After divorce, Ex-wife Revealed Identities
Chapter 998

Chapter 998

Maritza was surprised that Sylvia, who had just arrived, even knew the place used to be called "Moonlight Courtyard." She was momentarily stunned and found herself unable to meet Sylvia's clear almond eyes.

She hastily shifted her gaze to a camphor tree in the yard, trying to explain calmly, "After I moved here, I felt that 'Moonlight Courtyard' sounded a bit tacky, so I changed it. 'Lakeside Pavilion' sounds much better."

She had even consulted a master back then, who told her that "Lakeside Pavilion" would bring her good fortune.

She also sought the master's guidance to help elevate her career.

The master indeed helped her achieve what she desired.

Now, she was one of the top perfumers in the Hipps family company. Although she couldn't surpass Sylvia, she considered herself quite skilled in perfumery. Especially with her perfume "Dark Secret," which sold very well and brought significant profits to Hipps Group's perfume company. This was all thanks to her. She had her merits, so why should she be afraid?

No one knew about her consultation with the master back then.

Who in the Hipps family would know?

With this thought, she regained her confidence.

Sylvia observed the small courtyard for a while and then frowned slightly.

It was evident that there was a formation in this small courtyard. Although it was a small one, the array eye was the camphor tree.

This formation nurtured negative energy, and over time, it would breed a lot of malicious energy.

The longer this malicious energy lingered, the more it would accumulate.

Over time, it would gradually affect the overall fortune of the Hipps family, like a thousand-mile dyke being destroyed by an ant nest. She could not let such a thing happen.

A cold glint flashed in her almond eyes.

It seemed Maritza had issues, especially since she detected a faint scent of blood in the woman's concoctions.

Maritza had no idea that she had already caught Sylvia's attention.

Sylvia looked up at the camphor tree, which appeared lush and green.

From the outside, there seemed to be no problem at all.

So after Clare and the others chatted with Maritza for a while, they left with Sylvia.

Seeing them leave, Maritza finally relaxed a bit.

She immediately returned to her workspace and continued working on the unfinished perfume on her workbench.

She grabbed a rabbit nearby and slit its throat. The rabbit didn't even have time to struggle before it died.

Blood gushed out continuously, flowing into the prepared container.

As more blood flowed out until the rabbit was drained dry, she tossed the lifeless rabbit into the trash can with a look of disgust.

After finishing all this, she continued her work.

It wasn't until late at night that she completed everything.

Looking at the large bucket of raw liquid she had made, a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

Early the next morning, Maritza carried the large bucket out of the courtyard and placed it in her car. She drove straight to Hipps Group's perfume company.

At nine in the morning, there was a new product discussion meeting. She arrived on time, holding a small sample bottle of perfume.

The pale red liquid inside the transparent bottle exuded a luxurious and seductive glow.

Several executives and some perfumers from the company were already seated in the meeting room. The perfumers didn't look too pleased.

"Miss Hipps has strong perfumery skills but hasn't released any new products for a while. Why is that?" A middle-aged man asked sharply.

"Yes! Her 'Dark Secret' always comes in large buckets of raw liquid that she brings herself for dilution by the company. Each time, only two thousand bottles can be made, which is far from enough to sell!" "What kind of strange perfumer is this? Why not just give the formula to the company's factory for mass production instead of insisting on dilution?"

"I don't get it! What can you do with just two thousand bottles?"

The general manager of Hipps Group's perfume company was Clare's cousin, Joel Hipps. He was over forty years old and happened to be Maritza's uncle.

He found his niece's behavior quite troublesome as well.

But... she held the formula in her hands, so he couldn't scold or reprimand her harshly.

If she didn't provide the raw liquid for dilution and packaging...

"Dark Secret" would disappear entirely!

So now, the company was entirely dependent on Maritza's large bucket of raw liquid.

As everyone argued back and forth, the meeting room door suddenly opened from the outside.

