Chapter 156

As soon as Marlene finished speaking, she exchanged a brief goodbye with Lydia and hung up. She couldn’t help but think that Lydia was utterly clueless, favoring her adopted daughter over her own flesh and blood. But she and Marlene maintained basic courtesy. Marvin and Blakely had been beside her the entire time.

Blakely scoffed, “I never realized just how messy the Jenkins family is. No way she didn’t know!” Lydia was still an elder.

Marlene rolled her eyes. “Of course, she knew. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let her adopted daughter drive out her own biological daughter. Phoebe has always treated her parents and the Jenkins brothers so well, yet none of them appreciated her.”

“Instead, they adore that sweet-talking, useless Sienna. And look at all the chaos the Jenkins family is in now—it’s all tied to Sienna. That adopted daughter is pure poison.” Marlene didn’t just dislike Sienna—she loathed her.

Seeing the latest photos and videos online only made her feel even more disgusted. Blakely, having met both Phoebe and Sienna before, had always preferred Phoebe.

“Good thing you never married Ollie,” she said, relieved. “With a mother-in-law like that, you’d be in for a nightmare. People in our circle are mocking her nonstop, saying she didn’t just adopt a daughter—she practically raised her son’s child bride.”

“I never saw it before, but now it all makes sense. Back then, no one understood why Phoebe walked away from her status as the Jenkins heiress. Looking at it now, she must’ve had enough of that family.”

Marlene wholeheartedly agreed. “Exactly. Phoebe had had enough. Before, because of my relationship with her. But now that I’ve broken off the engagement, I’m going to reconnect. We should be friends.”

As for hollie, I felt awkward reaching out. They were on the same side now. Blakely nodded. “Phoebe seems like a good person.”

Then she turned to Marvin. “Do you think Elliot knows about all this?”

Marvin replied, “Probably not. Elliot isn’t the kind to be completely oblivious, but his focus is on the Jenkins Group. He likely hasn’t paid much attention to the drama between his son and that adopted daughter. But now that this has come to light, he’s lost a great deal of face.”

Blakely frowned. “Will the broken engagement affect business between the companies?”

Marvin shook his head. “Elliot isn’t that foolish. I’ll give him a call and inform him.”

Blakely agreed. “Do it. A broken engagement shouldn’t interfere with the companies’ cooperation.”

Marvin called Elliot and explained the situation. While he didn’t bring up the online scandal, he did mention how Sienna deliberately pulled Ollie away and flaunted their relationship in front of Marlene. The message was clear—Marlene had had enough, so she called off the engagement.

Elliot was stunned that the Molina family would withdraw, and after hearing Marvin out, he was furious, both at the Molinas but also at Ollie and Sienna. He apologized to Marvin multiple times before hanging up.

Just as Elliot was about to contact Ollie, Lydia called. Nervously, she said, “Honey, the Molina family is breaking off the engagement with Ollie.” She knew there was no hiding it, so she opted to bring it up first, hoping Elliot might try to salvage the situation.

Elliot’s voice was ice-cold. “Marvin already told me.”

“I always thought Ollie was level-headed and rational, but he’s turned out to be a fool. He’s abandoned his fiancée multiple times for Sienna. No wonder they’re calling it off.”

Lydia hesitated. “Are we really just going to let this happen?”

Marlene was the only daughter of the Molina family, and her parents adored her. Though the Molina Group wasn't as powerful as the Jenkins Group, they would have been a great asset to Ollie’s future in the company.

Elliot saw through Lydia’s intentions immediately. “And what else do you propose? Ollie and Sienna’s relationship is a disgrace.”

“They’ve already wronged Marlene—no need to drag it out any further. Pass this along to Ollie; if he keeps being this reckless, he shouldn’t assume he’s the guaranteed heir.”

“My nephew has been doing quite well in the company, and my father holds him in high regard.” Elliot wasn’t just bluffing. The Jenkins family did prioritize and invest in their chosen successor, but if the heir proved incompetent, they had no qualms about replacing him. He still hoped Ollie would take over his position one day. But if Ollie continued down this path, Elliot would have no choice but to make the hard decision for the sake of the Jenkins Group. He decided that once he returned home, he would start grooming his nephew more seriously.

Lydia’s face darkened. “I understand. I’ll speak with him.” He knew his wife well enough—she definitely didn’t want to lose Marlene as a daughter-in-law. But their family couldn’t afford such disgrace.

Lydia swallowed her resentment. “Alright.” After ending the call, she relayed Elliot’s words to Ollie. Ollie hadn’t expected his father to bring up his cousin. Among all the Jenkins cousins, his cousin’s talent and capabilities were nearly on par with his own.

“Mom, I get it.” For the first time, a sense of urgency gripped Ollie. After comforting Lydia, he returned to his room. Lydia, however, sat alone in the living room, lost in thought, seething with anger and regret.

Phoebe and her companions had a lavish dinner. Afterward, they took a cab back to their hotel. An hour later, Sienna and her group finished their cheap staff meal, collected their meager wages, and left. They, too, took a cab—to the very hotel Phoebe was staying at. They needed to complete their livestream check-in for the day.

After two hours of work, they had managed to scrape together 1,500 dollars. But thanks to Phoebe and Maddox’s earlier review, Sienna and Joshua’s violin performance barely earned any tips—just 130 dollars in total. Counting their earnings, they were visibly disgruntled.

They couldn’t afford to stay at the same luxury hotel as Phoebe, so Sienna proposed they find a place at 400 dollars per room. She then suggested that Jamar and Joshua share a room to cut costs.

But Joshua flatly refused. “I don’t like sharing rooms. Besides, you and Reece are getting your own. Phoebe and her group all have their own rooms.” His frustration was evident—why should he have to share while Reece got a private room?

Jamar backed him up. “We should each get our own. We have just enough.” Given the option, he had no desire to share with Joshua either.

Sienna hadn’t expected them to push back and felt a surge of frustration. She cursed them internally for being so petty—what was the big deal about sharing a room for a few nights? But she couldn’t show her irritation on the livestream.

Forcing a smile, she said, “Oh, I just thought you guys wanted to chat at night. Alright, I’ll book four rooms.” Jamar and Joshua exchanged a look, their disdain for each other evident.

By the time they reached the hotel’s plaza, the fireworks show had already drawn a large crowd. Joshua and his group didn’t want to squeeze into the masses, but they had to for their livestream check-in. Just as their frustration peaked, multiple notification pings sounded from their phones.