To think that such powerful men would not only approach Charlene but also seem to genuinely like her... It wasn''t just Leah; Mr. Windsor and his group were equally stunned. They all knew Stewart was Kenton''s protégé, but they never imagined Charlene could leverage that connection to be part of Kenton''s inner circle—a world far beyond the reach of the businessmunity.


    Henley, Maureen, and Georgina Spencer were also deeply surprised. They''d known Charlene had met Geoffrey before, but they had assumed it was a fleeting introduction while she was with Stewart, and that men of their stature wouldn''t have given her a second thought. After all, someone like her couldn''t possibly enter a circle like Geoffrey''s and Kenton''s.


    They never expected this.


    The only person who wasn''t surprised was Vesta. She already knew Charlene had met Geoffrey and Darius. When sheter saw how warmly Hickey treated Charlene at a work event, she realized that these influential men were all quite fond of her. What she hadn''t known was that Charlene had been to the Ramirez family''s home for dinner with them. Did that mean Dalton might already know-


    The elevator arrived. Charlene and Mr. Windsor''s group stepped inside, leaving Vesta and the others to wait for the next one. As the doors closed, Laverne finally broke the silence. "I have to admit, I never thought she''dnd on her feet like this."


    They had all been shocked when Charlene, whose family was in decline, had managed to marry into the Henderson family. Now, without Thorne, she had Stewart. More importantly, she wasn''t even married to him yet but had already won the approval of Kenton, his wife, and their powerful friends. This meant that even if things hadn''t gone wrong between Vesta and Thorne, Vesta still might not have been able to outshine a Charlene married to Stewart. And that was to say nothing of the current situation.


    No one had expected Charlene''s fortunes to turn so dramatically. She was flourishing, while they...


    Maureen lowered her gaze. "Let''s just go," she said quietly.


    They entered the next elevator in silence. Leah, though impulsive, wasn''t a fool. From the moment she learned who Geoffrey was, she had been a total daze. It wasn''t until she stepped out of the elevator that she snapped out of the terrifying


    implication dawning on her if it was truly over between Vesta and


    Thorne, then everything the Spencer and Hawkins families had...


    The thought made her increasingly anxious. She turned to Vesta, unable to hold back. "Has... has Thorne filed the divorce papers with Charter


    recently?"


    filede


    It was the question on everyone''s mind, but they didn''t dare press Vesta. Her


    expression was nk. "I don''t know," she replied coolly.


    Leah knew Vesta couldn''t ask


    Thorne directly. His attention was


    entirely on Charlene, and if Vesta


    pushed him, he might get angry and breakup with her for good, leaving them with nothing. So, despite her anxiety, Leah fell silent.


    In truth, Vesta wanted to know more than anyone. The best person to ask was


    Moran, but she just hadn''t found the right opportunity.