The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 456

20:35 Mon, Oct 6 N

Chapter 456 The Computer Genius

Chapter 456 The Computer Genius

The man who had delivered that ruthless strike was Julius.

Among the glittering aristocrats crowding the ballroom tonight, Julius was an unfamiliar silhouette. Only a handful could place his lineage or the empire he quietly controlled. So when he publicly planted his boot in Jacqueline, a shocked hiss rolled through the hall.

Everyone thought Julius must be crazy.

After all, this was the Fane family’s banquet. Jacqueline, though of a collateral branch, still bore the Fane blood. More than that, she was a prodigy in cybersecurity, a wunderkind who had brought early glory to the clan.

Her genius had long purchased her the right to be imperious. Yet here, beneath her own family’s chandeliers, that genius lay humiliated—this was no rowdy scuffle among bored heirs. It was a single, crushing blow that pulverized her pride.

“Who are you—some speck of dust–to speak of her like that?” Julius growled, looking down at

her.

Jacqueline pointed at Quinn furiously. “Quinn, you washed–up divorcée, is this gigolo your hired muscle? This is a Fane banquet–dragging a pretty boy in here shames all of us!”

Jade hid a cold smile. So what if she’s a computer genius? She’s still an idiot at times. Gigolo? That man rules Whitethorn Group! Let’s see her suffer what I’ve endured.

A sharp crack split the air.

A hand had collided with Jacqueline’s cheek, turning her head with brutal force. She staggered sideways, heels skidding, nearly collapsing again.

“Who dares strike me–have you lost your mind?” She wheeled toward the crowd, but the words died on her lips.

Everett stood in front of her, anger carved deep across his usually composed features. That punishing slap had come from him.

“I finally locate my long–lost niece, and you’re insulting her? Jacqueline, how dare you create a scene on a night like this!” Everett hissed.

Jacqueline covered her swollen cheek. “Uncle Everett, it was Quinn–she sicced her pretty boy on me first! She’s freshly divorced yet drags him here. She treats our banquet like trash and makes the whole Fane family look foolish!”

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20:36 Mon, Oct 6 N

Chapter 456 The Computer Genius

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“Since when does a collateral branch get to judge the main family? Tonight honors my sister and me. Whoever she wishes to invite is welcome, no questions asked.” Rowan’s calm voice cut through the tension.

Color drained from Jacqueline’s face, leaving only mottled humiliation.

She had once dismissed Rowan, the so–called illegitimate son, certain he would never stir real currents inside the corporation. Now the illegitimate child had become a nephew–and worse, legitimate Fane blood. From this night forward, she suspected, his shadow would eclipse hers at every board meeting.

Everyone had always known Jacqueline was a prodigy with a keyboard. Since childhood, rumor whispered that, if the family patriarch truly had no heir, she–bright–eyed, unerringly brilliant–was the only one likely to inherit the empire.

“Might I remind you that I am safeguarding the Fane name,” Jacqueline said, chin angled high. “What, are branch relatives somehow born inferior? Without us, Fane Group would never shine as it does.”

“Heh.” The cold chuckle slipped from Everett’s lips. “Tell me, then–does today’s glory belong to the sideline branches?”

The words landed like a whip. Around the ballroom, the branch family members blanched, their complexions draining to the color of wet ash.

For all the grand talk of unity, everyone understood a brutal truth: the fortune was the main line’s alone. The branches merely clung to it, gilded parasites fattening on another’s labor. If the patriarch ever stopped feeding them, those glittering surnames would be worth less than dust.

“Yes, Jacqueline misspoke,” a relative from the branch line blurted, sweat beading at his temples. “Still, her intentions are clear. Fane Group’s celebrated cybersecurity system bears her fingerprints; no one can deny her contribution.”

“Exactly,” others chimed in, seizing courage from his defense. “Everett, even if you wish to shield Quinn, you must admit Jacqueline is thinking of the family. Quinn is newly divorced and has marched in here with some man of unknown origin–hardly proper for a society banquet. She grew up outside these circles in a small family and cannot be blamed for ignorance, but now that she has been acknowledged, she should learn the rules of a distinguished house.”