Chapter 104: How will you compensate me for this?
"If I pushed her, I won’t just apologize—I’ll livestream it for the entire world to see. But if I didn’t... how will the Di Carpios compensate me for this trouble?"
The entire hall fell into complete silence. No one spoke. Even the servers flinched upon hearing that, their gazes instinctively dropping to their uniforms.
"How did she... know about that?" one of the servers wondered, confused.
Then, one of the guests gasped. "Right. Madam Shyaan’s parties always have high security since incidents can happen."
With that, those who had attended these types of parties hosted by the woman in question showed realization in their eyes.
"Oh!" another agreed, only for someone to ask, "Really?"
"Yes! You might not know this yet, but Madam Shyaan’s parties include many important figures. Not to mention, everyone here carries their most valuable pieces. So she requires servers to wear body cams to clear any suspicions in case something goes missing."
Those familiar with Shyaan would’ve known about the incident in the past where someone lost a rare and expensive piece of jewelry, only for it to be revealed that a staff member had stolen it.
Since then, Shyaan made sure to keep her events secure.
But Ashley didn’t know that story. She had simply noticed it earlier when she was served a drink the moment she and Lucian arrived.
"Shall we review it?" Ashley urged, her sharp eyes settling on Carmella and Isabella.
Isabella paled further as she clutched her mother’s arm. "Mom..." she whispered. "Let’s not..."
"Hah!" Carmella scoffed, but deep inside, she knew she would be finished if the footage revealed the truth.
"Why aren’t you answering? Is a public apology livestream not enough?" Ashley hummed. "Or... are you afraid that once we show it, everyone will see I barely touched your daughter—let alone pushed her?"
"Sis!" Isabella called out, finally finding her voice. She stepped forward, looking as pitiful as ever. "I’m already sorry. Mom is just frustrated, but I hope you understand. She’s just a mother trying to protect her daughter."
"From who, exactly?"
This time, one of the ladies Ashley had ignored earlier spoke — not because Ashley disliked her — but because she didn’t like how Lucian had been glaring at the young woman.
Isabella almost choked as she looked around, noticing the raised brows of the ladies and the frowns of the male guests.
"Let’s just watch it!" the same young lady suggested, clasping her hands together. "By reviewing the footage, we’ll see the truth! Isn’t that more convenient? Besides, Madam De Luca already promised to livestream her apology if she did push you!"
"Right, Madam De Luca?"
Ashley glanced at her, catching the brief flicker of mischief in the young lady’s eyes. She didn’t dwell on it and instead faced the duo.
"I agree," Ashley nodded. "Let’s review it."
"You!" the young lady pointed at the server. "Let’s review the footage—oh! Put it on the big screen over there!"
The server flinched slightly but quickly recovered. "Yes!"
"Wait!" Isabella panicked, stopping the server from leaving. "I mean..."
She cleared her throat before turning to Ashley. "Do we really need to go this far? Sis, everyone is here for an important event. This is a family matter. Shouldn’t we settle this privately?"
"But Madam Di Carpio didn’t have a problem calling someone out publicly," Ashley replied almost instantly. "And you didn’t have a problem when I was being forced to apologize for something I didn’t do. So, why do I need to clear my name privately?"
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded.
"She’s right. They confronted her publicly, and now they want to settle it privately?"
Another snorted. "Is it because they don’t want the footage to show she really fell on her own?"
"Oh, my god!" someone scoffed. "I was starting to pity them, but it seems that act fooled me."
Disdainful whispers spread through the room as the sympathy Carmella and Isabella tried to gain quickly dissipated.
"Put it on."
A voice suddenly cut through the noise, silencing the crowd instantly.
Everyone turned—including Ashley—and frowned slightly as they looked at the newcomer.
There, approaching the commotion, was the ever elegant and beautiful Shyaan, accompanied by several elderly figures. She wore a poised smile, her gaze sweeping across the crowd.
However, it wasn’t Shyaan that made Ashley’s breath hitch. It was the man standing beside her.
Lucian.
What the heck? Is he watching too? I thought he went somewhere!
Shyaan’s smile widened slightly as she glanced at the server. "Put the footage on so we can end this discussion and proceed with the event."
"Ye — yes, madam!" The server didn’t hesitate, quickly moving to prepare the footage.
Before leaving, the server glanced at Carmella and Isabella, but said nothing. Then, her gaze shifted to Ashley.
"Dear, that is quite a bold claim," Shyaan remarked. "Would you really livestream your public apology?"
Ashley smiled faintly. "Of course. If it were only my name and reputation, I wouldn’t bother. However, this is your event, and I don’t want to tarnish Dominion’s name. And if that were at stake..."
Her gaze sharpened as it shifted to the duo.
"...I find this unacceptable."
Lucian kept his eyes on his wife, while Gustav—standing at a distance close enough to protect him but far enough not to intrude—raised his brows in surprise.
As for Shyaan, she smiled in satisfaction.
Haha... I should send this to Liza. She would’ve been proud of this young lady.
"Then I hope what we’re about to see won’t harm Dominion," Shyaan said before turning her gaze to the mother and daughter. "And I hope both of you understand the consequences of causing trouble at my party... and how to compensate Madam De Luca."
She then turned to a staff member. "Play it once it’s ready."
Everyone moved quickly under her command, and before anyone could stop it, the body cam footage played on the large screen ahead, revealing what truly happened.
The recording showed the server attending to guests near Ashley and Isabella.
Suddenly, Isabella appeared to trip after just a light brush from another guest. Then, she attempted to wipe Ashley’s dress. From that angle, the server’s attention was drawn to the situation, capturing everything that followed clearly.
Just as Ashley reached out to her, Isabella suddenly jerked backward, colliding with another server and triggering the entire incident.
The entire hall fell into dead silence.
The color drained from Carmella’s and Isabella’s faces as they stared at the large screen, which replayed the moment in slow motion, forcing everyone to witness it again.
Lucian smirked as he watched, clearly pleased at how Ashley handled everything on her own—like a true don.
How... irresistible.
As for the rest, they slowly peeled their gazes away from the screen and toward the now shameless mother and daughter.
Then, finally, the silence was broken by Ashley’s voice.
"How will you compensate me for this?"