Chapter 571:
Ava felt the money was rightfully theirs—they’d found the tenants, so why should Yelena get a cut?
Leo’s lip curled in disgust as he glared at Yelena. “So, what, you’re that broke, you have to scrape together whatever pennies you can?”
Yelena locked eyes with him, an icy smile playing on her lips. “Is that how poor you’ve become, that you need to clutch onto every last cent of the demolition payout?”
Her words shut him up fast.
Ava stepped in, feigning magnanimity. “Fine. If you insist on doing things this way, we’ll give you twenty thousand.”
She gave Leo a pointed look, and he immediately echoed, “That’s right—twenty thousand, and not a dime more.”
Yelena raised an eyebrow at Ava and Leo, muttering to herself, “So you really think I’m that gullible?”
She spoke up without missing a beat. “A ten-million payout for the demolition, and you’re proposing to throw a measly twenty thousand my way? Quite the daring plan you’ve hatched.”
At that, Leo and Ava swapped uneasy looks, a flicker of panic in their eyes. Odd—no one else was supposed to know the demolition was worth ten million, not even Jack. Yet Yelena had learned somehow.
Leo cleared his throat, trying to regain control. “Yelena, I’m the acquisition manager for this real estate project. If you insist on being stubborn, I can make sure you won’t see a single cent of that money.”
Yelena’s eyebrow arched, amusement dancing in her gaze.
“Oh, I never realized you had such incredible power,” she said, her voice dripping with mock admiration.
Then her tone sharpened. “In that case, I can guarantee your days as manager end today.”
Lɑtєѕτ cнαρτєrs ιn g𝒶l𝑛ovєls.𝗰𝒐𝓂
Leo narrowed his eyes, and for a moment, he looked ready to cut her down with just a glare.
“Who do you think you are—the head honcho of DY Group?” he sneered.
Yelena shrugged. “What if I am?”
Those words barely hit the air before Leo erupted into laughter. “Yelena, you sure know how to talk big.”
A handful of onlookers chimed in, equally dismissive. “If she’s the boss of DY Group, then I’m the boss’ father!”
Yelena cast a razor-sharp look in that person’s direction, and they practically cowered.
“I doubt the boss has such an ugly father,” she said with an icy smile.
A startled silence fell. Then, despite their best efforts, everyone burst into laughter.
Yelena drummed her fingers on the table, a flicker of impatience playing across her face.
Leo couldn’t help but snicker, his disdain evident. “Who are you trying to fool with this performance?
To the untrained eye, Yelena might have passed for someone important. Had Leo not been aware of Yelena’s roots—a modest upbringing in some backwater village brimming with simple folk—he might have fallen for the illusion she so expertly crafted.
“You’re quite the actress, Yelena,” Leo remarked with a smirk. “If I didn’t know better, I might’ve been hoodwinked myself.”
Yelena arched an eyebrow, her gaze sharp as glass. “Funny. Since when do you think you know me better than I know myself?”
Before the tension could simmer further, Jack banged his fist on the table, his voice cutting through the room like a knife. “Enough! I invited Yelena here to settle the matter of the house once and for all. That house was given to her by Archie ages ago, so it’s hers. Not yours.”
.
.
.