From Forgotten Wife To Fierce Queen - Chapter 65: Chapter 65

Vanderbilt Group's headquarters was buzzing with an air of tension. [Mr. Vanderbilt is in a bad mood today. Everyone, keep your heads down.] Within five minutes, the message had spread across all the company's major group chats.
The most troubled by this news were the senior executives. Unlike the mid- and lower-level employees, they had to deal directly with Dominick. If they handled things poorly, the consequences could be much worse than embarrassment—losing their jobs was a real possibility.
The last time Dominick had been angry, he had rejected Felix's proposal sixteen times in a row, leaving Felix feeling suffocated and the entire department on edge for weeks.
Now, it seemed that Dominick's mood was even worse than before. No one knew who the unlucky person would be this time. Inside the CEO's office, the secretary nervously reported Dominick's schedule for the day, stealing glances at his expression, terrified of saying something wrong that might provoke his wrath.
"Mr. Vanderbilt, here's your schedule for today," the secretary said, but Dominick remained silent, causing her heart to race.
Just then, Julian walked in and saw the distressed secretary. He waved her out. "You can leave now." The secretary practically fled from the office, feeling as if she had narrowly escaped death.
Dominick sat motionless in his chair, his mind replaying the scene from yesterday at the hospital, where Paisley had fiercely rejected him. It felt as though a blunt knife was slowly tearing at his heart, cutting through both skin and flesh.
Julian watched Dominick's expression, a hint of frustration gathering in his eyes. "Mr. Vanderbilt, the meeting is about to start," he reminded him.
"Okay," Dominick replied indifferently, his voice void of any emotion.
Julian turned and went to open the door for Dominick. Just as he opened it, he heard Dominick speak to him. "I asked you to investigate what Paisley had been doing since she returned to Harrowfell. How's that going?"
Julian paused for a moment. He had completely forgotten about the task. Or rather, he had never intended to investigate anything related to Paisley. So when he learned that Paisley was the heir to Ancient Medical Arts and had even saved Paul, he was genuinely surprised.
But that didn't mean he would change his opinion of Paisley. "I didn't look into it," he answered truthfully.
Dominick stopped in his tracks. "Why not?"
Julian decided to lay everything out. "Dominick, I'm doing this for your own good. We've been friends since high school, and I don't want that woman influencing you anymore. She's a manipulative woman, and you have a good girl like Marissa by your side. Why are you still—"
"Julian," Dominick's cold voice interrupted Julian, cutting off his impassioned words. "You've crossed the line."
Julian froze. He had never seen Dominick look at him with such an aloof gaze. "I..."
Dominick looked at him emotionlessly. "If you don't want to do what I've assigned you, then handle other tasks for now. Liam will assist me from now on. That's all. You can leave now."
"Mr. Vanderbilt...Dom...I..." At this moment, Julian finally began to panic. He had always thought that, as he and Dominick had been friends for years, he could influence Dominick's decisions. But in reality, Dominick had always been Dominick—his friend but also his boss.
Dominick didn't spare Julian another glance. He put on his coat and walked alone to the conference room. Soon, news of Julian being sidelined by Dominick spread like wildfire across the various Vanderbilt Group's group chats.
No one expected that the person who would take the fall in this crisis would be Julian—second only to Dominick.
The day passed quickly, and when Grayson returned home that evening, he was still in a bad mood. He didn't answer anyone and just quietly stood by the window, staring blankly at the zelkova tree in the yard.
Lauren didn't know what was bothering her precious grandson. When he wouldn't say anything, she could only instruct the kitchen to make more of Grayson's favorite dishes.
"Sonny, can you play with me now?" Stella came over and tugged at Grayson's sleeve. She had been upset all day because Grayson hadn't played with her at school, and now she was determined to get his attention.
So now, Grayson had to play with her. But still, Grayson shook his head. "Stella, go play by yourself. I don't want to play."
