after picking up a few small things, she could move in right away.

Joanne was a bit surprised when she heard that Grace had bought a fifteen- million-dollar house. For a moment, her smile seemed forced: “Grace, weren’t you struggling financially? How did you suddenly get so much money?”

“Unexpected windfall,” Grace replied casually, picking out a table lamp. She asked a nearby sales clerk, “Do you have any more nice vintage styles?”

“Right this way.”

They were in a large mall surrounded by luxury brands—bags, furniture, you name it—and every item cost thousands of dollars. Grace bought the lamp, left her address for delivery, and continued shopping. Joanne followed closely behind, and she widened her eyes when she saw a fifty-thousand-dollar lamp. She subconsciously curled her hands into a fist.

“Did Yancey give you that money? Or someone else?” Joanne asked.

Grace picked out a few more small items to be delivered, and she was already thinking about the new house. She was looking forward to moving in that evening. “Neither. It’s a long story. Do you want to come check out the new place later?”

Joanne forced a smile. “Sure, I’ve never seen a fifteen-million-dollar house before.”

How many people in Drunville worked their whole lives and couldn’t even afford to buy a house the size of a bathroom?

As they passed by a designer handbag store, Grace didn’t even pause. She preferred a simple canvas tote to those bags worth tens of thousands. But then a familiar voice rang out, followed by a hand grabbing her wrist.

“Grace, long time no see. Hurry up and pay for this bag. It’s only thirty thousand dollars, and I really like it.”

The woman who grabbed her was in her 40s, well-maintained but with a calculating look in her eyes. Grace furrowed her brow and gently pulled the woman’s hand off her arm. “Who are you?!”

The woman’s expression changed instantly after hearing that. She snapped, “Come on, what are you playing at? Just pay already!”

Grace found the situation amusing and turned to leave. But the woman grabbed her wrist again, this time with a threatening tone. “Grace, what’s your problem? I told you to pay. Don’t make this hard. Don’t you want me to go to Yangry and say something nice about you? Hurry up. I have other people to meet for dinner.”

Grace’s expression darkened. “Let go.”

Joanne, standing behind her, said calmly, “This is Yancey’s second aunt. You used to spend a lot of money on bags for her and others like her. Oh, and Yancey has an older aunt who’s heavily in debt from gambling. You helped pay that off, too.”

Grace’s head throbbed at the revelation. It took her a few seconds to process it, and then she chuckled wryly. “Are you sure?”

So, she’d been financially restricted because she spent everything on these leeches!

At this moment, Yelena Parker crossed her path with a smug look. “Hurry up. Where’s your card? You’re not short on money.”