Chapter 776

She looked down at Stewart in the crowd. "There's so much I want to say right now, and you'd probably tell me it isn't necessary, but more than anything, I want to say thank you. Thank you for your endless support and patience. Thank you for always putting me first, ignoring the noise and the risks, and never losing faith in me."

As she spoke, the massive screens zoomed in on Stewart.

He was clapping enthusiastically, his face lit up with pure, unadulterated pride. He looked utterly thrilled for her.

The venue erupted in thunderous applause.

While the ceremony carried on inside, the Spencer and Hawkins families at home were completely floored. At first, they hadn't grasped the sheer weight of Charlene's award.

But once the news broke about her morning at the Tech Innovators Salon-mingling with titans of the industry and giving joint interviews they finally realized the magnitude of her success.

The people at the salon and the gala were heavyweights, folks on the exact same tier as Dr. Wagner.

Basically, the absolute elite of the nation's tech scene were all in that room.

These were people you couldn't just buy access to.

And not only was Charlene rubbing elbows with them, they were actively praising her.

It was glaringly obvious that Dr. Wagner was fast-tracking her into the highest echelons of the industry.

This was a path far brighter and more powerful than anything they had imagined. With this award, Charlene's future was essentially bulletproof.

Realizing this, Maureen Spencer fell into a rare, heavy silence. She got up from the sofa and left the living room, unable to watch another second of the broadcast.

Leah Spencer was seething, though she tried to brush it off. "So what if Dr. Wagner is playing favorites because she works with Stewart? He might want to push her to the top, but does she actually have the skills to back it up? Ha, I doubt it."

Rhoda eagerly agreed. "Exactly! Dr. Wagner is overestimating her. He probably actually believes she wrote all those papers herself. That's the only reason he's backing her In reality... please!"

Raleigh and Corinne Lancaster happened to be visiting the Hawkins family that day.

Listening to Leah and Rhoda tear into Charlene, Raleigh assumed their hatred stemmed from how Charlene had endlessly bullied Vesta.

Vesta knew deep down that Charlene was on a trajectory she could never reach.

Whenever she thought about the massive gap between them, she tried to convince herself she didn't care. They were on different paths, and maybe her life would turn out just as well in the end.

But... every time she saw how wildly successful Charlene had become, the jealousy was impossible to swallow.

Raleigh stayed out of the women's petty remarks, but he kept a close eye on Vesta's crumbling mood.

He figured she was agonizing over the injustice of it all-how the woman who had tormented her was now soaking up adoration and glory, while Vesta had no way to expose the monster hiding behind the brilliant facade.