bChapter /bb227 /b

    At Carm’s words, her anger erupted–her eyes went wide with disbelief. “Are you serious?b” /b

    They hadn’t even gotten the divorce papers yet, and Elissa was already making a fool of the Atwaters?

    The more Carm thought about it, the angrier she became,pletely forgetting how her own son had treated Elissa in the first ce.

    If Elissa was still living in Atwater Manor, she’d have no trouble figuring out where Frank’s double standards came from–clearly, it was in his

    DNA.

    Mother and son, both cut from the same cloth.

    Marcia, seeing Carm’s reaction, knew she’d hit her mark. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Why would I lie to you? Rememberst time at Vistapeak Gardens? You probably haven’t heard, but Rowan’s living right across the hall from Elissa now.”

    Carm nearly choked in outrage.

    How was that any different from shacking up together?

    One minute she’s divorcing her son, and the next she’s cozying up to someone as powerful as Rowan. If word got out, people would say something was seriously wrong with the Atwater family.

    Her chest heaved as she fought to steady her breathing, eyes icy with fury. “So that’s why she was in such a rush to get those divorce papers–she was worried her little affair would blow up in her face and ruin her reputation!”

    It all made sense now

    Elissa hadn’t been devastated by Frank; she’d just found herself a better option.

    But if she was already involved with Rowan, why had shee running to

    16.175

    the Atwaters for help when Tanya Foster got into trouble?

    Still, Carm was too worked up to care about those details.

    Marcia, on the other hand, was momentarily thrown by Carm’s words. “Wait–divorce papers? Who’s getting divorced?”

    The answer hovered right in front of her, making her heart pound.

    “Who else could it be?” Carm shot her a sharp look. “Frank and Elissa,

    of course.”

    Marcia’s delight was impossible to hide. “They’re divorced?!”

    She knew her chances with Frank were slim–but just knowing Elissa’s marriage had failed brought her a mean sort of satisfaction.

    Elissa, that smug little witch–always pretending to be above it all. Turns out it was all for show.

    Getting dumped by Frank… she must be miserable.

    Now that things had reached this point, Carm didn’t bother hiding anything. “They split right before New Year’s. I just didn’t want to…”

    She cast Marcia a cold look.

    Marcia wasn’t stupid; she caught on right away, forcing a nervousugh. “No need to worry about me now. Frank’s been turning all of Vistapeak City upside down looking for her.”

    Mentioning this only made Carm more agitated.

    If her son ever found out Elissa was the one he was searching for–and that she had been the one to finalize the divorce behind his back–it

    would tear their whole family apart.

    All Elissa’s fault.

    Carm shot Marcia a re. “How’s that projecting along? I heard from Matriarch Paige Murphy that you guaranteed you’d get your hands on the research results, or she wouldn’t have given you the funding. If you fail, you know what the Murphys are capable of.”

    b16:47 /b

    “Don’t let your scheme backfire and drag the Atwaters down with iyou/ii./i”

    That much was true.

    Marcia’s current project only existed because Matriarch Paige Murphy had invested in it.

    Research and development was a money pit.

    Paige had been hesitant at first. After all, Rowan was the real power in the

    Murphy family these days, and the olddy only controlled a limited

    amount of funds.

    But Marcia had made a solemn promise—if Elissa could pull off the

    research, the results would be hers.

    And since Paige was bankrolling the whole thing, the ones who’d profit in the end were Marcia and the old matriarch herself.