Chapter 23 The Restaurant Showdown
The manager completely ignored Hannah. He quickly walked over to Francesca and said politely, “Ladies, we’ve got your table ready. Please, follow me.”
Hannah couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, but when the manager painted to the VIP room, her jealousy flared. Even with Hannah’s current rank, she couldn’t even get into that room. She glared at Nina and Francesca and moved to block their path.
Ellen, too, wore an arrogant look. She had just realized that Nina was the young lady of the Lowell family. Though she was surprised Francesca was eating with Nina, she still thought Nina’s status wasn’t high enough to make her back down.
“Miss Lowell, I suggest you choose your friends carefully,” Ellen said with a sneer. “You shouldn’t be hanging out with a bad apple like her. Aren’t you worried about ruining your family’s reputation?”
Francesca’s gaze was sharp, her voice calm but cutting. “Maybe it’s you who should be careful. It’s beneath you to talk like that in public.”
Ellen’s face flushed with anger. She stomped her foot. “Who do you think you are? How dare you talk back to me? Are you all deaf? Get them out of here!”
The manager cleared his throat and spoke firmly, “Mrs. and Miss Landon, if you don’t stop causing a scene, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Ellen and Hannah were stunned. “What did you say?” Ellen hissed. “I’m going to cancel my membership!”
Threatening to cancel the membership was a classic move. After all, they had paid 200 thousand dollars for it, and no restaurant wanted to risk losing two big clients over one woman they saw as insignificant.
But then, Francesca’s cold stare cut through the tension. “Take them to the back to sort it out.”
The manager gave a small nod. “Of course, ladies. Please follow me, I’ll take care of it.”
Ellen and Hannah stood frozen, their faces full of shock. Hannah fumed, “You think you can just do whatever you want? Who do you think you are?!”
“She is the owner of the restaurant!” Nina snapped, her anger rising, itching to punch them both.
Ellen froze, confused. When did this restaurant become Francesca’s? Then it clicked. Raymond must’ve bought it for her.
The thought made Ellen, nearing 50, burn with jealousy. She cursed herself for being fooled by Francesca’s sweet, innocent act back when she was in the Landon family.
Ellen shot Francesca a venomous glare. Even though Francesca now owned the restaurant, she wasn’t worried. She had played the role of the evil mother–in–law for years and had never once failed. “So, you’re a gold digger, huh? Landed yourself a restaurant, lucky for you.
“Good thing Benedict kicked you out of the family, who knows how much of our fortune you’d have taken? But here’s the thing: no matter who you get cozy with, if you mess with me, you’ll regret it.”
Francesca smiled coldly. Her ex–mother–in–law and sister–in–law were still as insufferable as ever.
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Francesca knew the Landon family could use their Mafia connections to try to shut the restaurant down, but she didn’t care. If Benedict sent anyone after her, she would make sure they wouldn’t get far.
Hannah rolled her eyes, speaking up. “Or you could just hand over the restaurant to us, and we’ll drop it.”
This place served high–profile clients, and the membership fees alone were worth hundreds of millions each year. It was no surprise they were jealous.
However, Francesca just turned to the manager, still smiling. “Get them out of here,”
“You bitch, how dare you!” Ellen’s temper flared. She raised her hand to slap Francesca.
