Caelan's brows furrowed deeply as he gazed intently at Jade before casting his eyes toward the distant nightscape. He made a firm decision."Samuel, bring Chenelle here to see me."…Fifteen minutes later, Chenelle returned to the villa.Receiving Samuel's call, she had been thrilled, thinking Caelan had changed his mind and specially sent for her to come back. The moment she got out of the car, she joyfully headed into the house, cheerfully calling out, "Caelan, you’re finally willing to talk to me!"Chenelle quickly walked inside, and the door behind her closed shut.She froze upon realizing that Caelan wasn't the only one in the room—Jade was there too.Both wore stern expressions, their eyes coldly fixed on her."Why are you looking at me like that?" Chenelle's voice wavered as she shrank back in fear, taking three steps backward.Caelan’s face was icy, the chill in his demeanor almost freezing the air around him. Chenelle had never seen him look so intimidating.Forcin
Chenelle felt uncertain after hearing Jade’s cryptic words. Her voice faltered. "Jade, what do you mean by that?""You'll understand soon enough."Jade ignored Chenelle's further inquiries, making a call instead. Chenelle strained to hear, but could only catch the name 'Ernesto' vaguely.While waiting, Chenelle’s anxiety grew. She had a bad feeling about today’s outcome but realized she couldn’t leave now. Resigned, she stayed put, waiting apprehensively.…Twenty minutes later, someone walked in from outside.Through the glass, she could make out it was a man.Chenelle snorted dismissively. She had expected Jade to pull out something impressive, but it seemed like a futile effort.She recognized the man immediately as the son of that cleaning lady who had caused trouble at her gallery."Ernesto, you’re here." Jade stood up to greet him, inviting him inside.Ernesto nodded, smiling at Jade, then greeted Caelan.Caelan responded with a slight nod."Jade, what’s the meaning o
Chenelle staggered back a few steps, her face suddenly paling. She had calculated everything meticulously but never expected to be outwitted by an unassuming guy.Facing the angry stares of the crowd, Chenelle opened her mouth weakly but found she couldn’t utter a word. This time, she really had no way to justify herself.Jade ignored Chenelle’s breakdown and pressed on, "Where did you put Melanie’s drafts?"Chenelle’s eyes shifted slightly, and she responded weakly. "I... I threw them away.""What?! You actually threw away Melanie’s drafts?!" Hearing this, Jade could no longer maintain her composure. She grabbed Chenelle by the collar, enraged. "Do you know how many sleepless nights Melanie spent creating them? You casually discarded them, throwing away her lifeblood. Do you understand what those drafts meant to her?!"Terrified by Jade's crazed demeanor, Chenelle struggled desperately, her emotions collapsing as she shouted, "I don’t care what it meant to her! I joined the crew
Samuel snapped back to reality and hurriedly nodded. "Oh, yes, of course. I'll take the team over right away."Jade pushed Chenelle aside and was about to rush out when Caelan caught her arm."Let them handle the search," he insisted. "You should wait here for news.""No," Jade protested. "I need to be there in person. This is Melanie’s only chance."The stakes for Melanie's success were too high for Jade to leave it to others. She couldn't sit idly at home waiting for updates.Observing Jade’s anxiety, Chenelle smirked inwardly. The bin was filthy and reeked. Even if they found the drafts, they would be ruined. Jade was doomed to make this trip for nothing, and Melanie's fate was sealed.…Twenty minutes later, the scene was chaotic with trash strewn everywhere, emitting a foul stench.Jade stood motionless amid the trash, seemingly oblivious to the nauseating odor. The bodyguards had been searching for over 20 minutes but had found nothing.Only a small area remained to be
Jade's mind went blank, her thoughts buzzing in chaos. All the effort she had put in was for nothing—the drafts were lost.The feeling of exhaustion made her legs weak. It seemed like her dream was slipping further away from Melanie, and the tragic fate from her past life resurfaced in her mind."Jade, what's wrong?" Tiffany, who had hurried over, saw Jade's distress and anxiously asked, her concern evident in her voice.Jade shook her head weakly and said with sorrow, "The drafts are gone.""Gone?" Tiffany glanced around the room and confirmed there was no trace of the drafts.Unlike Jade, Tiffany wasn’t deeply saddened since she wasn't aware of Melanie's previous life's tragedy and didn't know these drafts were crucial for altering her fate."Alright, let's head back." Tiffany tried to persuade Jade to leave. She didn't understand Jade's deep determination, who would even search through an entire bin to find Melanie's drafts. To Tiffany, losing the drafts meant Melanie could si
Jade gazed at the modest father-daughter duo in front of her, feeling a wave of warmth. She gently pushed the necklace back toward them and said with a smile, "If she likes it, let her have it. The design drafts mean a lot to me, far more than any necklace could."The little girl looked up at her father with a pitiful expression and said, "Daddy, today is my birthday, and you didn’t get me a present."She had been captivated by the necklace from the moment she saw it. Her longing gaze made it hard to refuse.Sony thought for a moment and then told Jade with an apologetic look, "In that case, we'll accept it.""This is what you deserve," Jade replied with a smile at both of them before leaving the office with her entourage.As she left, the staff gathered around the employee holding the necklace.Someone knowledgeable among them suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my God, it's a diamond! Such a large one must be worth hundreds of thousands.""Diamond?" Sony was stunned. He had never seen a r
The bed in the hospital room had already been freshly made by the nurse, and all of Melanie's belongings were gone.Jade stepped forward and grabbed the nurse, urgently asking, "Where is the patient who was in this room?"The nurse looked confused and shook her head. "She was discharged a while ago.""Discharged?" Jade was anxious. "Melanie still has a head injury. How could she be discharged?""It was at the patient's own request. We couldn't stop her," the nurse said.Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a note, handing it to Jade. "She left you this message."Jade quickly took the note and opened it, frowning as she read it."What’s going on?" Tiffany asked, feeling increasingly uneasy due to the numerous recent events.Melanie's sudden departure added to her anxiety.Jade handed the note to Tiffany and said wearily, "Melanie's family had an emergency, so she went home.""An emergency?" Tiffany took the note and saw Melanie's handwriting:
The phone rang for what felt like an eternity before someone picked up. The moment it connected, Rebecca's voice burst into desperate sobs. "Melanie, you useless girl, come back now! Your father... Something’s happened to him…"The rest of Rebecca’s words faded into a blur.Melanie’s mind went blank, overwhelmed by a storm of curses and harsh words. Her father had taken a job at the mines just to pay for her university tuition. Now, the mine had collapsed, leaving the fate of those inside uncertain.Melanie felt as though all strength had drained from her body. The phone slipped from her trembling hand, her body shaking violently.A wave of unprecedented terror engulfed her. Her father was her only family. If he were gone, what would she do?"Please drive faster, just a bit faster," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face. Her voice, filled with near-desperation, brought a twisted sense of pleasure to Shane.The more helpless Melanie was now, the more grateful she would be to