Unmasking the Heiress (Evangeline and Walte)
Bitten Once Shy Forever 85

Chapter 85

It looked like her uncle Yale had once secretly visited her mother, and someone had captured the moment. Who could it be?

Her eyes turned to Lydia. She was the one who had used those photos to sabotage the relationship between Andrew and her mother, was she not?

Evangeline's laugh echoed through the room, her usually graceful face taking on a chilling twist. She rose to her feet, clapping slowly, "Bravo, quite the performance. Mr. James Foster, would you join us?"

The door, slightly open, swung wider as James entered at her beckoning. His suit was sharp, his gold- rimmed glasses catching the light, every inch the consummate professional.

"Evangeline, what's this all about?"

The smirks on the faces of the others faded fast with James' arrival. Something was off.

"Oh, nothing much. Just thought you'd all like to know that our little chat today was recorded. And Andrew, that bit about you threatening to track down my grandfather and using his life as leverage? We got that on tape, too, Mr. James Foster here has all the evidence now."

"Evangeline, you... You!" Andrew's eyes bulged, words failing him. He had not touched her grandfather, but with this 'evidence', he would be the prime suspect if anything happened.

Lydia, seeing Andrew's distress, rushed to his side, her hands soothing his chest.

Julia stepped forward, blocking Lydia and Andrew, saying contemptuously, "Evangeline, you've sunk to new lows, seducing some thug to come after us. Mr. James Foster? More like your secret fling! You'd stoop to anything to get what you want. How despicable. Does Wal "Scared? When have you ever seen me scared? You keep calling me a thug. Didn't Andrew and Lydia teach you any better? Oh, but how could I expect anything about manners from your trio? Birds of a feather, aren't you?" Evangeline's voice dripped with sarcasm as she i't get

"I'm going to spill the beans to Walter about you and your 'wild man. Just wait, the two of you won't away with this."

James' gaze was icy as he surveyed the family, repulsed. He was a true gentleman, unaccustomed to such vulgar talk. He could not believe that Julia, once hailed as a violin princess, marketed as the epitome of beauty and kindness, was such a fraud. The Internet's portra Then there were Andrew and Lydia, that odd couple, causing a ruckus. Being around them felt like wading knee-deep in a swamp of filth.

However, what really struck him was that Evangeline had endured their company for so long. He could not fathom how she survived her childhood without picking up their foul stench.

James gave Evangeline's back a reassuring pat. She had clearly been through a lot with that family, and he resolved to be even more supportive of his niece from then on

Evangeline caught the concern in James' actions and knew he pitied her. However, it was he who was the target of their insults, and she would not stand for her grandfather and uncle being dragged through the

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Rising to her feet, she remarked calmly, detached, "Insult me all you want, but if you dare to go after my grandfather and uncle again, you'll wish you hadn't"

"What uncle?" Julia blurted out, taken aback. Things were not adding up as she had expected.

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