I told you repeatedly that William Levine would never be interested in you.

Yet you still shamelessly threw yourself at him.

Now look at the humiliation you've brought upon yourself...

Elise ended the call without hesitation.

She held no expectations whatsoever for the Scott family.

Her phone rang again.

Elise ignored it until finally, Benjamin called.

"Elise Scott, how dare you treat your grandmother with such disrespect?" Benjamin sounded furious.

Elise could easily imagine how enraged Margaret must have been when she hung up earlier.

"I have no obligation to endure her insults and scolding, nor am I required to listen to your criticisms." With that, Elise prepared to disconnect.

Margaret's urgent voice came through the phone. "Brandon said you got him fired!"

Realizing she couldn't intimidate Elise, Margaret finally revealed the true purpose of her call.

"That's his problem. It has nothing to do with me."

"Nothing to do with you? Brandon specifically said Levine Holdings fired him because of you! Do you understand his position? He was senior management with a six-figure salary! Now he's just gone! How am I supposed to explain this to your third aunt?!" Margaret grew angrier with each word.

If Elise hadn't answered tonight, Margaret would have confronted her at the office tomorrow.

"You said yourself he was senior management. How could someone like me possibly get him fired?" Elise responded sarcastically.

"Weren't you involved with William Levine?" Margaret snapped viciously.

"Didn't you also claim he would never be interested in me?"

"Elise Scott, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you."

"I didn't notice," Elise stated firmly without backing down.

Margaret trembled with rage.

When had this girl become so difficult to control?

"Elise, I admit my tone was harsh earlier, but I'm just worried. You know your third aunt's family struggles financially, and Brandon was their main support. How will they survive now that he's lost his job? You can't let me face humiliation before our relatives, can you?" Margaret had no choice but to soften her approach.

That family had been pestering her relentlessly, even gossiping behind her back to other relatives, making Margaret lose face.

"I'll say this one more time. Brandon lost his job due to his own actions. It has nothing to do with me. Furthermore, I have no connection to William Levine, and I certainly have no authority to interfere with Levine Holdings' affairs. Nothing you say will change that."

"Elise Scott!" Margaret's temper flared again. "I rarely ask anything of you. Is helping me with this one matter really so difficult?"

"I've made myself perfectly clear," Elise said coldly. "But you're right about one thing. For someone who hit me, insulted me, and mistreated me since childhood, only remembering me when help is needed—I'm not generous enough to assist such a person."

"After everything the Scott family has done for you!"

"Did the Scott family really raise me?" Elise countered. "If I hadn't had skills to rely on, I would have starved to death overseas."

"You!" Margaret clearly couldn't win this argument.

Elise had no intention of wasting more time. "There's no affection between us, so don't pretend otherwise or try to claim moral superiority. I won't accept it."

With that, she hung up decisively once more.

She stood on the balcony, taking deep breaths.

The agitation refused to subside.

Family wounds always cut the deepest.

Some traumas inflicted by relatives—she didn't know how long it would take to fully accept them and find peace. Just like the pain she experienced when she turned eighteen.

Elise scrolled through her social media, trying to calm her emotions.

Suddenly, her finger stilled.

She saw a post from Victoria. [Crestwood is absolutely stunning. I adore everything about this place.]

Below the caption was a photo taken from a Ferris wheel. Most of the image showed the glittering nightscape, except for one small corner in the bottom right where a man's and woman's hands were tightly clasped together.