Chapter 5

"Here's their invitation. Would you like to take a look?" my assistant asked.

I paused for a moment, slightly taken aback.

After leaving Solviora, I headed to Virelia City, an artistic city. There, I started out as an apprentice and worked my way up, learning everything about jewelry design step by step.

Later, I started going by the name Lily Martin.

Now, I was known around the world as a top jewelry designer.

I reached out and took the gold-embossed invitation. The moment my eyes landed on it, I instantly understood.

It was an invitation from the Hensley Group.

So when Luciana mentioned the Hensley Group was about to seize a major opportunity, she was actually talking about working with me.

I handed the invitation back to my assistant, then beckoned her over and leaned in to quietly tell her what needed to be done. She nodded and rushed off.

The lavish party was finally underway.

There were security guards and staff everywhere in the Gentry family's villa. When I walked out, the butler trailed behind me, respectful as ever.

The butler said, "Mrs. Gentry, your son and daughter will be back soon."

I nodded, and then remembered how my daughter had excitedly told me last night that the garden flowers were finally blooming and she wanted to make a flower crown. So I picked up a basket and some scissors and made my way to the garden.

By the time I'd filled my basket with fresh flowers, quite a few guests had already arrived at the estate.

As I walked leisurely through the estate, the security guards, who had been on high alert, paused in surprise when they saw me, then immediately stood respectfully at attention.

Some of them even politely ushered the crowd aside to clear a path for me.

The guests looked around in confusion, not sure what was going on.

"What's happening? Who is she? Why are the Gentry family's bodyguards clearing the way for her?" one guest whispered.

"Anyone who gets that kind of treatment from the Gentry family's bodyguards must be a big deal. Better show some respect, or you might get burned," another guest warned.

Everyone here was pretty savvy. Even though they didn't know who I was, once they saw how the bodyguards treated me, they all greeted me warmly.

I nodded politely and gestured to the bodyguards that they could stand down and didn't need to fuss over me.

But just as I was about to step inside, I unexpectedly bumped into a few people I recognized.

"This really is a Gentry family event. I just saw Mr. Bennett Greene, and he's stuck in the lobby. He didn't even get a chance to go up to the second-floor party hall. Solomon, do you think we really have a shot at working with Mr. Gentry?" one of them asked.

"I heard he's been focusing more on his overseas business lately, so maybe things will be different for us here..." Solomon replied.

Solomon, the leader of the group, suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes locking onto me.

Today, he was dressed in a sharp black suit, his hair slicked back. Beside him, Luciana was wearing a stunning sea-blue mermaid gown.

"Jolene, what are you doing here?" Solomon's sidekick, Jairo, stared at me in disbelief.

His tone was rather confrontational, and the bodyguards behind me immediately frowned, ready to step forward and throw him out.

But I didn't want such a minor issue to disturb the party, so I simply put my hands behind my back and gestured for the bodyguards to back off.

Jairo shot me a look, then glanced at Solomon, and suddenly his eyes lit up. "Oh, I see what's going on! You came with Solomon, didn't you? Trying to stage a little 'accidental' run-in?"

Solomon's frown relaxed for a split second, but then he straightened up and gave me a stern look. "You've got guts, showing up at a Gentry family corporate event like this. You really think you can just crash the party?"

"Just stay by my side. If anyone asks, tell them you're with me," Solomon said quietly.

As soon as Solomon finished speaking, Luciana's face darkened. She clearly wasn't too happy about it.

Jairo grumbled, "Guess she just couldn't get over Solomon. No idea what she was putting on airs for five years ago, then poof—vanished into thin air."

But Jairo's rant cut off instantly when his eyes landed on the necklace hanging around my neck. He was so stunned that he couldn't get another word out.

Jairo stared, practically frozen. "Wait, where'd you get that knockoff? Seriously, since when does glass shine like that?"

I couldn't be bothered to respond, but Luciana clearly wasn't about to let me off the hook.

She flashed a smile and said, "Didn't know you were into this kind of thing, Jolene. But wearing fakes all the time isn't a great look—keep it up and people might start thinking you're fake too."

"Maybe you should just come crawling back to the Hensley Group," Luciana sneered.

"You seriously don't know, do you? Solomon actually bought fifteen percent of our shares just so the Hensley Group could even dream of working with that so-called jewelry legend, Lily Martin," Luciana gloated.

"The Hensley Group is killing it these days. Maybe if you crawl back now, you'll finally be able to buy a real necklace in, oh, twenty or thirty years," Luciana sneered.

I raised an eyebrow. Fifteen percent of the shares meant Solomon had scooped up every available share he could get his hands on. He must've shelled out a fortune for that.

The Hensley Group had been lukewarm for years, so Solomon's move probably ruffled quite a few feathers among his own board members.

If this Hensley Group deal fell through, Solomon was probably done for.

I smirked at them. "So, did you actually land the contract with Lily Martin?"

Luciana said with full confidence, "With Solomon backing us, how could we not get it?"

I just smiled and kept quiet.