Chapter 496
The Walton family’s engagement banquet was held at a private estate. Aubree and Bowen arrived together. They were both stunningly charismatic. Their entrance alone overshadowed the actual hosts of the event.
Trailing behind them was Nina in a striking red dress, breathtakingly beautiful. Her temporary escort, Kelvin, was also quite the sight. He was handsome and refined. The four of them together certainly captured more than a few eyes.
As for Vincent, his delicate features made him seem plain by comparison, like the ugly duckling in a lineup of swans. He silently vowed that next time, he would avoid joining the main group for such an entrance.
The Walton family was one of the most prominent in Rithol City. The engagement was with someone from a family steeped in academia. It was a fitting match in terms of status. Unsurprisingly, the banquet was grand in scale.
Aubree looked around the estate with interest, already toying with the idea of having one of her own. Bowen’s Ellis Heights was essentially a private estate built across the entirety of Mount Ellis, shaped by the mountain’s natural terrain and absurdly massive in size.
She had long been itching to have her own estate, though Bowen’s kindness was admittedly too extravagant. The Walton family’s setup felt much more practical.
Bowen and Kelvin were soon called away by others. Nina stayed close to Aubree, not leaving her side. Vincent followed as well, ready to step in for any business–related interactions.
Everything was going smoothly until Aubree saw Bryan, Daxton, and Carmen.
Currently, Bryan and Carmen were the public faces of the Wilson Group, handling most of the business dealings. Daxton’s presence today spoke volumes about the Walton family’s influence.
Seeing them, especially Daxton, stirred up Aubree’s memories of the Walton family.
In the previous timeline, Daxton’s biggest research partner had been the Walton family. This generation of the Waltons had two daughters and one son. The eldest daughter was already married, and today was the engagement party for the second daughter. As for the youngest son, he lived a carefree life and wasn’t considering marriage.
Everyone thought the Walton family’s youngest son, Casper Walton, was useless and spoiled. No one knew he was harboring a deep crush on Carmen, his true love.
Daxton’s anti–cancer drug had gone terribly wrong in the past. Ignoring incomplete clinical trial data, he used his status to push the drug into early use. However, the drug not only failed to kill cancer cells but actually caused them to multiply and metastasize, leading to catastrophic consequences.
For a time, Daxton and the entire Wilson family became public enemies.
For Carmen’s sake, he had taken the fall and shifted all the blame onto the Walton family. Thanks to him being manipulated by Carmen, the Wilson family escaped unscathed while the Walton family was utterly ruined. In the pharmaceutical industry, losing public trust meant total collapse.
Carmen hadn’t done all this out of love for Daxton or the Wilson family. Had the Wilson family gone down, she would’ve suffered too.
The irony was, Aubree had worked herself to the bone to help Daxton find the root of the drug issue. She endured ridicule and humiliation, begging experts to help.
In the end, she identified the problem and helped him successfully develop a corrected drug, only to be outmaneuvered by Carmen.
Worse still, Carmen stole her research results, and when Daxton gave his success speech, he only thanked Carmen. The clueless media, led by his words, credited Carmen with everything Aubree had done.
Even now, Aubree still couldn’t understand why Daxton favored Carmen to the point he disregarded everyone else in the Wilson family, as long as Carmen remained unharmed.
When Aubree had first returned to the Wilson family, Daxton hadn’t shown such bias. At most, his care for Carmen was based on a few more years of shared roof and sibling ties. He might’ve looked out for her slightly more, but it wasn’t this level of blind favoritism.
Ironically, it was only after Aubree started genuinely caring for Daxton that his favoritism toward Carmen grew. Aubree sneered inwardly. Her kindness had only made him more disgusted with her.
This time around, Aubree would never let Carmen bask in success again. She would drive a wedge between the Wilson and Walton families and expose Daxton for the hypocrite he truly was.
The moment Carmen saw her, she smiled brightly.
She could still smile like that.
Aubree’s expression twisted slightly, hairs standing on end. That was creepy. She thought Carmen had gone crazy after being outmaneuvered at the last investor meeting.
But Carmen wasn’t crazy. She walked up with that bright, genuine smile and said, “Aubree, it’s been a while! You look absolutely stunning today.”
That smile only grew brighter.
Like a loyal guard, Daxton followed closely behind, his face full of wariness.
“You too,” Aubree replied, her tone polite but her words anything but. “Still just as annoying as ever.”
Carmen had now learned to control her facial expressions. She showed no sign of anger. “I hope you can keep that smile till the very end.”
‘Today is the day you meet your doom,‘ Carmen thought coldly.
She raised her champagne glass toward Aubree. ‘Enjoy your smugness while you still can.‘
Carmen was practically bursting with glee. Today, she was in an incredibly good mood.
Aubree frowned a little. ‘What’s her game this time?‘
Soon, the hosts of the event came over to exchange pleasantries. While Aubree had no obligation to give face to the Wilson family, she had to respect the Walton family.
“President of Bree Technology? Truly a young hero!” The guest of honor, Maeve Walton, arrived with her father, Darius Walton.
Darius said, “I’ve heard so much about Ms. Miller’s accomplishments. Seeing you in person today makes me feel old indeed.”
“A billion–dollar company… Ms. Miller, your future is limitless,” he added. Aubree was young, but her wealth and power were undeniable.
Nearly everyone here wanted to form ties with her, the Walton family included. Their invitation was clearly an attempt to build a connection.
Aubree replied, “Mr. Walton flatters me. Your daughter is equally brilliant and beautiful.”
Every parent loved hearing praise for their child? Darius laughed heartily. “None of my kids are all that impressive. This daughter of mine is not particularly capable either.”
Maeve pouted, clearly embodying the aloof eldest–daughter trope. “Ms. Miller is amazing, but I’m not too shabby either, okay?”
“Yes, yes, of course!” Darius quickly agreed.
Only then did Darius seem to remember the others nearby. He gave a cursory nod toward Carmen, “This must be the Wilson family’s adopted daughter? Talented girl. Since I know Daxton well, I won’t bother with formalities.”
Daxton nodded, his frown deepening. He was displeased that Darius seemed to favor Aubree so much. ‘Aubree? What’s so great about her? She’s stealing all of Carmen’s spotlight!‘
Carmen’s smile faltered slightly. “I’ve long admired Mr. Walton. As the younger generation, it’s only right that I pay my respects.”
In contrast, Carmen had clearly lost some ground.
Carmen didn’t mind. She would let Aubree bask a little longer. It wouldn’t last past tonight.
To Aubree’s surprise, her encounter with the Wilson family didn’t end there. When it was time to sit for the banquet, they ended up at the same table.
Bowen, meanwhile, was seated elsewhere.