Chapter 135

Yawning, Jeremy slumped in the taxi parked beside a deserted road. He'd been up all night. Soon, another taxi pulled up, and Marissa, masked, climbed in.

"Marissa, why so early?" Jeremy complained, yawning again. "I needed sleep."

"Gambling again?" she mocked.

"It was just fun with friends!" he protested.

Marissa ignored him. After the other taxi left, her face hardened. "I want her dead."

"Who?" Jeremy asked, startled.

"Paisley. Dominick's ex-wife." Marissa’s voice was tight with barely suppressed anxiety. "It would solve everything."

Jeremy chuckled. "I told you to get rid of her ages ago."

"Yes," Marissa regretted her delay. "Handle it. I'll leave it to you." Her eyes gleamed with ambition. "As long as I become the mistress of the Vanderbilt family... I'll have everything."

"Exactly," Jeremy agreed. "The entire Vanderbilt family will be mine. I'll be above everyone." He envisioned her, no longer a nameless lodger, but the true mistress.

"Just Paisley?" Jeremy pressed. "What about the girl?"

Marissa hadn't considered it. "Deal with them both. That girl's annoying. She might even be Don's child."

"Easy," Jeremy said casually.

"And..." Marissa's gaze darkened. "Grayson, too."

Jeremy was surprised. "You liked him."

Marissa sneered. "I was using him. He's just a beast with Paisley's blood. He won't inherit! I'll have my own child with Dominick. Wouldn't that be better?"

"Absolutely," Jeremy agreed. "We can't let that beast inherit the Vanderbilt fortune. The heir must be Prescott blood." His voice grew excited, twisted with perverse glee. "Imagine their reaction if we kill their beloved heir?"

Marissa scoffed. "They won't know. Those fools trust me. They believed my story about Paisley poisoning me with mango cake. They didn't even check."

Jeremy roared with laughter. "Fools! They're so easily manipulated." He reveled in mocking their wealth and success.

"Foolish, and Julian's a fool, too," Marissa added, a triumphant glint in her eyes. "They believed my lies about Paisley's intentions, her treatment of them."

Her laughter faded. Her face was cold. "Get it done. I never want to see Paisley again."