"Thank you, then," Aspen said with a smile as she hung up the phone. "Like I said, life isn't just about stone gambling and these trivial antiquities. Power and connections are my ultimate weapons to crush you, Andrew!"

Christina asked hesitantly, "Aspen, who did you call for help? From what we saw during the stone gambling, Ms. Santana and Andrew weren't cheating or manipulating anything."

Aspen waved her off. "Stay out of this, Christie. That Andrew must have set me up. Why else would I lose so badly? Remember how he insisted on raising the stakes before we even started? That should have been my first red flag, but I foolishly missed it."

Christina nodded uncertainly, not wanting to interfere further. Though Aspen treated her like a close friend, there was still a social gap between them since Aspen came from the main branch of the Bridgefields' Stevens family.

"Aspen, Elsie works for Silas Vaughn at Radiant Group, and Andrew now knows many Jayrodale socialites," Christina re