Stella frowned in displeasure, "No, you have to play, even if you don't want to. We're going to play now." Then, she tried to grab Grayson's arm.
Grayson felt irritated and pushed Stella's hand away. "I said I don't want to play. Why do you have to keep bothering me? It's so annoying." These were words Grayson would never have said to Stella before.
Stella froze for a moment, then burst into tears. Her anger that had built up throughout the day erupted all at once.
"Grayson, you're a bad guy. I'm going to tell Aunt Marissa that you're bullying me. Even your mom doesn't want you. When Aunt Marissa marries your dad and becomes your mom, she'll abandon you, too. No one likes you. No one wants you. Hmph."
"Stella. What are you saying?" Lauren's face turned red with anger as she rushed over. But it was too late—Grayson was already deeply hurt by Stella's words and began to cry uncontrollably.
Lauren's heart ached as she hugged Grayson, pulling him away from Stella. "It's okay. Don't cry. I'll always be here for you. I love you, and you're my precious baby."
Marissa heard the commotion and hurried out of the kitchen. After hearing Lauren's account, her face turned ashen, looking terribly upset.
"Marissa, what's going on with Stella?" Lauren questioned Marissa.
Marissa had a solemn expression as she shot a furious glare at Stella, then looked at Lauren with a mix of fear and innocence. "Mrs. Vanderbilt, Stella is just talking nonsense. She doesn't understand anything. I..."
Stella was the daughter of Marissa's cousin. Since Stella and Grayson were the same age and went to the same school, they often went to and from school together. Hence, Stella occasionally stayed at Vanderbilt Manor.
Originally, Marissa had hoped to cultivate a relationship between Stella and Grayson similar to the one she shared with Dominick to strengthen the ties between the two families further.
Marissa wondered, 'The two children got along well before, so what caused this sudden rift? Especially now, when the Vanderbilt family is starting to feel guilty toward Paisley.' She glared at Stella, feeling that Stella was nothing but a troublemaker who only made things worse.
Lauren didn't want to argue with a child and certainly didn't want to direct her anger at Marissa. "Alright, I know this isn't your fault. You can just take Stella home for today."
Lauren had watched Marissa grow up, so she knew her temperament well. It was likely that Stella had heard her parents gossiping at home, which caused her to speak carelessly, so Marissa couldn't be blamed for that.
"Okay, Mrs. Vanderbilt. I'll take Stella home right away." With the situation already escalated, Marissa had no choice but to force a smile and take Stella back to her cousin's house.
When Marissa's cousin, Jeremy, saw his successful cousin arriving, he greeted her cheerfully. "Oh, Marissa, you're here. Come on in." Jeremy and his wife had received plenty of benefits from Marissa over the years, so they treated her like a guest of honor.
Marissa didn't offer him any pleasantries and shoved Stella inside, immediately questioning them. "What have you two been saying in front of her at home?"
Jeremy and his wife were taken aback. They had said a lot of things, after all. "What happened?" Jeremy asked, looking confused.
"How dare you ask me that? Your precious daughter made Grayson cry, and Lauren asked me to send her back. She's never going there again." Marissa exaggerated, deliberately making the situation sound worse.
Hearing this, Jeremy raised his hand in fury, ready to hit Stella. "You good-for-nothing brat."
"Enough. What are you saying?" Marissa, who despised the term "good-for-nothing," pushed Jeremy away and sat down irritably. "I'm already fed up with everything because of Dominick's ex-wife. And now your family's making things worse for me. How can it benefit you if I can't marry Dominick?"
Of course, it would benefit them nothing. Jeremy's expression turned gloomy and he said, "We should kill that damn bitch."
Jeremy's words sparked a thought in Marissa's mind, and she looked at him thoughtfully, thinking, 'That's right. If Paisley is gone, everything would be settled.' But this thought only lingered in her mind for a moment.
Unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't resort to murder. The most important thing now was to take Kayla to meet Nion in a few days while everything else could wait.