Gwyneth spoke with such confidence and poise that her coworkers were left variously stunned, skeptical, or just plain bewildered.
The way she carried herself, it was clear she hadn’t come just to see the exhibit—she owned the room, as if she were the host.
Patti Yale froze, while someone nearby couldn’t help but chuckle. After all, Patti had been away from Greenvale for years; the Yale family had long since faded from the town’s social circles, and hardly anyone remembered her anymore.
“Her bodyguards aren’t just for show, right? Maybe she hired them to pretend she was someone important, just to get in and steal some artifact designs. She could be a spy for all we know.”
Patti had no real interest in the exhibition. She was just following James’s orders: take some photos and bring them back to him.
“I—I’m not lying. I can’t reach Hawthorne right now, but if any of you can, go ahead. Once he gets here, the truth will come out.”
Of course, Hawthorne would take her side. He always had.
Gwyneth smiled coolly. “Mr. Everhart did ask his wife to come today. But that’s not you.”
She’s Mrs. Everhart? Then what did that make the marriage certificate Patti shared with Hawthorne?
A flush crept up Patti’s face. Could the real Mrs. Everhart actually be here?
No. Impossible. She’d just made a huge scene and nobody had stepped forward. Maybe this staffer was just trying to scare her.
Everyone—the gawkers, her colleagues from the games department—all stared at Gwyneth. Did Gwyneth actually know Mrs. Everhart?
Suddenly, it all made sense. Gwyneth was close friends with Mr. Everhart’s niece—that’s how she’d gotten her job at the company. Of course she’d know Mrs. Everhart.
“And who are you to say that? If I’m not Mrs. Everhart, who is? Why don’t you bring her out? Or is she too much of a coward to face me?”
Patti’s voice rose, her anger mounting. “Hawthorne and I practically grew up together. I don’t know how this so-called Mrs. Everhart even met him—probably some blind date. Why don’t you ask her if her husband even loves her?”
Gwyneth watched Patti’s brazen provocation with perfect calm.
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