Taming The Billionaire's Obsession - Chapter 70: Chapter 70
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Luke had never cared for gossip and scandals. So when he showed interest, Yvonne was taken aback.
Ella's heart hammered against her ribs under Luke's icy, penetrating stare. An unnerving sensation gripped her. His gaze felt like it was dissecting her, laying her bare.
"You know... sordid dealings," Yvonne explained, her voice dripping with disdain.
"You came late. Let me tell you." Yvonne began. "That woman is Ella's cousin, but utterly shameless and immoral. Her mother was no better—the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. They are tangled up in some sordid business, luring men in to support them."
Yvonne wrinkled her nose in utter contempt. "Disgusting. Absolutely vile." She turned to Ella. "Don't associate with that trash," she hissed. "If you see her, steer clear. God only knows what filth she's carrying."
Luke's chilling stare pinned Ella in place. "Indeed?" His voice was glacial. "You claim such a relation?"
The unfathomable depth of Luke's gaze only amplified Ella's panic. "Y-yes," she stammered, the word catching in her throat.
After a fraught pause, she added, "They've been a blight on my family for years. We've given them money countless times, but it only whetted their appetite, emboldening them to demand more. Today, she came here and demanded 60 thousand dollars."
"60 thousand dollars?" Luke echoed, a single eyebrow lifting fractionally, his gaze sharpening like a blade.
"Exactly," Ella confirmed, frustration bleeding into her tone. "In fact, I gave her precisely that sum not long ago—on the third of last month. I can't fathom how she squandered it all so quickly and had the gall to cause a scene here."
She molded her features into an expression of profound hurt. "Yvonne is right. My compassion only invites exploitation."
Luke's expression turned stone. The third of last month. The day Jane demanded 60 thousand dollars from Dwight and produced that counterfeit obsidian ring. The very same day he'd cast her out of the apartment, but she'd been abducted in the alley near Ashwood University.
As the words left her lips, Ella registered the dangerous shift in Luke's expression. Realization struck like a physical blow. 'Damn it!' Panic flooded her veins. 'Why did I have to mention the date?'
At that moment, someone approached to claim Yvonne's attention.
Seizing the moment as Yvonne was drawn away, Ella swiftly closed the gap between herself and Luke, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Luke," she murmured urgently, "I couldn't speak freely with Yvonne listening.
"Jane—she's the cousin I mentioned. The one who fabricated that police report to frame me, to have me imprisoned."
She pressed on, "It began when I refused to lend her the money. She stole the ring you gave me, demanded cash for its return. But she didn't stop there. She even orchestrated her own abduction, then tried to pin the blame on me."
Ella's accusation brought to mind the counterfeit ring Jane had presented. 'Of course,' Luke realized, the pieces clicking into place with cold certainty. 'That's how she obtained the original to replicate. She stole it from Ella.'
Ella remained oblivious to his true history with Jane. Jane, however, had been scheming from the outset, meticulously maneuvering to insinuate herself into his life.
Jane knew I sought that ring. But she was unaware I'd already found Ella. So she fabricated the ring, intending to usurp Ella's place.' Luke analyzed. The entire plot now seemed to lie exposed before him.
'Yet one anomaly remained. The abduction in the Ashwood University alley—that felt genuine. Jane wouldn't have orchestrated something so brutal against herself.'
Ella caught the flicker of doubt in Luke's eyes and pounced. "You can't imagine how brazen she was in school," she insisted, venom lacing her words.
"She consorted with the worst sort of off-campus thugs. Hiring a few brutes to stage that abduction would have been child's play for her. This is pure vengeance—punishment for my refusal to surrender the ring.
"And that's merely the tip of the iceberg," she added with pointed malice. "She was once expelled for bedding multiple school administrators. The scandal was common knowledge."
"Enough," Luke cut her off, his voice a shard of ice.
Ella flinched as if struck, panic igniting in her eyes. 'Has he uncovered something?'
Ella's heart hammered against her ribs under Luke's icy, penetrating stare. An unnerving sensation gripped her. His gaze felt like it was dissecting her, laying her bare.
"You know... sordid dealings," Yvonne explained, her voice dripping with disdain.
"You came late. Let me tell you." Yvonne began. "That woman is Ella's cousin, but utterly shameless and immoral. Her mother was no better—the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. They are tangled up in some sordid business, luring men in to support them."
Yvonne wrinkled her nose in utter contempt. "Disgusting. Absolutely vile." She turned to Ella. "Don't associate with that trash," she hissed. "If you see her, steer clear. God only knows what filth she's carrying."
Luke's chilling stare pinned Ella in place. "Indeed?" His voice was glacial. "You claim such a relation?"
The unfathomable depth of Luke's gaze only amplified Ella's panic. "Y-yes," she stammered, the word catching in her throat.
After a fraught pause, she added, "They've been a blight on my family for years. We've given them money countless times, but it only whetted their appetite, emboldening them to demand more. Today, she came here and demanded 60 thousand dollars."
"60 thousand dollars?" Luke echoed, a single eyebrow lifting fractionally, his gaze sharpening like a blade.
"Exactly," Ella confirmed, frustration bleeding into her tone. "In fact, I gave her precisely that sum not long ago—on the third of last month. I can't fathom how she squandered it all so quickly and had the gall to cause a scene here."
She molded her features into an expression of profound hurt. "Yvonne is right. My compassion only invites exploitation."
Luke's expression turned stone. The third of last month. The day Jane demanded 60 thousand dollars from Dwight and produced that counterfeit obsidian ring. The very same day he'd cast her out of the apartment, but she'd been abducted in the alley near Ashwood University.
As the words left her lips, Ella registered the dangerous shift in Luke's expression. Realization struck like a physical blow. 'Damn it!' Panic flooded her veins. 'Why did I have to mention the date?'
At that moment, someone approached to claim Yvonne's attention.
Seizing the moment as Yvonne was drawn away, Ella swiftly closed the gap between herself and Luke, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Luke," she murmured urgently, "I couldn't speak freely with Yvonne listening.
"Jane—she's the cousin I mentioned. The one who fabricated that police report to frame me, to have me imprisoned."
She pressed on, "It began when I refused to lend her the money. She stole the ring you gave me, demanded cash for its return. But she didn't stop there. She even orchestrated her own abduction, then tried to pin the blame on me."
Ella's accusation brought to mind the counterfeit ring Jane had presented. 'Of course,' Luke realized, the pieces clicking into place with cold certainty. 'That's how she obtained the original to replicate. She stole it from Ella.'
Ella remained oblivious to his true history with Jane. Jane, however, had been scheming from the outset, meticulously maneuvering to insinuate herself into his life.
Jane knew I sought that ring. But she was unaware I'd already found Ella. So she fabricated the ring, intending to usurp Ella's place.' Luke analyzed. The entire plot now seemed to lie exposed before him.
'Yet one anomaly remained. The abduction in the Ashwood University alley—that felt genuine. Jane wouldn't have orchestrated something so brutal against herself.'
Ella caught the flicker of doubt in Luke's eyes and pounced. "You can't imagine how brazen she was in school," she insisted, venom lacing her words.
"She consorted with the worst sort of off-campus thugs. Hiring a few brutes to stage that abduction would have been child's play for her. This is pure vengeance—punishment for my refusal to surrender the ring.
"And that's merely the tip of the iceberg," she added with pointed malice. "She was once expelled for bedding multiple school administrators. The scandal was common knowledge."
"Enough," Luke cut her off, his voice a shard of ice.
Ella flinched as if struck, panic igniting in her eyes. 'Has he uncovered something?'
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