Jade stared into Melanie's eyes, asking with utmost seriousness, "Do you believe in rebirth?"Melanie blinked, then waved a hand and laughed heartily. "Are you drunk or something? Hahaha!"Jade stayed silent. She knew Melanie would think she was crazy, yet she couldn't ignore the memory of Melanie's previous suffering.Jade held Melanie's hand and asked nervously, "Melanie, can you promise me something?" Seeing Jade's serious expression, Melanie put away her smile and nodded. "Go on.""Could you... not associate with Shane?" Jade asked reluctantly.Melanie's smile froze momentarily as she gazed at Jade with uncertainty, and she struggled to say, "Jade… do you like him?"Jade was speechless."I actually noticed earlier that you've been staring at him." Melanie's expression turned somewhat crestfallen. "If you like him, I can—""What nonsense are you blabbering?" Jade quickly interrupted her, "How did you even come up with the guess that I like him?""Then why don't you want m
"No!" Jade refused outright, trying to brainwash Melanie. "Shane is not a simple person. He's seen all kinds of girls, so don't delude yourself into thinking he likes you."Melanie pouted. "Jade, why do you have such a big issue with him? It's not easy for me to have someone like me for once, and you're just discouraging me."Melanie wasn't bad-looking, with a round face that was quite cute, albeit slightly chubby. Plus, she was easygoing and carefree, so even if someone liked her, he wouldn't dare confess to her. Consequently, she had remained single over the years.Shane had a poised demeanor and smooth eloquence, precisely the image of a perfect man in Melanie's eyes. His appearance ignited her flames of romance and set them ablaze.Jade frowned, concerned that Melanie might fall into Shane's trap if she continued like this.Jade explained, "It's not that I don't want you to date, but he may not be as good as you imagine. Before getting too close, it's wise to observe his chara
"Once my medicine hits the market, who will it pose the greatest threat to?" Jade asked back.Melanie instantly grasped the key point of the issue. "Kerry Pharmaceuticals. No wonder Lloyd has been so quiet lately. He's trying to stir trouble.""He's hitting three birds with one stone—helping Neve, doing the crew a favor, and tarnishing my reputation. He's really cunning," Jade couldn't help but sneer.In her previous life, she had known that Lloyd was quite scheming and never showed mercy to his rivals. She hadn't expected him to use these tactics against her now, though."What should we do? We can't let him continue slandering you like this," Melanie said with concern. The medicine hadn't hit the market yet, and this damaging information about Jade had already surfaced, so it would definitely affect the company.Jade, who was unfazed, grabbed her bag and smiled at Melanie. "Let him be. The medicine will still hit the market. Do you think I'll stop just because of this?"Melanie
Jacob insisted. "If you don't comply, I can't guarantee what kind of shameless acts I might resort to. I've already reached the end of my rope, so I might as well tell the media that I slept with you. Who cares about the truth? People will only find it entertaining.""Do you not have any shame?" Jade felt her blood boiling at that moment. She knew Jacob was shameless, but she didn't think he would stoop so low."A broke, powerless heir is no different from a maggot. If I'm going down, I'll take everyone down with me. What do I have to fear?"Jade closed her eyes. She had to coax Jacob first. "I don't have that much money on hand right now. 7,000,000 dollars is impossible, but I can give you 700,000 dollars. If you want it, I can transfer it to you now. If not, so be it.""Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?" Jacob sneered. "Good job, Jade, you've got guts."As soon as he said that, he hung up.Jade stared at the blank screen of her phone, a sense of foreboding washing over her
The room was dimly lit, like a beast with a gaping mouth that was ready to feed. Jade took a deep breath, ready to step inside, when the bodyguards stopped Owen. "Only she can go in.""No way, I have to accompany her." Owen insisted. He refused to let Jade enter alone, but the bodyguards blocked him and threatened him. "Don't make things difficult for us."Not wanting the situation to escalate, Jade told Owen, "It's okay, I'll be out soon.""I'll wait outside. If anyone tries to harm you, just shout for me," Owen said with concern.Jade nodded and pushed open the door to enter.Inside, she saw men and women in pairs and groups. It took a while for Jade to adjust to the lighting and see who was sitting there.One of the men was wearing a large gold chain around his neck and had a bald head and women on both his arms—Bobby Dickens. He looked at Jade with interest and kicked the cowering Jacob while asking, "Is she your sister?"Jacob, who looked like a startled rabbit, glanced at
Jade abruptly stopped moving the foot that had stepped out. What should she do?At that moment, the door was kicked open and Owen barged in with his men. He glanced anxiously at Jade, relieved to see her unharmed after spotting Jacob writhing on the floor. He had thought something had happened to Jade."Oh, brought some backup, huh? No wonder you're so bold." Bobby tossed his cigarette butt to the floor and gestured to his men. "No one leaves alive after messing with me."At that command, several of his men lunged at Owen. Although he could fight, he was outnumbered. After a few rounds, he began to lose ground and sustained some injuries.In spite of this, Jade remained well-protected and unscathed throughout the fight.Bobby's underlings were all beaten up. Bobby was used to having his way, and no one had ever dared to defy him like this. Seeing his men being beaten, he ordered, "Block the door. If there's no bloodshed today, don't bother coming back."He had over a dozen men wi
Jade's fearless demeanor intimidated the thugs. No one dared to approach her, afraid she might actually set the place on fire."What are you waiting for? Attack, you useless pieces of trash!" Bobby yelled furiously. He wouldn't rest until he saw Jade dead today.His underlings, who saw his fury, bit their tongues and charged at Jade.The bottle in Jade's hand was snatched away, and she took a heavy punch to the head before collapsing on the sofa. While she was in a daze, she felt someone tearing at her clothes. Amidst the evil laughter of men and Owen's angry shouts, she fought to remain conscious, but her awareness gradually faded.She felt someone pressing down on her, then heard a loud bang as she struggled. Suddenly, the weight on her lifted as the man above her was thrown against the wall.All Jade could see was chaotic lighting. Then, the world seemed to freeze and go silent. She could even hear the beating of her own heart."Mr—Mr. Fitzgerald," someone gasped in terror, as
"I've been so foolish!" Leah cried as she finally released the emotions she had been holding back for so long."I think you’ve been foolish too," Kennedy grunted as he strode in, followed by Caelan.When he saw Jade's injuries, Kennedy's expression became grim. "You know Jade almost lost her life because of this, yet you only cared about your own grandson. If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to face Jade."As Kennedy's words grew harsher, Jade hurriedly interrupted him. "Grandpa, please don't say that. I don't blame Grandma. I was not aware of the danger. This had nothing to do with anyone else.""Even now, you're still defending this old woman. From now on, don't meddle in the Severins’ affairs again." Others might not understand, but Kennedy knew the sacrifices Jade had made for the Severins.While everyone else thought Jade was a heartless opportunist, Kennedy knew she had been trying to prevent the Severins from falling apart, which was why she had reluctantly taken on this mess