Jade, who should have been in the room, was nowhere to be found. Instead, her beloved daughter, Neve, was there."Get away, you scumbag!" Gemma went crazy and lunged at the two people on the bed, pulling the man away from Neve and wrapping her tightly in the blanket.Neve was still under the influence of the drug, and the sudden emptiness dissatisfied her. She struggled out of Gemma's embrace and pounced toward the man, mumbling, "Don't go, I want more."Gemma wished she could die right then and there. She couldn't understand why Neve had ended up there, even though the drug had been meant for Jade.What on earth was going on?"Get out, all of you!" Gemma roared at the people standing at the door, feeling like she wanted to die.It was only now that Caelan relaxed slightly. He had also thought that the person inside was Jade. Seeing that it was Neve, he instantly understood what was going on."Mrs. Severin, is this the scandal you were talking about? The one that would affect th
At this point, she covered her mouth in surprise and pretended to be afraid. "Could someone have spiked the drinks?"The fact that the older sister had brought food laced with drugs at the younger sister's engagement ceremony was just too sensational.Gemma panicked now that her counterattack had failed. "Jade, don't speak without a conscience. Your engagement is a big deal for the Severins. Neve was really happy. How could she have harmed you? She knew you were getting engaged and she even asked me to give you a diamond bracelet. How can you turn against your sister when she treated you like this?"Gemma had a knack for distorting right and wrong. She captured perfectly the pained expression of a victim, and her performance even made the reporters present hesitate.Her acting skills would probably give a movie star a run for their money."Mom, why are you so agitated? I just said that someone spiked the drinks, but I didn't say it was Neve, did I?" Jade lowered her eyes, feeling
The reporters were sharp-tongued, and every question hit a sore spot in Gemma. It was something she didn't want to face but had to.Gemma panicked, helplessly watching as everyone pointed fingers at her, vehemently denying it all. "It's pure nonsense. Regardless of whether Jade is my biological daughter or not, I raised her. A marriage alliance with the Fitzgeralds would only benefit the Severins. What reason could I have to do such a thing? If you keep spreading rumors, I'll sue you."After a brief moment of panic, Gemma got her bearings. Even though Neve had been caught red-handed, Gemma would still try to spin the situation in her favor."Even if Neve added something to the drinks, who can find proof that it was an aphrodisiac?"It had to be said that Gemma was eloquent, and the reporters were all left stupefied by her words."Proof? Are you talking about this?" Caelan, who had been coldly watching Gemma's theatrics, finally spoke up.He opened his palm, revealing a bottle. "I
"Mr. Fitzgerald, can we have a word?" Melvin looked at Caelan pleadingly, as Caelan was the most authoritative figure there. As long as he spoke up, the situation would be resolved.However, Caelan ignored Melvin and turned to Jade.Jade was calm, but there was an icy coldness in her eyes, as if she was harboring a tremendous amount of energy that was ready to explode at any moment.Melvin also noticed Jade's expression and immediately reacted. "Jade, today is your engagement day, so we can't afford any mishaps. If this gets exposed by the media, it won't be good for you."Although he seemed to be saying this for Jade's sake, Melvin was thinking of his own interests. If Neve's situation was exposed, it would be difficult for her to marry into a wealthy family.Everyone subconsciously looked at Jade, as if she could resolve the situation with a word and turn a crisis into nothing.Jade smirked. "Dad, you know today is my engagement day, but Mom and Neve gave me such a big 'gift' o
Caelan didn't look good. Melvin's statement hadn't diffused the situation. On the contrary, it had made it even more tense. He had not wanted to witness this scandal today."Escort the guests out," Caelan said coldly.Samuel gestured to the journalists to leave, then led them to the hotel lobby. The journalists were anxious, unable to guess what Caelan was thinking. Should they publish this sensational scandal or not?"What did Mr. Fitzgerald mean, Mr. Ritson?" someone dared to ask.Samuel clasped his hands with a polite smile on his face. "This is a Severin affair. What does it have to do with Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald?"The implication was that since Melvin had already asked for a divorce from Gemma, they had distanced themselves. No matter how the reporters wrote about the story, it wouldn't affect the Fitzgeralds or Jade. As for Gemma and Neve, they were no longer the Fitzgeralds’ concern."Oh, now that you put it that way, I understand completely, Mr. Ritson." The journalists
In her past life, the Fitzgerald Group's stocks had plummeted due to the scandal. Even though the blame had been pinned on Gemma and the Severins this time, the Fitzgerald Group would still be affected to some extent.Jade felt powerless to change the situation. She got out of Caelan's car and watched helplessly as it disappeared into the distance.Inside the car, Caelan had a frosty expression on his face. Samuel saw his cold face in the rearview mirror and felt sympathy for Jade."Sir, I don't think Ms. Jade did anything wrong," Samuel finally said after holding back for so long.Caelan looked at him icily. "Are you accusing me of being heartless and cruel?"Samuel thought that Caelan was indeed heartless but he didn't dare be direct with him. He could only say, "I'm just saying that Ms. Jade's way of forcing Melvin to divorce Gemma was obviously in the best interests of the Fitzgerald Group, and you know it."Of course Caelan knew this, but he hated being disregarded, especial
"What do you mean?" Melvin felt a bit panicked upon seeing Gemma's confident demeanor.He had lived with her for over 20 years, so they both knew each other's secrets quite well. Gemma's tone just now had clearly been threatening."I mean exactly what I said." Gemma smirked sinisterly. "Don't think I don't know about all the dirty things you've done. Over the years, you've evaded paying taxes, used company funds for high-interest loans, and bribed officials. I've kept a record of everything.""You wretched woman, how dare you scheme against me?!" Melvin lost control and moved to hit Gemma, but she unexpectedly retaliated with a slap."I said what needed to be said. If I don't get what I want, Melvin, you won't have it easy either. Once I hand over that evidence to the authorities, you'll be in deep trouble." Gemma shoved past Melvin and strode out after making this threat.As she left, she saw Jade and stopped. "I never thought I'd fall into the hands of a lowly creature like you.
Jade lowered her gaze before stating firmly, "I'll tell you, but you have to make up for the missing taxes.""What?" Melvin's eyes widened in shock as he pointed at Jade and cursed. "After raising you for so long, is this how you repay me?"Leah glared at Melvin, then turned to Jade. "Jade, is what you're saying true?"Leah was more afraid of Melvin going to jail than anything else."Grandma, it's true," Jade said confidently.In her previous life, Melvin hadn't divorced Gemma because of this evidence. Despite that, the consequences had been disastrous. She had used that evidence to threaten Melvin, gaining control of the Severins, and even poisoned Leah, leaving her bedridden. Jade had only found out later that the evidence had been hidden in Gemma's jewelry box compartment. Leah nodded sadly, squeezing Jade's hand. "Good girl, Grandma didn't raise you in vain."Melvin felt puzzled, as he did not understand why Leah had agreed to Jade's terms. "Mom, you should think this throu