Jessamine smiled bitterly at Selene's words. She opened the company's email and saw an email from Amy. It was forwarded to everyone in the department. Attached to the email was the design verification report.So, this was why Amy hadn't done anything for a day after getting out of the hospital. She was waiting to release this report.Jessamine opened the company's official website and saw the announcement occupying the homepage's largest section. It was about a popular product that would be launched at their quarterly press conference.That product was Andromeda, a pendant she had designed. It was nearly complete, needing only the finishing touches. That pendant design was what Amy used to assert her authority as chief designer in Holt Jewelry.Jessamine returned to her senses. First, she wrote a resignation email and sent it to Thaddeus. Then, she contacted the people at Swan and sent them the design draft for Andromeda. Finally, she turned off her computer and left the company.
Thaddeus had been busy all morning. When he saw Jessamine's resignation email, he was pissed. He rubbed his temple with one hand and dialed Jessamine's office number, wanting to call her over to teach her a lesson. However, she didn't answer the phone, even after he called her several times."Jordan, get Jessamine from the design department," Thaddeus said. Since calling her didn't work, he had to ask someone to bring her up.Jordan noticed Thaddeus' dark expression and went downstairs without asking any questions. He didn't know what happened but knew he had to be careful.The design department was lifeless. When Jordan walked to Jessamine's workstation, he noticed her desk was tidy and spotless. Her computer was off, and her seat was arranged neatly. It didn't look like anyone had been there.Having a bad feeling, he asked Selene, "Hello, do you know where Jessamine went?"When Selene realized it was Jordan asking, she was so nervous that she stuttered. "S-She turned off the c
If Thaddeus found out Jessamine also left the house without saying goodbye, how angry would he be? Jordan was scared just thinking about it.…Meanwhile, Thomas lectured Jessamine after she hung up on Jordan. "Jessie, how can you resign? I'll transfer you to other departments. Since you've been in the design department, why don't you try the marketing department? "Try to figure out the company's business flow in a year. Then, you can run the company with Ted. I want you to work in different departments because it's useless for others to teach you. You have to gain experience yourself."Jessamine knew Thomas had high hopes for her and didn't know what to say. She could only apologize. "I'm sorry, Grandpa,""You fool. Spend some time relaxing with me first. Then, I'll let you join the marketing department when you return. Don't worry. That brat Ted won't have any objections."Thomas looked solemn, his mind reeling. Thaddeus had to keep Jessamine in the company even if he didn'
There was a heavy and gloomy atmosphere in Holt Jewelry that afternoon.Thaddeus got off work wearily. His eyes lit up slightly as the car passed a restaurant in the city center. The restaurant was small, and their food was just average. He wondered why a picky eater like Jessamine loved the food from this place."Stop the car."Jordan quickly found a place to stop the car, fearing he'd be punished if he was too slow. At this juncture, he dared not upset Thaddeus. He carefully stopped the car on the side of the road.Thaddeus looked outside the window and said, "Buy some empanadas."Jordan wondered why Thaddeus wanted some empanadas. His boss normally never spared a second glance at small restaurants like this one. He also vaguely remembered that Thaddeus didn't like empanadas.He was about to get out of the car when Thaddeus said, "I'll buy it myself."Thaddeus got out of the car, fastened the bottom button of his suit, and strode to the restaurant. He looked handsome and digni
Thomas calmly placed a chess piece as if he hadn't heard the phone ring."Aren't you going to answer that, Grandpa?" Jessamine asked. Thomas paused at her words and rejected the call. Then, he refocused his attention on the chess game. However, the phone rang again.Thomas scoffed, "How annoying. He's still calling me even after I rejected the call. How can he manage a company when he's this dense?"Upon hearing Thomas' words, Jessamine guessed that Thaddeus was the one calling him. She picked up a peanut from the table out of boredom. "You better answer that, Grandpa. It could be something important."Thomas was unhappy at the mention of Thaddeus. "There's no way it could be important. He just wants to blame me for taking his wife away."Jessamine sputtered at his words. Thomas answered the call and asked impatiently, "Why the hell are you calling? You've ruined my good mood."Thaddeus felt resigned. Thomas refused to answer his calls, and when he finally got through to him,
Thaddeus tossed and turned in bed for a long time. Soon, he was sure of one thing. His insomnia was back.He found the sleeping pills that Lana had given him before and took one. Then, he slept in the study.The next day, he was woken up by his phone ringing. "We're in trouble, Mr. Holt." Jordan's voice trembled over the phone."What is it?""The people at Swan contacted me last night. Andromeda, the pendant featured on our official website for the new quarter, is almost identical to the one Lolly designed for Swan," Jordan explained. He continued, "Fortunately, they haven't made the finished product, but they have a prototype. I've compared both designs, and it's difficult to know which one is the original." Lolly was an extraordinary designer. When anyone's design matched the style of her designs, no one would be stupid enough to suspect Lolly of plagiarism. They would only think that others had plagiarized her.Jordan dared not bring up the plagiarism.Thaddeus was so sh
"Mr. Holt, someone as skilled as Lolly wouldn't copy any person's designs. There's only one possibility. Since we've copied her designs, we need to ask the designer about the situation.""Mr. Holt, we don't condone plagiarism. Holt Jewelry has risen to the top because of the excellent jewelry that designers make. We can't discredit their hard work. In so many years, we've never had such a scandal.Thaddeus became angrier as he listened to their words. Of course, he couldn't tolerate plagiarism. Plagiarizing would only invite trouble. However, these people decisively believed that Amy had copied Lolly's designs before they even heard her explanation. He was a little disappointed in them for not trusting the designer he had hired.Everyone started talking again until they heard a voice that made them go quiet. "Mr. Holt, Holt Jewelry's stock market has a limit-down drop."Everyone was stunned hearing the news.Holt Jewelry had more than 100 shares of their stock. If they had a li
Amy returned to her workstation and immediately found the design draft she had hidden. She was glad she hadn't thrown it away. When she presented this design to Holt Jewelry, she never expected anything like this to happen.Since she had the design draft, there was no way anyone else could accuse her of plagiarism. No plagiarist would have the original design draft with them. She was full of confidence, and she wanted to take revenge on those who wanted to watch her suffer.Amy took a photo of the design draft from several angles and posted it on Twitter. Then, she posted the documents and manuscript and declared that she would investigate the rumors against her.She mentioned Holt Jewelry's official account, jewelry appraisers, and Swan's official account in her post. After that, she exited Twitter, satisfied with her work. She never took this little misunderstanding seriously.Her post quickly attracted the attention of many people. Initially, this scandal hadn't spread so quickl
Thaddeus was dumbfounded. Why hadn't he considered using blood types to eliminate the possibility first?"My dad has type O blood."Jessamine's stroked his Adam's apple softly and deliberately. "My mom has type B blood, and I have type AB blood. Do you think it's possible that we could be long-lost siblings?"Thaddeus thought for some time and couldn't help but burst out in hearty laughter. It was impossible for someone with type B blood and someone with type O blood to have a child with AB type blood. What was he worrying about?At that moment, he couldn't believe how foolish he'd been. Biology was his best subject in school, yet he didn't think about this until Jessamine reminded him. His biology teacher would be furious if they knew."Why didn't you say so earlier, Jessie?" He regretted not talking to her about it sooner and ended up suffering in prolonged silence by himself.After Jessamine got bored touching his Adam's apple, she started playing with his rough chin. "I just
Jessamine lay still for a long time, aware that Thaddeus was also awake, battling insomnia just like her.This visit to Zenville to solve one mystery ended up bringing her an even bigger one.The gathering took place years ago in the restaurant owned by Benji's family. She had even asked Benji about it. The surveillance footage from over 20 years ago wouldn't be around now, and even the staff had changed several times. The restaurant's manager from back then had left the job many years ago.It wasn't easy to uncover the truth from back then unless they found the people who were directly involved. The closer they got to the truth, the more pressure she felt.By investigating this matter now, she was essentially peeling back the layers that had been hiding a much deeper issue. As she confronted the dark side of human nature, the ultimate victim ended up being her beloved mother.If Jessamine didn't look into this matter, she felt like she would be letting Elizabeth down. She wanted
Thaddeus frowned immensely at his request. "Don't be ridiculous!""I'm serious. You could help me rent one too. You know, the kind that charges by the day. I'll fool my dad first. We'll deal with everything else once he gets better," Benji said.Thaddeus cursed inwardly, "Dude, don't drag me into this, especially with my wife watching. It sounds like you're implying I have ways to get or rent women."Thaddeus glanced back at Jessamine and said, "I don't know about this. You should ask someone else. If you're at your wits end, go ask one of the assistants in your company to help you out."Benji seemed to come to a realization. He said, "It's getting late. You all should go back and rest. There are doctors here. I'll stay and keep watch."Jessamine asked, "Can you handle this on your own, Mr. Moore?""Sure, thank you… all of you," Benji replied.After saying a few more words of comfort, Jessamine and Thaddeus went downstairs to the car. Thaddeus' phone started ringing again."Mr.
Maya also knelt by the bed and started crying."Dad, don't speak for now. Please be okay."Benji zoned out. Seeing Carmen and Maya crying, his mind was in a mess. He realized that he couldn't continue to live aimlessly—his family needed him now."A girlfriend, a girlfriend..." he mumbled, not even sure of what he was saying.The doctor hurried to the room upon hearing the call, checked on Jonathan again, and then sent the family away."The patient needs rest and should avoid additional emotional stress. You all can wait outside for now. There's no need for everyone to be here, one would be enough. The room can be stuffy if there's too many people here, too."They then left the room. Benji was holding the X-ray images of Jonathan's brain, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He felt completely lost.Shane quietly slipped away from the crowd after watching from afar. He went to an empty hallway and called his father. "Dad, are you free to analyze some X-ray images? It's for a fri
Benji had always lived a smooth and pleasant life. It hit him hard after hearing what the doctor said, leaving him in a state of shock and bewilderment."Mom, hasn't Dad always been in good health? How did he suddenly..."Carmen's eyes were red and swollen from crying."He mentioned feeling dizzy a few times recently and said he'd go for a check-up but actually never did. Plus, he's been swamped with work lately and hasn't got any time. Today, he suddenly fainted at the office. His assistant called an ambulance right away and brought him to the hospital. By the time I got the call, he was already being examined inside."Benji's face turned pale. With Jonathan down, the burden of supporting his family fell on him. He had been free from responsibility for the past 20 years, and now, suddenly having to shoulder this heavy load, he felt completely lost.His father had been asking him to get familiar with the company's operations a long time ago. However, he was too lazy to bother abou
Benji never had any grand ambitions. From the day he was born, people always told him that he didn't need to worry about anything since most problems in this world could be solved with money, and his family had plenty of it. He just wanted to drift through life."I don't need to surpass him. As long as I can cover my daily expenses and not have to ask him for money, that's enough," Benji replied.As they were talking, Shane had prepared a table full of dishes. He set out four sets of plates and cutleries before calling everyone over to eat. "It's time to eat."The four of them hadn't seen each other in a long time, so they had to have a drink.Jessamine looked at the beautifully prepared dishes on the table and couldn't help but offer a compliment. "Shane, your cooking skills have gotten so good."Shane opened a bottle of red wine and poured some for everyone. "What can I do? There's a glutton at home."Benji was not happy with Shane's comment. What did he mean by saying there wa
"It's great that you came by today, Jessie. I'll pay you back the money. Friends who are willing to lend money these days are rare, so I want to thank you again," Benji said.He hadn't repaid the money he borrowed last time yet. Coincidentally, he received some money today, so he decided to settle the debt in person. With that, he picked up his phone to make the transfer.Jessamine's phone chimed, indicating that a payment had been received. The amount was a bit more than what she had lent out."Mr. Moore, I'm not here to ask you to settle your debt. You can keep it for now. I won't need the money for the time being," Jessamine said."If one borrows and returns promptly, borrowing again won't be difficult. You're much easier to talk to than Thaddeus. Despite knowing him for so many years, borrowing money from him is such a hassle. You saw it last time yourself. That scoundrel's attitude was terrible!" Benji complained.At this point in the conversation, Thaddeus happened to arrive
Thaddeus tightened his grip on Jessamine's slender waist. "What am I going to do with you, Jessie?"He thought to himself that if things really were just that coincidental, he would rather play the fool and pretend to know nothing at all. He just couldn't leave her.Jessamine asked softly, "How about you ask your dad?"Thaddeus paused for a moment and took out his phone to call Corey. He couldn't calm his mind at all.After a few seconds of hearing the dial tone, the call was answered."Dad," Thaddeus said.On the other end of the phone, Corey was about to go to sleep. He had been adjusting his routine lately, aiming to go to bed early and wake up early."What’s up?" Corey asked."Do you remember the gathering over 20 years ago with Mr. Hardy, Jacob Langston, Leon Lincoln, Paxton Loomis, and a few others?"After that, Thaddeus added, "That night, a beautiful woman came over. She drank some alcohol and was drugged."There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the ph
On the other side, Jessamine and Thaddeus got into the car.Jessamine and Beatrice were quite familiar with each other. However, it was Jessamine's first time meeting Sabastian. Surprisingly, she had a pretty good impression of him."Do the Hardy and Holt families have business dealings with each other?"Thaddeus drove as he answered her question, "We don't have much interaction. We would occasionally invest in small projects and conduct some charity work in Zenville together."Mr. Hardy is an upright and trustworthy person. He has a good relationship with Grandpa. Hayden would often come to my house with him when I was young."Jessamine paused for a moment and asked, "Does he have a wife?""Hayden's mother passed away from an amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth. Since then, Mr. Hardy has remained single and never remarried."Jessamine was deeply moved. In this era, who would remain loyal for a lifetime to their deceased wives? Most men like Sabastian, who had both power a