Bianca's expression grew even darker. After Wade's intervention, Seth had to arrange for Yvonne to be admitted to a standard room. Publicly put in their place by Wade, neither mother nor daughter looked pleased.

Noreen was oblivious to all this until later that afternoon when Claire, having just woken up, came to the hospital to find her. She'd gotten all the gossip from the

nurses.

"You missed such a huge scene?" Claire exclaimed, practically bouncing with regret. After hearing Claire's animated retelling, Noreen had to admit she was sorry she'd missed it too.

"Well, it looks like that jerk Seth is truly, madly in love with bitch Bianca," Claire mused.

"How do you figure?" Noreen asked, taking a bite of watermelon.

"It's all over the internet, isn't it? There are two ways a man shows he loves you," Claire declared. "First, he spends money on you. Second, he solves your problems for you. Everything else is just an act!"

Noreen couldn't help but agree.

Claire took another bite of watermelon and smacked her lips. "So, when do you think jerk Seth is finally going to go bankrupt?"

While the atmosphere in Rosalind's suite was relaxed and comfortable, things were much more tense in Yvonne's room. After settling his future mother-in-law, Seth had rushed back to the office, leaving Bianca behind.

The mood between mother and daughter was sour. The stark contrast between Wade's warmth toward Noreen and his coldness toward Bianca had left a bitter taste in their mouths. Since returning to the country, Bianca had only seen Wade a few times, and on each occasion, he'd barely looked at her and had never once publicly acknowledged her as his son's partner. Yvonne had fared even worse; her previous attempts to meet Wade had all been flatly rejected. This time she'd finally met him, only to be dismissed.

"That Wade... he's really losing it in his old age!" Yvonne fumed, growing angrier the more she thought about it. "He can't even tell who his real family is."

"Now do you see what I've been putting up with all this time?" Bianca retorted, her own frustration boiling over.

"But no matter what, he's still Seth's father," Yvonne said, her pragmatism cutting through her anger. "And he controls the Harcourt Group. That's the real prize."

The mention of the Harcourt Group reminded Yvonne of a rumor she'd heard recently in her socialite circles—that Wade had already met with his lawyers to draw up a will.

"You need to find a way to sound Seth out," she instructed Bianca. "Find out what's in that will."

Bianca wasn't particularly concerned about it. Seth was Wade's only son; who else would inherit the Harcourt Group? What truly bothered her was why Wade hele Noreen in such high regard. She voiced this suspicion to her mother.

"Either Noreen is a master manipulator who knows how to play people," Yvonne speculated, "or Wade genuinely admires her abilities."

Both mother and daughter leaned toward the latter explanation.

"Think about it. Every project you've touched since you came back has ended in disaster. Why would Wade respect you? Noreen, on the other hand, has been on a winning streak since she started InnoCore. She landed that massive port renovation project, led the Centribo Technologies acquisition, and now she's preparing for an IPO. You're miles behind her! How do you expect Wade to see you as anything but a failure?"

Yvonne's sharp critique only deepened Bianca's sense of frustration.

"Wallowing in self-pity won't help," Yvonne said, a grim look in her eyes. "There's only one solution now. You have to find a way to stop InnoCore from going public."