Elise let out a cold, mocking laugh. "You brought this upon yourself, didn't you?"

"I never imagined you'd be investigating me behind my back!" Samuel snarled, his voice dripping with venom. "Don't you dare tell me you trusted me completely. We're both cut from the same cloth—stop acting so superior!"

"Don't lump me together with you, Samuel. You're nowhere near my level," Elise retorted calmly. "And I never requested those photographs."

"What? Are you claiming you didn't ask someone to obtain them for you?! Do you honestly expect me to believe—"

"Don't assume everyone is as despicable as you are!" Elise cut him off sharply. "There are plenty of decent people in this world—people who stand up for justice and who are utterly disgusted by your behavior! That's why someone took those pictures of you cheating on me, because they couldn't stand watching you brazenly carry on with my sister while I worked myself to exhaustion for Mitchell Corp!"

Samuel's hand trembled as he gripped his phone.

Who was it? Who could have betrayed him?!

"Don't bother asking me who sent them. The photos arrived anonymously right after the fire at our wedding ceremony. They were sent as a warning because the sender couldn't tolerate your actions any longer."

Elise had been so foolish before, never questioning Samuel's fidelity. Someone must have found her too naive, sacrificing everything for his benefit, that they quietly gathered evidence for her.

She never attempted to discover the sender's identity, but it had to be someone from Mitchell Corp—someone who couldn't afford to openly confront Samuel. That explained why they hesitated for so long and finally sent the photos when her wedding fell apart.

They might have also worried that she was too deeply in love to leave Samuel, and might instead accuse them of scheming.

In that case, anonymity provided the best protection for both parties.

When Elise received those photographs, she had definitely considered exposing them to the world, destroying Samuel and Sophia's reputation and subjecting them to public scorn.

But ultimately, she chose to spare them.

Who knew if they might genuinely be in love, after all?

Yet, kindness is rarely repaid in kind, and some people simply don't know how to be grateful.

That's why they deserved their humiliating downfall.

"Pushing things too far always backfires, Samuel!" Elise concluded.

Samuel ignored her warning and demanded, "How did you get the recording of my conversations with those editors?!"

He remained unconvinced because he knew how much Elise had trusted him during their relationship. She must have orchestrated obtaining those photos!

And he absolutely couldn't accept that Elise had anticipated the calls he would make to the chief editors!

"To be perfectly honest, I never believed you could sink so low, even after everything you'd done. I never thought you'd try to take everything from me, especially after how you treated me!" Elise snapped, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Her opinion of him had already hit rock bottom before, only to plunge even deeper.

And she was genuinely impressed by William's foresight—if he hadn't warned those chief editors in advance, they would never have obtained that recording of Samuel.

Without that recording, her retaliation against Samuel and Sophia would have been only half as effective! Nevertheless, Elise decided to come clean this time. "William Levine provided them to me."

In the end, no matter how powerful Samuel thought he was, he couldn't lay a finger on the heir to Levine Holdings.

The gap between their respective wealth and status was simply insurmountable, and telling Samuel would only leave him frustrated and powerless!

In reality, Samuel had already suspected it was William, because Elise would never have that kind of influence.

William, on the other hand, certainly did.

Still, hearing it confirmed by Elise left him in disbelief.

She was damaged goods! How did she manage to attach herself to that man?

Samuel had been convinced that Elise was just a temporary distraction for William.

He absolutely couldn't accept that she had landed a man superior to himself—and after he had discarded her!