She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 785

After the charity auction ended, Dominic Hale refused to let it go, still desperate to make his presence known to Melanie Royce.

But the moment he stepped outside, he saw her slipping into Tessa Rowland's car.

Dominic ground his heel into the pavement, fuming.

Standing near the entrance of the art gallery, he pulled out his phone and dialed his assistant.

"Run a deep check on Stellaris PharmaTech and the Royce Group... No, wait, see if the Carter Group has made any recent moves."

His voice was uncompromising, his gaze sharp and predatory.

Meanwhile, Tessa took Melanie to Artisan Chill, a trendy new boutique cafe in the city.

"Tessa, I didn't peg you for such a trendsetter!" Melanie teased, surprised by the choice.

Melanie hadn't expected the older woman to have a taste for modern iced drinks.

"Just a little secret indulgence. You have to keep this between us!" Tessa winked. "If Preston finds out, he'll lecture me for hours."

At the mention of Preston, the smile on Melanie's face stiffened.

Her intuition told her this little cafe trip was just an excuse for Tessa to talk about her grandson.

Catching the subtle shift in her expression, Tessa gently breached the subject.

"I know... you and Preston broke up."

"Yeah."

Melanie offered a small nod.

Her split with Preston Whitmore had become front-page news. It was impossible for Tessa not to know.

"It's alright. I'm sure that stubborn boy was the one at fault, putting you through all that unnecessary stress."

Melanie knew the older woman was just being polite.

In truth, Preston hadn't done anything wrong.

If anyone had been put through unnecessary stress... it was him.

Melanie knew perfectly well that her unilateral decision to end things was incredibly unfair to him.

Not to mention, she had only done it because of the unresolved tragedy from four years ago.

With the clues she currently possessed, she couldn't prove her mother's death was a coordinated murder rather than a tragic accident.

And she certainly couldn't prove that Stellaris PharmaTech and the Whitmore family were the ones behind it.

Her suspicions were built entirely on her mother's erratic behavior right before the crash.

Using both hands, she slid the velvet box across the table.

Tessa opened the lid, her eyes immediately landing on the striking Crimson Lily Heirloom.

It was a museum-quality masterpiece, featuring intricately crafted lilies blooming in vivid color.

The stamens were composed of flawless rubies, while the rest of the floral arrangement was a blinding, cluster-set diamond array.

There was no way Tessa wouldn't recognize it.

It was the Whitmore family heirloom.

But seeing Melanie toss it in with the rest of her jewelry made it glaringly obvious the girl had no idea what it truly meant.

Preston must have seized a random opportunity to gift it to her without ever explaining its immense significance.

That foolish boy...

Tessa couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

She guessed he was terrified that if he told Melanie it was a multi-generational heirloom, she would have flat-out refused it.

Leaving the box open, Tessa lightly brushed her fingertips against the priceless family treasure.

"In the car, you just refused that multi-million dollar painting I offered. Now, you're trying to give all this back to him... Melanie, are you really in such a rush to sever all ties with the Whitmore family?"