The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 551

551 Lies Come Due

Laura’s voice quivered with a barely contained fury as she struggled to free her sleeve from Claudia’s grasp. “Ms. Rowe, I suggest you release me right now, or I won’t hesitate to call the police.”

Claudia’s cheeks flamed a deep crimson, her eyes shimmering with a fierce blend of anger and hurt. “Laura Wentworth, the only mistake I ever made was whispering a single lie to the housekeeper—telling her that Weston didn’t want to see you. Is that one tiny sentence really worth such a harsh price? You set Weston against my entire family. Now the tax office is tearing through our records. Why are you being so cruel?”

Laura froze, her fingers still clutching her phone, uncertainty flickering across her face like a shadow. The Rowe family… under investigation? The thought hit her like a stone sinking in cold water. And Weston was the one behind it all?

Nearby, Quinn’s eyebrows lifted as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. So this must be the “Ms. Rowe” Harlan had mentioned earlier. Weston had summoned every guest and servant from his villa for questioning—all because of a single lie from this woman.

Straightening her posture, Laura’s voice hardened with resolve. “If your taxes are clean, take it up with the revenue office. If you think Weston has overstepped, go talk to him. But leave me out of it.”

A cruel sneer twisted Claudia’s face. “This is all your doing! Over one harmless slip, you’re making me pay a fortune. Or is this your way of proving how important you are to Weston?”

Laura let out a low, disbelieving laugh and yanked Claudia closer by the collar of her designer coat. “Harmless slip? You call an invented message—a carefully crafted lie—‘tiny’?”

Claudia’s voice rose into a sharp, piercing shriek. “Why not? You and Weston are already over. I was just reminding you of your place.”

Smack!

Without warning, Laura’s arm shot up, delivering a fierce open-handed slap across Claudia’s cheek. The sharp crack echoed through the room, leaving Claudia staggering, her skin blossoming red from the sudden sting.

“Y-you… you actually hit me?” Claudia stammered, fury boiling over so rapidly that her voice came out as a trembling hiss.

“Interesting,” Laura replied, a faint, amused curve touching her lips. “Why is it that pampered heiresses like you always reach for the exact same line the moment someone finally slaps you? When you orchestrated that attack on me, you never flinched. But now, you show up dripping with malice, trying to provoke me again—and you expect me to keep my hands to myself?”

Claudia’s glare was sharp enough to cut glass, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Her lips parted, as if to launch into an insult, but the words caught in her throat, choked by rage.

“Oh, right!” Laura snapped her fingers, as if recalling a long-forgotten thought. “By the way, your days as an heiress are numbered. Your precious Rowe empire might collapse before the month ends. And when that happens, every person you’ve ever slighted will have the license to kick you when you’re down. Tell me, Ms. Rowe, have you made many enemies during your cushy reign?”

A flush of crimson shame swept over Claudia’s face before draining away, leaving her pale and hollow. Laura’s words were not empty threats. If the crisis unraveling the Rowe conglomerate wasn’t resolved soon, bankruptcy would swallow the family whole.

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