Almost everyone's eyes turned towards Maritza and focused on the small sample bottle in her hand.

Unlike "Dark Secret," which had a dark hue, this liquid was pale red, like a demon's tear.

It was full of luxurious allure.

Maritza wore a white business suit and raised an eyebrow. "This is my new product. It's called 'Dark Sadness.""

"Dark Sadness?"

"Dark Secret?"

"A series of perfumes?"

Upon hearing her words, everyone in the meeting room began whispering among themselves.

Especially the other perfumers from the company, who looked at Maritza's sample bottle with jealousy.

"You came up with a new product so quickly?" A female perfumer said sarcastically. "That's pretty fast!"

"Lindsay, yes! I worked on it until midnight last night! Why don't you give it a try?" Maritza said as she walked over to Lindsay and sprayed some of the sample perfume on her wrist.

Lindsay Lamb was upset but didn't dare show it in front of everyone. She sniffed it and immediately froze; this perfume smelled amazing!

The fragrance was natural and fresh with a hint of allure.

The two perfumers sitting next to her also smelled it and looked at Maritza with complex and jealous expressions.

"Your new product is really good."

"Yes, it's much better than what we've come up with."

"It will definitely sell well."

The other perfumers complimented her begrudgingly but were seething inside.

Why could Maritza create such good perfumes while they couldn't?

Maritza pretended not to notice their varied expressions and smiled confidently. "This is my diluted version; it lasts at least eight hours. It perfectly meets the needs of office ladies, who are our main consumer group."

Joel Hipps looked at her disapprovingly. "So you're saying you'll still use raw liquid for dilution?"

"General Manager, my raw liquid formula is too complicated. I'm afraid if workers handle it, it might cause some issues." Maritza shrugged. "It's not that I don't want to share it; I have my reasons." Hearing her excuse, other executives voiced their displeasure.

"Miss Hipps, your approach could easily create friction between you and the company."

"What's so secretive about your formula? Is it something shady?"

"We don't understand; you're part of the Hipps family, and so is this company. Are you guarding against your own family?"

Everyone voiced their doubts simultaneously.

Maritza gritted her teeth; how could she let them see her formula?

If they saw it, she'd be finished!

She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I really can't reveal my formula. You're right; both 'Dark Secret' and 'Dark Sadness' are Hipps family perfumes, and I'm part of the Hipps family. I'll continuously provide raw liquid; what are you worried about?"

She glanced around at everyone. "I will never betray the Hipps family."

Just as the executives were about to argue further with Maritza, Joel Hipps spoke up. "Enough. Since Maritza has said so, let's proceed with the new product launch. We'll limit it to two thousand bottles initially and see how it performs."

With the general manager's decision made, everyone had to comply.

Maritza immediately had her assistant deliver last night's large bucket of raw liquid to the factory department colleagues.

However, she didn't know that a voice had quietly emerged online.

A post appeared on a well-known perfume enthusiast forum:

"Since I started using 'Dark Secret,' I've been having terrible luck! Has anyone else experienced this?"

Initially, this post didn't attract much attention but soon received several replies:

"I've had bad luck too; I ate spoiled buns this morning."

"Me too! It's so strange!"

"Anyone else experiencing this?"

At this point, the post hadn't gained much traction.

But more replies kept coming in.

People noticed their luck seemed to worsen after using this perfume.

This was getting eerie.

Many netizens replied as well: "We live in a materialistic society! What are you talking about?"

"Don't believe rumors. I love 'Dark Secret's' scent."

"We're not chosen ones; we can't always have good luck."

Sylvia became interested in buying some perfumes after learning that Maritza was a perfumer.

Then... she discovered this perfume forum and... found this post.

She smiled playfully. "Bad luck from using perfume? How interesting."

She read through the replies and saw more people sharing their unfortunate experiences.

The post soon became popular.

A rival company of Hipps Group quickly bought a trending topic: "Hipps Group's 'Dark Secret' has issues? Using it brings bad luck?"