Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge
Chapter 83: A Crumbling Empire

Chapter 83: A Crumbling Empire

A day before, in a private room at Obsidian

The room was curated for conversations people were never meant to overhear.

Eleanor Ashford sat elegantly and composed. But her patience was thinning as Aveline hadn’t mentioned the matter in the car and waited until now.

She glanced at Aveline, who sat opposite her, effortlessly composed in a cream coat, fingers curled around a delicate porcelain cup as if she were simply relaxing.

Aveline met Eleanor’s eyes, calmly setting the cup down. Her voice was soft. Too soft. "Damien was poisoning me."

Eleanor stilled. The world tilted for half a second. She blinked once. Twice. "Aveline, that’s..."

"I’m not speculating." Her tone sliced through doubt. "I was hospitalized. Housekeeper Walter is behind bars. He’s Damien’s scapegoat."

When Aveline completed her words, the silence between them felt like it was holding its breath.

Eleanor studied Aveline carefully. There was no tremble in Aveline’s voice, and her eyes were cold with truth.

Another beat passed. "I believe you," Eleanor said finally, her voice dry.

Aveline nodded once, as if she expected no less. "He’s seeing Vivienne Sinclair." She revealed another truth.

Eleanor grimaced. "I knew about her," she admitted, voice clipped. "I didn’t know it was still going on." She was experiencing secondhand embarrassment because of Damien.

Aveline didn’t mean to trouble Eleanor. Now it was a question of her safety. So she would be merciless to protect herself. "He never stopped. Vivienne was part of his long game."

Eleanor stared at her. "What game?"

Aveline briefed concisely. "He married me for the land in the Eastern District. I was always a transaction. Vivienne wasn’t his love affair."

It took everything in Eleanor not to react, but her face had gone pale. She couldn’t believe Damien wasn’t investing in real estate, he was hunting women who owned land to get it for free.

"And now?" Eleanor’s voice shook.

Aveline leaned back, carefully choosing her words. "His pattern is clear. Secret marriages. Clean exits."

Eleanor gasped. "He would kill you?" Her eyes widened.

"Yes," Aveline said simply. "Once I outlive my usefulness. And we both know he’s capable of it."

Eleanor said nothing. She didn’t have to. The truth had already settled like frost between them.

Aveline broke the silence. "That’s why I need the Ashford shares, until I’m out." She said it quietly but firmly. "It gives me leverage. It makes him hesitate. It gives me the time to make him let me go... willingly."

Eleanor’s lips parted, then closed again. Her hands tightened around her cup. She had wistfully thought Aveline wanted her to speak with Damien.

How could she convince Aveline to live with a monster like Damien?

"This won’t be easy," she said finally.

"It never was," Aveline replied. Then she added, "But I’ll make sure it ends."

Eleanor looked at her intently, struggling to decide whether she should ask. "You want to destroy him?"

Destroying Damien meant destroying the family and the company.

Aveline’s expression didn’t shift, but her eyes gleamed with calm determination. "No," she said. "I want to survive him. Everything else is just a consequence."

Eleanor: "..."

Aveline softly reminded her, "Then I hope you’ll have my back."

—–––––

The Present Day

On the surface, it looked like Eleanor was supporting Aveline, but she was playing meticulously. She wasn’t risking what belonged to the Ashfords if Damien and Aveline were to separate.

Otherwise, if Damien chose to go along with the arrangements, he would live with Aveline, and she would be stuck with him.

Eleanor’s announcement of Aveline co-heading Ashford Holdings didn’t earn excitement. The potential investors exchanged heated glances, and the stakeholders engaged in heated conversations.

Aveline was just a young girl who had been pampered by her father. But now she looked like a spoiled lady who had no experience in business.

Because in the history of Velmora, a woman had never headed a conglomerate. And they weren’t ready to accept it so easily.

And that was going to change soon.

Damien was frozen on the stage when Eleanor moved towards the stairs. Aveline was helping her when Eleanor noticed Aveline limp a step. "What happened to your leg?" Her voice was low, but there was raw panic in it.

"Damien happened," Aveline simply responded and helped Eleanor down the last stair.

Eleanor’s grip on Aveline’s hand tightened. She swallowed hard, looking at Aveline. She realized there was no way Aveline would stay, even if Damien changed.

Aveline walked towards the door as she spoke in a low voice. "Damien could go to any extent."

A beat passed. "He won’t hurt me," Eleanor forced herself to say.

Aveline smiled, shaking her head. Damien could kill Eleanor out of raw anger. Anyway, Eleanor had suffered a cardiac arrest before she regressed. So Aveline could only warn her.

"Don’t miss your monthly checkup with your doctor, Madam Ashford. And you need to stay strong. Strong until you make sure you get back what’s rightfully yours." She wasn’t going to keep a penny from the Ashfords.

Aveline let go of Eleanor’s hand once her caretaker arrived at the door. She briefly nodded and returned inside the stunned hall.

Eleanor looked back at Aveline. ’Grandmother’ to ’Madam Ashford.’ She had thought she was drawing the line, maybe to remind Aveline that destroying Ashford wasn’t so easy. But Aveline drew it more clearly and more deliberately.

Alaric finally got his chance to admire her beauty when she walked regally. Under the thin layer of makeup, her expression was relaxed while her lips barely lifted, making her look exquisite yet unapproachable.

Her chin was up, her shoulders were relaxed, and her back was straight. Her hips gracefully swayed, not overdoing it. Her steps weren’t long, but it was like she was gliding across the floor.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed when she took a moment longer to take a step, the realization slapping his mind hard as he recalled she was hurt.

Aveline almost reached Damien, who feigned a smirk, but his jaw was clenched. "My wife, you never disappoint." It was a taunt.

Aveline tilted her head in confusion, pretending to be oblivious to what he meant by his words. "What are you talking about? I tried to talk to your grandmother, but she said something like, ’Ashfords can’t lose face.’ What does that mean?"

Damien clutched her arm tightly and said through his teeth, "You should have spoken to me before signing it."

"I had promised her." She grimaced at his grip and looked around.

Damien quickly let go of her hand and cursed himself when red marks appeared around her soft, supple skin. "I’m..."

"Stop doing things that you have to apologize for." Aveline cut him off. Her voice was low, and her eyes were moist. She didn’t show anger while struggling to maintain her docile wife role.

"Damien Ashford, you keep hurting me, every day, every chance. Now I’m involved in the mess of your business. If you want answers, get them from your grandmother."

Then she stormed away under hundreds of eyes, without looking back even once.

Everyone noted that Damien was displeased and had hurt Aveline, who wouldn’t tolerate his moment of anger.

Why would she?

She had lived a princess life, with innumerable jewelry, clothes, vacations, and servants, wealth that could take care of her for a lifetime.

Why should she bear Damien’s wrath?

Besides, she didn’t get shares for free. Her billion-dollar land would be used for Ashford’s project.

The crowd began thinking in Aveline’s favor.

Damien tried to follow Aveline, but Maxwell grabbed his hand. "You’re letting her walk away with everything? You’re the heir of Ashford Holdings, Damien, stop her, damn it!" Unfortunately, his voice wasn’t low enough.

The crowd began discussing how unfortunate Aveline was to marry into the Ashford family.

Though Damien had successfully announced his project, he and the company were garnering the attention of investors and media houses for completely different reasons.

When Damien was finally able to run out to the hallway, there was no trace of Aveline. He grabbed a decorative table and smashed it on the floor.

"Fuck!"

The crash echoed across the marble hallway. It wasn’t just glass that shattered. It was the illusion that Damien Ashford still held control.

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