LOGINAfter exchanging a few pleasantries, they walked into the hotel ballroom where the party was being held.Probably because the party had been organized on such short notice, many guests who had received invitations hadn't been able to clear their schedules. It wasn't a very large turnout, but the party was lively enough.The guests were busy mingling when two bodyguards rushed in, each approaching Stephanie and Adrian, respectively, to whisper something to them.At the same time, the hotel manager rushed over and muttered something into Barry's ear. Nonplussed at first, he soon turned pale after hearing what the manager said, exclaiming in agitation, "H-How could something like this happen? Are you serious? Is this how you people run this hotel?""I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Freeman. I don't know who is behind that attendant, or who might have bribed him." The hotel manager looked frightened as well. "But now that it involves… that person, I truly don't know what to do."Trembling, B
Jerry gnashed his teeth in fury. "How can she be so heartless? I bet she takes after her dad. If it really comes down to it, I'll go to the media and expose everything she did to me!""Enough!" Derek scoffed. "You really think those petty tricks of yours will work against a family like the Fords?"Besides, Jerry wasn't exactly a decent man, to begin with. How could he claim to be Stephanie's uncle when Daphne didn't even want to acknowledge him as her brother anyway?"T-Then what am I supposed to do? They beat me up, you know, so I'm not returning the money you gave me!" Jerry declared.He was worried they'd demand the money that was already in his pockets."Get lost," Derek said with a snort before bringing up the window without hesitation.Relieved, Jerry bolted as fast as he could.Inside the car, Derek turned around to look at the man in the back seat."That guy's useless, Mr. Grover," he said.Tyler's expression was dark as he read a message on his phone. Once he was done
Stephanie sneered. "Don't bother holding back."It wasn't necessary to go easy on rotten scumbags like Jerry."Understood, Ms. Ford."The two bodyguards immediately dragged Jerry away."Stephanie! I'm your uncle! What are you doing? You can't do this—"Jerry tried to shout in protest, but one of the bodyguards clamped a hand tightly over his mouth, giving him no chance to continue.Meanwhile, Stephanie went inside the house and returned to her room. She took out the photo from earlier and carefully cut out the half with Daphne in it, making sure it remained perfectly intact.As for the half with Jerry, she threw it in the trash without a second thought. Scum like that wasn't fit to be in the same photo as Daphne.She proceeded to stare blankly at the photo of Daphne for a while. Memories of Daphne teaching her how to dance filled her mind. Scenes of the past, including the laughter they shared, flashed by.Even though she would feel hurt when Daphne scolded her sternly, they w
Since Franklin had also addressed Stephanie as Ms. Ford, Jerry immediately confirmed her identity and approached her with a grin—only for two bodyguards to hold him back.As if he hadn't noticed the coldness in Stephanie's eyes, Jerry flashed her an ingratiating smile and called out, "Hi, my dear niece. I'm your uncle—your mother's brother. Since it's our first time meeting. I even brought you a gift. Why don't you invite me in for a quick visit?"He pulled something out of his canvas bag. It was a classy-looking gift bag, its contents unknown. Nevertheless, just the bag alone looked completely out of place in his hands.Stephanie had no interest in his gift. She said coldly, "I don't have a maternal uncle."Jerry's expression darkened slightly. "What do you mean by that? I'm your mother's biological older brother, so of course I'm your uncle."We haven't seen each other before because the Ford family looked down on me and wouldn't allow me to keep in touch with you. That's why we
Jerry was never satisfied with the money he stole from Daphne. He even borrowed from loan sharks to fund his various indulgences. Since he could never repay his debts, the debt collectors would regularly show up at the house to cause a scene. Stephanie's grandparents had already been in poor health thanks to Jerry's antics. How could they survive that kind of harassment?It wasn't long before the two of them passed away from illness, one after the other.Jerry began to hound Daphne for money even more persistently after that. He even plotted to sell her off to the highest bidder.Fortunately, Daphne ended up meeting Owen, and the two fell in love.Not wanting to let Jerry continue to harass Daphne, Owen gave Jerry a large sum of money—on one condition. If he accepted the money, it meant he was completely cutting all familial ties with Daphne. He wasn't allowed to bother them again, no matter what.Jerry accepted the offer without hesitation.Later on, Owen also sent people to i
After Pierce left, Adrian called Stephanie, who answered almost instantly, her voice bright and cheerful. "Hey! Why are you calling at this hour? Miss me?"Adrian chuckled softly. "I miss you very much.""I miss you too," she replied with a giggle.After flirting with each other for a bit, Adrian asked, "Why didn't you tell me about what Aleysha did?""Hm?"Stephanie had to pause for a moment before she recalled the incident back at Whetman Group. Laughing, she said breezily, "I forgot all about it already."Frowning slightly, Adrian said, "If she made you unhappy, you don't need to just put up with it.""I'm fine, really," Stephanie assured him. "It did sound rather mystifying when she said it, and I did feel rather annoyed, but I got over it pretty quickly. She was probably just upset with Pierce about something and spoke without thinking."At the end of the day, she's Pierce's girlfriend. It was just a careless comment anyway, so I just brushed it off out of courtesy to him.







