Chapter 97

Babette spoke a few more words before inviting everyone to begin the tasting.

"To keep a little mystery-and since this is a tasting event-I won't reveal the names of the wines just yet. I'll announce them later. And for anyone who tastes and names them correctly, I've prepared a small gift." With a smile, she stepped down from the stage.

The guests began to gather, sampling the wines Babette had carefully selected and brought back from Flesta.

It was, after all, her welcome home celebration for Babette Watson. And as a member of the Watson family,Babette was someone people felt obliged to flatter-even if the little prizes didn't particularly interest them.

While the crowd mingled and raised toasts, Babette made her way directly to Millie,who was sitting quietly in a corner.

Millie stood up and walked over to a waiter to get a fresh glass of wine.

"Millie,"came Babette's voice just as she brought the glass to her nose, breathing in the aroma.

Millie lifted her head calmly, still holding the wine. After a brief pause, she turned to face Babette.

"I almost thought you wouldn't dare to come," Babette said with a smile. In the soft lighting, the gemstones around her neck caught the light and sparkled, making her appear especially radiant.

Millie didn't respond. She simply watched Babette, waiting.

"Can you guess which of the wines on that table is named 'Miss'?" Babette asked.

"There's no need for that," Millie replied evenly. "All the wines here are your best selections."

She paused, and then smiled. "They're all excellent."

But Babette's gaze sharpened, a silent warning in her eyes.

"No.You must," she said, her tone suddenly firmer.

Millie raised her chin slightly and met Babette's stare.

Then Babette stepped closer, crossing into her personal space. "James Bennett earned a master's degree in finance at 24, then joined one of the top investment banks in Mirough. In just four years, he rose from analyst to managing director. At 28, he returned to Crobert with consideable capital and quickly made a name for himself as an independent investor." Her voice was low, but deliberate.

Millie's expression didn't change, her eyes fixed ahead. But her fingers curled slightly around the stem of the wine glass.

"I heard from the older generation that Crobert's power structure had long been solidified-controlled for decades by the same few familiBabette continued. "But James was different. He had a real chance at becoming the fourth major force in the city. And not just because he was talented. He didn't belong to my grandfather's era. He emerged from my father's generation. People said he had the charisma, the vision, and the mind to play chess with the world. He mastered information like no one else.Psychology was his weapon."

She took a sip of her wine and smiled faintly. "But he still failed, didn't he? Took his own life, they say.Jumped. Left behind a brilliant wife and their only child."

Babette turned her gaze back to Millie."Isn't that right, Millie? James's only daughter."

Millie lowered her eyes, watching the golden liquid swirl inside her glass.

Her father's brilliance had once lit the path of her childhood.

But later...

Over the years, she had often wondered,who had been responsible for his death.

There were too many possibilities, too many shadows. No trail ever led anywhere.

"I thought you'd inherit some of his brilliance," Babette said, her voice now laced with contempt. "But look at you-compromising your dignity for comfort and a little fame. I despise people like you."

Millie closed her eyes briefly and then opened them, calm and steady. "If you despise me so much,why have you suddenly taken an interest in me lately?"

"Is it about Egbert? Or is it something else?"

Babette tilted her head slightly. "It's true I like him. But if you think I'm coming after you because of that,then you're underestimating me."

She paused to stare at Millie in the eye. "There are a few reasons,"she went on, her eyes narrowing. "I studied in Flesta for years, and even there, your father is still remembered as a legend. Naturally, I was curious about him and his daughter."

Then her tone sharpened. "But more than that, I can't stand that you are being credited as one of the key figures in the Watson Group's transformation. It's insulting. To me. To Brandon. To the entire Watson family. Let's be honest-it was the Watson Group's technological breakthrough that changed everything. Not you. And yet people talk as if you were the driving force. You're married to Brandon,but there are rumors about you and Egbert everywhere! It's disgusting!"

Millie looked at her quietly, noticing the bitterness behind her words.

And then she smiled. "I never spread those rumors myself," she said. "And I've never claimed to be the key to Watson Group's success. I told you that already back at Moonlit Estate."

What Babette hadn't realized was that fate never gave gifts freely. Everything came with a price.Sometimes, that price proved to be too much for some people.

Millie, once a noble heiress herself, understood what it meant to shoulder family legacy and ambition.She also knew that Babette wanted to make her own mark in the Watson family's history. But that didn't give her the right to project all of her resentment onto someone else.

"Is that what you told Brandon?" Babette asked coldly.

Millie didn't respond.

She and Brandon rarely discussed what had happened back in Flesta. The pain of losing their child she was carrying was something neither of them could bear to relive.

"Tell me, what really happened in Flesta?" Babette pressed, her voice rising. "Why is everyone so secretive about it? I asked Egbert. He said nothing. I asked Brandon. He wouldn't talk either. And that wine-why is it called 'Miss'? Did he make it for you?"

Millie looked at her. "I don't know anything about the wine. As for what happened in Flesta, it wasn't as dramatic as you imagine. Just a complicated situation that involved some of Egbert's personal matters.

If you want answers, ask him."

"I want you to tell me!" Babette stepped closer, her breathing uneven, the gemstones at her throat trembling.

Millie exhaled softly. "He has the right to decide what he wants to share."

The reckless risks of the past now seemed like the impulsive choices of youth.

Egbert might be just a bold and calculating young man back when she challenged him, but he was the head of a conglomerate now-definitely not someone to provoke lightly. And certainly, not someone she intended to offend.