THE BILLIONAIRE'S VENGEFUL WIFE RETURNS-Chapter 242: THE DIAMOND QUEEN

This Chapter is dedicated to Annannie. Hey Anna. Thanks for the golden ticket.

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When Frank and Elisa arrived backstage, they were greeted by Claudia, Lia, and Garth, all dressed as maids, busy setting things up. Frank’s frown deepened. How had his daughter, his own flesh and blood, been reduced to a mere servant barely a week after her marriage into the Hamilton family?

The Hamiltons were really out for blood. He didn’t care if they were family now, if they kept this up, he wouldn’t hesitate to shut them down for good. They had no right to treat his daughter this way.

"Mom, Dad..." Claudia rushed to them, her eyes welling with tears.

"You have to save me," she pleaded. "Harlow warned the guards not to let me out of their sight."

Frank’s expression darkened. "But we have a competition to participate in. Why the hell is she keeping you here dressed like a maid?"

"I... I don’t know, ever since I bragged about the diamond queen, she has been acting weird." Claudia said. She will never admit they were actually at fault to have destroyed Charlotte’s party, in fact, Claudia didn’t think she did anything wrong.

"Yes uncle Frank, Harlow is extremely jealous of Claudia. Not only is Claudia pregnant, but she’s also going to be friends with the diamond queen soon." Lia chimed in, her words only angered Frank more.

Elisa turned to Garth, her voice sharp. "Garth, what’s going on? Why are you all serving as maids?"

Garth barely met her gaze, looking uncomfortable, she was in an embarrassing state and most of all, what she did to get into this trouble was also very embarrassing too. But Lia spoke up before she could.

"It’s all Harlow, Aunt Elisa. She framed us in front of Grandma, made it look like we sabotaged the party, and now we’re being punished, forced to be her maids for a week."

Elisa’s lips pressed into a thin line, fury flashing in her eyes. No daughter of hers would serve that arrogant girl. Harlow had no right to reduce Claudia to this.

"How dare she?" Elisa seethed.

"What is with these ridiculous Hamilton rules?" Frank growled. "Where’s Charlotte? I need to talk to her."

"There’s no point," Garth muttered. "You can’t do anything about it."

The Hamiltons’ rules were ironclad, so powerful that even the president wouldn’t dare challenge their family laws. Before the rules were made, Owrn and Chalan Hamilton had made the royal family seal the decree that no one dared break the rules. That’s how tough their rules were.

Elisa turned to Frank, her voice filled with disgust. "Look at what that girl has done to your daughter. And you still want her in this family?"

If it were up to her, Harlow would have been kicked out long ago, just like before. Elisa had no patience for the daughter of the woman she had already dealt with once. If Harlow thought she could mess with Claudia, she was sorely mistaken.

The same way Elisa had eliminated Harlow’s mother, she would teach Claudia how to do the same.

"I don’t care about you, Garth," Elisa said coldly, "but my daughter is leaving this place right now."

As they turned to leave, a guard stepped in their way. "I’m afraid that’s not possible, ma’am. Orders from my..."

"Keep your stupid orders to yourself," Elisa snapped. "My daughter will not be part of this foolishness. Now move before I do something you’ll regret."

At that moment, the Blackwood guards arrived. The Hamilton guard hesitated before stepping aside. He knew better than to pick a fight with the Blackwoods not because he couldn’t. But because it would ruin the event before them. Harlow would have to deal with this later.

Suddenly, cheers erupted from a part of the building, catching everyone’s attention. Heads turned toward the commotion. Though the person walking past was barely visible, hidden behind a troop of guards, the whispers from the crowd made it clear who she was.

"That’s the Diamond Queen, she’s arrived!" someone murmured excitedly.

"Oh my God, she looks like a diamond," another gasped in awe.

"She’s so beautiful..." Another exclaimed.

Their words gingered Claudia. She clenched her fists. She couldn’t wait to meet the Diamond Queen.

She would beat Harlow at her own game. She would show Harlow exactly who was in charge.

"If the Diamond Queen has arrived, that means the competition is starting soon. Come, Claudia, we need to hurry," Frank urged. This competition was his last chance to regain stability after selling off his company.

"But I have nothing to wear, Father!" Claudia cried. She couldn’t show up looking like a maid, how could the Diamond Queen ever respect her like this?

For weeks, she had been looking forward to this day. She couldn’t afford to fail now.

"That’s not an issue," Elisa said firmly. "I’ll get you something to wear before it starts. Now, let’s go!" She wasted no time, leading them away quickly.

Lia followed at first but then turned back to her mother. "Aren’t you coming with us, Mother?" she asked.

Garth shook her head. She couldn’t bear to be seen like this, not by more people. The shame was already unbearable.

Meanwhile, the grand hall buzzed with excitement. The invited guests had all arrived, eagerly awaiting the start of the competition. This was set to be the biggest diamond competition in all of Halkhalls. The most prestigious diamond companies had entered their finest pieces, all hoping to claim victory.

People were already placing bets. Since the Blackwoods were participating, the majority of wagers favored them. No company had ever managed to defeat the Blackwoods before, and no one expected that to change tonight. Their reputation was unmatched.

Once Claudia had changed into a breathtaking outfit, she hurried back into the building, now adorned in beautiful diamonds herself. Her head was held high as she stood proudly next to their diamond entry.

She had never felt more certain of winning.

After all, she had been carefully preparing for this. For weeks, she had sent gifts to the Diamond Queen, hoping to gain her favor. More than anything, she was eager to finally meet her tonight.

"The Diamond Queen is arriving now!" the announcer’s voice boomed through the hall.

Immediately, the grand double doors swung open. Every eye in the room turned toward the entrance, anticipation thick in the air.

Claudia wasn’t the only one curious to see the legendary Diamond Queen in person.

Her diamonds were said to be the finest in the entire world.

As the bright lights dimmed, a figure stepped forward. A woman with striking red hair clad in the most gorgeous outfit. Harlow had taken out her green dress and was now in a red dress matching her hair perfectly.

She glowed beneath the light, almost blinding.

Gasp flew from one part of the room to another.

Claudia’s eyes widened in shock.

Harlow?