Chapter 19

A smug grin spread across lvy's lips as she raised her voice for all to hear. "Grace, are you serious? You want us to believe that's an Aesthetic Atelier original?That coat looks like it wandered in from a thrift shop!And you expect us to buy that it's one-of-a-kind?Who do you take us for?"

Right on cue, Demi covered her mouth to hide a giggle."Please, Grace. Aesthétic Atelier is so exclusive that even celebrities get waitlisted."

Turning to the onlookers, she flashed a bold wink."Tell me I'm wrong,people."

Laughter rippled through the gathering crowd.

Grace didn't flinch. Instead, she slid her hand into her coat and pulled out a black business card that gleamed under the store lights. "Should I call the brand's director for you?"

The shimmer on the card caught every curious eye.Aesthetic Atelier's gold-stamped VIP No.001 was embossed across the surface like royalty.

Shock froze lvy's expression. That card was legendary.

Aesthetic Atelier only handed out a select few worldwide.

There was disbelief in Demi's voice as she exclaimed,"You have got to be kidding me! That is definitely a fake!"

Between the two of them, lvy and Demi had heard every Chapter of Grace's life before.

Grace came up through foster care. She was no stranger to struggle. Who on earth would give her any real status?

Grace saw no point in arguing. "Look, there's a shop up ahead. Let's see what the cashier says."

"Fine!" barked Demi, digging in her heels. She wasn't backing down without a fight. She needed to expose Grace-prove she didn't belong.

Inside the Aesthetic Atelier store, a clerk took the coat gently and examined it from collar to hem.

"This here's our anniversary release-Nieve. There's only one. The material's extremely delicate. We don't even clean it in-store. We send it to HQ and, fair warning, the cleaning cost's brutal."

Ivy and Demi stared in stunned silence, their disbelief written across their faces. It never occurred to them that Grace's coat could actually be the real deal from

Aesthetic Atelier.

Still, their minds reeled.How expensive could cleaning a coat even be?

Without a second thought, lvy pulled out her credit card and waved it at the cashier. "Go ahead and swipe it. We don't have all day."

She couldn't shake the feeling that Grace had somehow faked her way into that designer coat.

Memories from the orphanage popped up. Wealthy folks used to drop off high-end clothes, hoping for good press. It wouldn't be a surprise if Grace grabbed one to impress everyone.

The thought brought lvy a sense of relief.

Minutes dragged by, and the transaction still hadn't gone through.

Annoyed by the delay, lvy leaned forward and demanded, "How much longer is this going to take?This should have been quick."

The store clerk offered a tight, almost nervous smile."Apologies, ma'am. The cleaning service stats at two hundred thousand, and your card's been declined."

Ivy's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me right now? Are you pulling some sort of scam?"

Unfazed, the clerk replied with a steady voice, "That's the usual charge for this garment. It's a specialty item,and care doesn't come cheap."

Demi's face turned pale as paper. "Two hundred thousand just for dry cleaning? Who charges that?You might as well rob us instead."

Still composed, the clerk nodded. "Ma'am,that's what the designer set, and trust me, it's non-negotiable."

Ivy's knees buckled slightly, and she gripped the edge of the counter to steady herself.

She couldn't remember a time when life threw something this bizarre at her.

But this? This was in another league. Two hundred thousand just to clean a coat? That was unbelievable.

Turning around, Ivy pinned Grace with a glare sharp enough to cut glass. "You planned all this, didn't you?"

Grace propped herself against the counter, twirling her phone with a lazy flick. "Your daughter kicked this off, so maybe pay the bill and apologize while you're at it."

She moved closer, her tone barely above a whisper,yet it cut sharper than a knife. "Wrecking someone's property that costs more than a grand could send you

to court. And two hundred thousand? You'll be behind bars for that..."

Fear rippled through Ivy's chest, though she forced herself to appear unfazed. "It really isn't a problem.We never refused to pay up."

Anger welled up inside her. If she could, she would have strangled Grace on the spot.

She couldn't shake the feeling that every bit of this chaos was on purpose.

Seeing no other way out, she pulled out her phone and called her husband.

At that moment, Luke was locked in a boardroom,sweating under the gaze of impatient shareholders.

The vibration of his phone was almost ignored until Ivy's desperate message made him pause.

"Just what have you dragged us into this time?" Luke growled, barely able to make sense of her frantic words.

Once he grasped the situation, he unleashed a string of curses as he sent the money.

Problems seemed to come at him non-stop. He wondered how he was supposed to keep it together.

He squeezed his eyes shut,feeling wiped out.

Since Grace walked away,his company had started to unravel. Several major clients walked out. The tech team bailed. Even the bank became impossible to deal with.

Sometimes, it felt as if the family had become haunted, chased by bad luck with Grace's name on it.

With the transfer complete, lvy didn't waste a second.She shoved her card at the cashier, eager to finish.

After a tense pause, Demi finally blurted out an apology, "Grace, I'm sorry for what happened to your coat. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

Grace just nodded, replying, "I don't always let things slide."

Not wasting another minute, she walked away and met with Adrianna.

Demi's hands balled into fists, nails digging in, as she glared after Grace. Anger swirled in her chest, almost numbing.

"Mom," whispered Demi, her voice trembling, "are we seriously letting her go?"

Scowling, lvy shoved her card into her purse and

seized Demi's arm. "Let's go home. Your dad's already furious."

Without another word, they rushed out.

In her own mind, lvy vowed through clenched teeth that she'd make sure Grace paid for this.