Chapter 545

A towering woman mounted Victoria, raining sharp slaps across her face.

"Help—"

Victoria's cries were drowned in the violent rhythm of the blows. Shame and pain numbed her senses.

Nearby, bystanders watched—but none intervened. Instead, they pulled out their phones, recording the spectacle, uploading it instantly. The internet erupted.

[Damn!]

[She really is the other woman! Serves her right!]

[The wife finally snapped. Homewreckers get what they deserve!]

Blurred vision made Victoria hallucinate Penelope standing over her—cold, furious, eyes burning with hatred.

She tried to scream, but the woman on top of her showed no mercy.

Each second stretched into agony.

Finally, the assault stopped. The woman stood, delivering one last brutal kick to Victoria's ribs before storming off.

"This isn't over. If I see you again, I'll finish what I started."

Darkness swallowed Victoria whole.

The Ashford estate was in chaos.

Reginald Ashford called old Master Blackwood, only to realize the situation was beyond salvage. One hung-up call later, he confirmed the worst—the Ashford Group was doomed.

He never imagined their downfall would come so swiftly. Evelyn Sinclair had dismantled them with ruthless precision, and they had no defense.

His mistake was clear—Victoria was no longer fit to associate with the Blackwoods.

Meanwhile, security around Evelyn had tripled—visible and hidden—at Sterling Enterprises, Highland Estates, everywhere she went.

A stranger brought Victoria to the hospital. The Ashfords abandoned her.

Reginald Ashford personally went to Sterling Enterprises to beg for mercy—only to be turned away at the gates. The Sterlings' message was clear: no apologies would be accepted. Evelyn wanted vengeance.

In two weeks, the Ashford Group crumbled.

Once a powerhouse, it was now a hollow shell drowning in debt. Their remaining assets? Less than 1% of what they'd had before.

A catastrophe.

Penelope Ashford couldn't care less about the family's ruin. She still had her inheritance—but fury consumed her.

Inside the hospital room, she hurled a glass at Victoria's bed.

Victoria flinched, covering her head, silent.

Pathetic.

"You bitch! Because of you, our family is destroyed! How dare you still breathe?!"

Penelope trembled with rage. The elite circle had exiled her—former friends now avoided her like plague.

She lunged forward, tearing the sheets away, yanking Victoria's hair. Bruises, fresh and old, meant nothing—she struck harder.

"We never should've let you back. A bastard like you belongs in the gutter!"

Victoria took it—no fight left in her.

Exhausted, Penelope stalked to the balcony.

Eighteen floors up. The Ashfords wouldn't pay another cent for this disgrace.

"Figure out your own medical bills. Steal. Sell yourself. I don't care—"

A sudden, piercing scream cut her off.

Then—

THUD.

A sickening impact.

"Someone jumped!"

"Call for help—!"