Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 1110

Jude quickly filled in the blanks.

"Wade Harcourt wrote that will because he was worried Noreen's startup might fail. He wanted to secure her future and eventually bring her into the Harcourt Group."

"No one expected her not only to succeed but to build an empire that rivals the Harcourt Group itself. So the will wasn't a lifeline—it just added another crown to her collection."

The atmosphere in the VIP room shifted violently.

Sitting next to Healy, Gia's fingernails dug into her palms. She was practically vibrating with toxic jealousy.

Noreen had absolutely no blood relation to Wade Harcourt, yet he had willingly handed her the keys to an empire.

And what did Gia have? She shared Jason Vance's blood, yet she had been treated like garbage since the day she was born. Ridiculed by her family. Treated like a dog by her own brother. She had to grovel and scheme just to survive.

When she was eighteen, Jason had almost forced her into the bed of a sixty-year-old investor just to close a deal. She had barely escaped by fleeing the country under the guise of studying abroad. When she returned, she had to orchestrate a vicious corporate coup with Jason's rivals just to carve out a sliver of power.

She fought for her life every single day, while Noreen was handed the world on a silver platter—including Healy's undying devotion and Mrs. Naylor's absolute approval.

Gia forced herself to remain still, staring blankly at the lemon slice floating in her drink, her silence masking her absolute fury.

Even with Jude's explanation, Crystal refused to back down. In her twisted worldview, a woman without a powerful family backing her could never reach the top on her own.

She let out a harsh, condescending laugh. "Only men are stupid enough to believe that fairy tale. Do you really think the rest of us are idiots? She obviously has powerful men pulling strings for her in the dark."

The air in the room felt thick enough to suffocate them.

Jude was sweating through his designer shirt.

The moment her words faded, a faint rustling came from the dark corner of the room.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify