"But your friend—" Jessica said."She's not my friend," Angeline cut her off gently. "I don't have many friends, but they're the best friends I could ask for. I'll bring them over for a meal in a few days so that you can meet them, okay?""How can you say I'm not your friend, Angie? We grew up together! Are you upset at me because of Ingrid?" Mallory sounded like she was about to cry. She turned to Jessica again. "Ms. Lawson…"Jessica turned to glance at Mallory, whose fists were clenched as she stood by the couch. She thought about what Angeline had said, then said hesitantly, "But this…""She's here to ask Lawson Global for help. She couldn't get into the building, so she got in here by pretending to be my friend." Angeline smiled at Jessica. "We were in the same school when we were younger, but we're not friends."Jessica looked uneasy. "Have I caused trouble for you? I just wanted to know more about your past…""No, of course not. I know you only let her in because you heard
Mallory glared at Jamie and snatched her bag from him, her chest heaving with rage. She turned to look at Angeline. "You've crossed the line, Angeline!"Angeline scowled, obviously having already run out of patience. "Miles signed a VAM agreement, right? If you don't want me to interfere in this and make the Locke family go bankrupt after the VAM agreement falls through, you'd better stay out of my life. Don't show up before me anymore."After that, she looked at Taylor, signaling for him to see Mallory out. Mallory swallowed hard. "Ned's the one who abandoned you back then, Angeline. Not me! Why do you have to treat me like this?""Ms. Locke, this way, please…" Taylor stepped forward and gestured for Mallory to follow him."Fine. Fine! I get it now—since you've been adopted by the Lawson family and are now their heiress, your childhood friends aren't worthy of you anymore, right? To think I spoke up for you online!""Once upon a time, I genuinely considered you guys my friends, t
Tears started streaming down Mallory's face as she raged. "You were in a coma, and Zachary had already given up on you… He was already going to accept me and be with me! Then, you just had to wake up, even after Ned had lost his memories."Once you woke up, Zachary thought he stood a chance again. You became the center of his life, and he spent all his time caring for you and protecting you. You were pathetic enough to chase after Ned, and Zachary was pathetic enough to protect you!"Why didn't you die in that accident? Why did you have to wake up? If not for you, we would've all found our respective happily-ever-afters!"Angeline's iciness was a stark contrast to Mallory's hysteria. "Look at how much you hate me. And yet, here you are, trying to pretend that we're the best of friends. Aren't you more pathetic than I ever was?"She turned to Jamie. "Has her tweet recounting my past with Ned been deleted?"He nodded. "Yes, Ms. Lawson."She turned back to face Mallory, who was trem
Zachary's words angered Mallory again. "I may have ulterior motives for claiming to be Angeline's friend, but are you any better? Do you think veryone was blind to your feelings for her when she was still with Ned? What right do you have to lecture me?""Mallory!" Zachary was mad now. "Even if I had feelings for Angie, I never crossed the line! Don't even think about using this to mock me! And if this matter is such a thorn in your side, we can just get divorced!"He hung up without another word."Zachary Stone!" Mallory shrieked. She clutched her phone tightly as she stared at the ended call. She was this close to having an emotional breakdown.Divorce? Zachary had actually threatened to divorce her!Her hands trembled, and tears filled her eyes. She flung her phone onto the seat and tried to hold back her tears. She snapped at the driver, "Pull over once we're out of the old Lawson residence's compound. Then, get out of the car!"The driver didn't dare defy her. He pulled over
Mallory felt even more aggrieved than before. "But… I feel so wronged, Miles! I'm Zachary's wife, but he's not on my side at all. He shouted at me as soon as Angeline told on me!"Miles sighed. "Everyone's already told you that Angie isn't the same person anymore, yet you just had to go look for her behind our backs. We all know that we only allowed her into our circle because of Ned."She's gone from being Angeline Emmerson to Angeline Lawson now, and she's the heiress of one of Krontos' four most prestigious families. We don't run in the same circles anymore!"He paused, then continued, "I'll be honest with you—we've never considered Angie our friend. All she was to us was Ned's girlfriend. That's why we can't hope that she'll think of us as friends now. It's only right."After talking sense into Mallory, he sighed again. "Alright, that's enough talking. Come home, okay? And be good—don't go looking for Angie anymore.""But what about your VAM agreement?" Mallory had never been
Mallory couldn't help feeling fearful as she recalled how Angeline had sounded when she'd spoken to Taylor earlier. She clutched her phone tighter and said, "This is a critical juncture for our family, and Angeline has the upper hand on us…"She's become the only heiress to the Lawson family after they adopted her and after Sean's death. If she gets the word out, there's no doubt we'll lose the VAM agreement. What are we gonna do now, Miles? Have I caused more trouble again? I meant well, really…"She started crying again.Miles remained silent on the other end of the line, clenching his fist around his pen. After a while, he said, "At least I know about it now. Whatever you do, don't seek Angie out anymore. I'll explain things to her. And make sure you don't have anything else to do with the Emmersons."I'll have someone keep an eye on them to ensure they won't do anything to drag you into the fray. Also… when you get home, tell Zachary all about this. He's on better terms with An
"Grandma, that sounds… Think about how many years have passed since then. I don't think it's really possible if you say the woman looks just like my mom did when she first came to our home. Look at Aunt Katie—she doesn't look the same as she did when she was young, right?" Benjamin couldn't help feeling doubtful at Juliet's words."I agree that the woman looks almost identical to Jay. I thought I was looking at Jay when she first arrived! But Benjamin's right. If she really is Jay, there's no way she can look so young. Still…" Katie's eyes lit up. "Maybe she's Jay's sister! Maybe Jay's parents had another child after she went missing!"She grew even more excited. "I remember Benjamin's maternal grandfather's surname was Lawson, right? Do you think they're the same Lawsons as the ones who've adopted Angeline?"George straightened up at that. "But… didn't they say Benjamin's grandfather is a professor? Didn't they say Jay's an only daughter?""Well, she would've been an only daughter
Even if the woman in Mallory's photo really were Benjamin's aunt, the Lawson family wouldn't care about the Emmersons. This was especially true for Robert."Why aren't you saying anything, George?" Katie turned to look at him. "You're the head of the family, so we need you to make the decisions. We're running out of money now. Benjamin dumped all his money into that game, and we paid through our nose when those gangsters came after us."Benjamin's health is getting worse by the day, and we can't get close to Jodie at all. Benjamin doesn't have a kidney donor, and we all know what'll happen if we drag things out. You have to say something!"Benjamin had already fled the earlier hospital to stay at a hospital in the county. The money that people had donated online was almost all gone. Though the Emmersons had earned some money by putting on a pitiful act during live streams, their reputation had already gone down the drain.When they'd tried live streaming again, the comments had all