"Are you done talking?" Natalia lifted her eyes, meeting Alexander and Aimee with a calm, detached gaze. "If you are," she continued evenly, "step aside. You are in my way."
That indifference struck Alexander harder than any insult, igniting his fury. "What kind of tone is that?" he snapped. "You are nothing but a woman I threw away. What right do you think you have to act like this?"
Watching his face contort with anger, Natalia felt an unexpected urge to laugh.
How had she ever believed Alexander was the refined gentleman her grandmother once praised?
The realization settled quickly. She had been utterly wrong.
She was unwilling to waste another word on him, and her gaze shifted away.
If her memory served her right, the entire mall belonged to the Evans family.
And the exclusive card Christopher had given her carried unmistakable authority.
Rising from her seat, Natalia walked straight toward the mall manager, who had rushed over after hearing the disturbance.
She said nothing as she placed the card into his hands.
The moment he saw it, the manager's expression shifted completely, his polite smile replaced by unmistakable deference.
That card signified the highest VIP status within the Evans family, a direct extension of Christopher Evans himself.
"Remove those two," Natalia instructed calmly, indicating the still shouting Alexander and Aimee. "And from this moment on, bar them from every Evans Group property."
Cold sweat broke across the manager's forehead as he responded without delay, "Y-yes, of course. I will take care of it immediately."
At his signal, several tall, broad-shouldered security guards moved in, closing the distance. "Mr. Douglas, Miss Wallace, please leave immediately!"
Shock drained the color from Alexander's face. "What are you doing? Do you even know who I am?"
Aimee shrieked as well, struggling violently. "Let go of me! How dare you throw us out!"
No matter how fiercely they thrashed or how loudly they protested, the security guards showed no restraint, hauling them out with cold efficiency and complete indifference.
Only after their voices disappeared did quiet finally settle back into the space.
Unbothered, Natalia continued through the mall at an unhurried pace, the earlier spectacle already erased from her thoughts.
Beyond the mall entrance, Aimee shook with fury, her carefully applied makeup stretched taut as her expression warped.
Fingers digging into Alexander's arm, she leaned close, her voice sharp enough to pierce. "Did you see that? She did it deliberately. There is no way she got that card on her own. She must be clinging to some wealthy old man. Otherwise, how could she possibly have access to the Evans family's exclusive pass?"
Alexander's expression sank further into darkness. Being dragged out like discarded baggage by security was a humiliation he had never once endured in his life.
Jealousy twisted violently inside Aimee's chest.
That cursed Natalia. How could someone like her always land on her feet?
She was nothing more than an illegitimate child with no known father, yet her mother had been frighteningly capable, seizing control of the Gordon Group at a young age.
Had her mother not died so prematurely, the company would never have fallen into Aimee's parents' hands in the first place.
From childhood onward, Natalia had followed her mother everywhere, moving in and out of the company, witnessing major negotiations and elite gatherings long before she understood their weight.
Left with no choice, Aimee could only fall behind like a forgotten shadow, forced to watch as Natalia appeared to possess everything she lacked.
Worse still, that supposedly useless woman had somehow secured a man influential enough to hand her an exclusive Evans family card.
Humiliation burned deep, hardening into resolve. This disgrace would not go unanswered. Natalia would pay for it.
Inside the mall, Natalia calmly selected several outfits with fine textures, discreetly redistributing the contents of her black travel bag into newly purchased shopping bags.
By the time she made her way back to Evans Manor, dusk had already settled over the estate.
Hardly had she entered the standalone building when she spotted Christopher seated on the living room sofa, his posture suggesting he had been waiting.
"The wiring here is outdated," Christopher stated evenly. "A full inspection will be conducted tonight." His voice remained low and steady, revealing nothing of his thoughts. "There may be a power outage. Turn in early."
Natalia acknowledged him with a small nod, her expression composed and proper. "Okay, Mr. Evans."
Despite her calm exterior, something shifted within her.
A power outage? The timing could not have been more ideal.
