At this moment, facing Craig, the receptionist’s professional smile held a clear undercurrent of resentment.
“Before Ms. Serena arrived, a woman from Event Room 303 called to say she was coming to cause trouble for you, Mr. Craig, and asked us not to let her in. Ms. Serena tried to call you, but you didn’t respond, so we followed procedure and asked her to fill out a form. Later, our staff brought that form to your room to confirm, and the response we received was to kick her out.”
“We were simply doing our job—protecting our members' rights. And because of that, over twenty employees lost theirs.”
What was once restrained resentment now poured out completely.
Azure Club had deep connections and served true elites. The local nouveau riche crowd only helped maintain foot traffic—they were in no way entitled to special treatment. And yet, those very people had used the staff as pawns, turned them into scapegoats, and walked away clean.
If every guest behaved this way, where would Azure Club’s dignity go?
The fact that the receptionist dared to speak this plainly meant she had the store manager’s backing.
Craig had never been this humiliated.
He pulled out a card. “This is a hundred thousand. Consider it compensation to the club.”
“That won’t be necessary,” the receptionist said, polite but cold. “The club’s losses exceed anything you could pay.”
“And one more thing: the guest you brought today—Ms. Kelly—has been blacklisted from Azure Club. Please do not bring her again. It puts us in a difficult position... and reflects poorly on your own reputation.”
Craig swallowed hard. “Understood.”
Meanwhile, Kelly was still basking in everyone’s praise, completely unaware that she’d just gone from being banned by the school nurse’s office to being blacklisted by Azure Club.
Half an hour later, the party ended. As she walked out with Craig, a loud alarm blared at the entry gate, nearly scaring her half to death.
“What the hell?! Do you know how terrifying that was for a guest?”
The guards didn’t move. The greeters didn’t flinch. No one offered her a word of comfort.
They said nothing out of respect for Craig, but their looks made it clear: they knew.
Only people on the club’s blacklist triggered that kind of alert. The last time they’d seen it, it was for a playboy who’d tried to bring in escorts.
No one spoke. Everyone just looked at her in silence.
Ever so recently, she’d been the center of attention. Now she was invisible.
Her expression faltered, just for a moment.
“I’ll admit I don’t like Serena. But I wouldn’t stoop that low.”
Craig didn’t argue. He just swallowed his frustration.
This cousin of his—just like his grandmother—would never admit fault. He used to think it was just pride. Now he realized it was dangerous.
Getting blacklisted from Azure Club meant her social climb was over. At least in this circle.
Luckily, she was smart. She’d made it to Hayes Corp’s final selection and was joining Horizon Research Institute’s Advanced Research Team. She could still take the academic route.
People had their paths. Craig didn’t feel like lecturing her anymore.
After all, how do you teach someone who can’t admit they’re wrong?
At that moment, Quinton pulled out his phone and sent Serena a message.

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