PART 1
Victoria loved being admired.
Especially in places where wealth mattered.
And Laurent & Co. was exactly that kind of place.
The boutique fell silent as she approached Eleanor.
“Still pretending simplicity is a personality?”
A few customers laughed softly.
Eleanor remained calm.
That only irritated Victoria more.
Richard stepped beside his wife.
“Do you know her?”
Victoria smiled.
“Oh, everyone used to know her.”
The sales staff exchanged awkward looks.
Eleanor quietly turned toward a display case.
Victoria followed.
Still talking.
Still performing.
Still enjoying the attention.
Then the private showroom doors opened.
Every employee immediately straightened.
A young executive hurried into the boutique.
The head of Laurent & Co.
The owner himself.
His eyes scanned the room.
Then locked onto Eleanor.
The color drained from his face.
Victoria noticed instantly.
The owner walked straight past every VIP customer.
Past the celebrities.
Past the investors.
Past Victoria.
Then stopped directly in front of Eleanor.
His voice trembled.
“Mom?”
The boutique froze.
Victoria’s smile disappeared.
PART 2 IN COMMENTS 👇👇👇
PART 2
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The owner embraced Eleanor carefully.
As though she mattered more than anyone else in the building.
Because she did.
Victoria stared.
Unable to process what she was seeing.
The owner smiled through tears.
“You never told me you were visiting.”
Eleanor laughed softly.
“I wanted to see if the staff still treated people kindly.”
Several employees suddenly looked nervous.
Victoria’s face lost all color.
Because she finally understood.
The Laurent name wasn’t a coincidence.
The woman she’d spent years mocking…
was Eleanor Laurent.
The original founder.
The woman who financed the company decades earlier.
The woman whose family still controlled it.
The owner turned toward Victoria.
His smile disappeared.
Then he calmly asked:
“Have you finished embarrassing yourself?”
For the first time in years…
Victoria wished everyone would stop looking at her.
