I ordered this coffee?
Evan’s eyes narrowed and he knew instantly that this was part of someone’s prank.
“Mr. Seet, what on earth did they put in this coffee to make it so bitter?”
“I suspect it’s denatonium benzoate.”
Evan recalled reading an article that denatonium benzoate was an artificially synthesized chemical and the most bitter compound known to mankind. It was commonly used to spike ethanol-containing products such as hand sanitizers so that it could not be used to produce alcohol for consumption.
Who on earth will think of spiking coffee with this bitter chemical?
“Who would do such a thing! Rest assured, Mr. Seet, I’ll definitely get to the bottom of this!” John proclaimed and rushed out of the office. He quickly found the nearest tap to rinse his mouth of the bitter flavor.
Nina was hiding behind the potted plants and watched as John rushed down the staircase. She sniggered. Daddy must have drunk the bitter coffee and spit it on his assistant! Serves him right! Well, that settles things for the cake. Now then…
Forty minutes later, Evan received a call and rushed out of the office.
Nina dialed Juan on her smartwatch to ask him for help on how to crack the passcode.
Under Juan’s guidance, she managed to successfully infiltrate Evan’s office.
When she saw the lavish decoration in Evan’s office, she was astonished. When she thought of how much her Mommy had suffered to raise the three of them while her Daddy was living such a luxurious lifestyle, she was livid. Coupled with the fact that he bullied Nicole, Nina felt that there was no reason to hold back.
Half an hour later, Nina snuck out of Evan’s office. The moment she locked the door, a wry smile crept up her face. When that evil Daddy comes back, he’ll be in for a big surprise! That’s what he gets for bullying Mommy!
After her sabotage was complete, she left Seet Group.
Although she was but a little girl, the security guards treated her courteously. After all, she had entered Seet Group with Evan, so they thought she was likely one of his relatives.
Nina found a suitable place to remove her makeup.
Her makeup had transformed her into another person entirely and was something she took pride in. She was sure that even Nicole would not be able to recognize her, much less Evan.
After she was done, she took a taxi back to her kindergarten.
Meanwhile, Nicole’s mobility was affected due to her injured knees. She lay on the sofa to answer questions related to medicine to earn some easy money. After she compensated Evan hundreds of thousands, she did not have much money left. She would not let any opportunity to earn money to support her children go.
Before she finished her fifth question, someone knocked on the door.
Who is it?
She got off the sofa, limped to the door, and looked through the peephole. There was no one in sight. That’s strange.
When she turned around, the knocking continued. She asked, “Who is it?”
“Delivery for you, miss.”
Nicole frowned. I haven’t been shopping online lately. Does it belong to the kids? Probably some makeup set Nina bought.
She opened the door, but the moment she saw who was outside, her face fell.
She had a bad feeling about this.
“Why are you here?”
“Perhaps you should’ve seen it coming.”
With that, the visitor slapped Nicole across the face.
“You wench! The Lane family has been ruined by you! I don’t care, you’d better pay up!”
Damn it! That hurts! Nicole glanced at her injured knees and knew that she had no chance of beating Sylvia in combat in her current state, especially not with her daughter behind her.
Just as she was wondering whether to fight back, Sylphiette sneered, “My dear sister, it took us quite some time and effort to find you. After we parted ways at the dessert shop, you moved house. Are you trying to avoid us?”
Sylphiette spoke in a gentle tone but had a vicious look in her eyes.
Nicole knew that they must have been here to settle the score with her thanks to Evan blaming the fall of Lane Corporation on her.
It’s all that damn Evan’s fault! What am I supposed to do now?
Sylvia then shoved Nicole and stormed inside.
“Nicole, you’ve ruined our entire family! How could you do this to your relatives?”
“Sylphiette, don’t waste your breath on her. She’s never treated us like family! Come and have a seat here.”
Sylvia plopped herself down onto the sofa and glared at Nicole as though she was in her own home.
Sylphiette deliberately bumped into Nicole on her way in and took a seat beside Sylvia. She then started taking a look around the house and its decorations. She’s quite well off! Looks like she’s rich.
“Nicole, let me cut to the chase. Back then, you broke all ties with us when you were pregnant and we have not treated you as a part of the family since. Why did you suddenly show up to sabotage Lane Corporation? Do you really want to do us in that much?”
Sylvia was acting unreasonable and in hysterics.
“Anything to do with the Lane family has nothing to do with me! This is my home, so please leave!”
“What do you mean by that? If you hadn’t offended some influential man, Lane Corporation wouldn’t have crumbled like that! What on earth did your father do to have such a callous and shameless daughter like you? You’re nothing but a burden!”
“Nicole, the reason Dad’s company went bust was because you offended Seet Group! All of Dad’s friends know this well! Why must you dig your own grave like that? If you want to die, I don’t care if you hang yourself, jump off a building, or slit your own wrists. But why implicate us into this? Now that the Lane family is in ruins, my marriage is at risk as well. You’ve destroyed the Lane family!”
Nicole didn’t bother arguing with her. Even without her, the Lane family would face ruin anyway. That day, Evan told John the reason for the Lane family’s ruin was all so she would become the scapegoat and be hated by all.
Her indifference irked Sylvia, who then stood up. “I knew you’re evil. You just want the family to fall, don’t you?” She went up to her angrily and tried to slap her, but Nicole held her hand before she could do it.
“How dare you resist, you wench?”
“Leave immediately, or I’ll have no choice but to call the police.”
“Calling the police? I’m still your stepmother in name! You can’t call the police on me! I’m just visiting!”
“Nicole, you can’t chase us out after what you did! This is too much!”
I’m too much? Everything the Lane family has now is thanks to mom and grandpa! If it weren’t for Nicole’s mother pleading for Zane’s case and her grandfather’s funds, he would still only be a lowly construction worker.
After his success, Nicole’s mother met her demise, which led to Sylvia marrying Zane. All of a sudden, Nicole had a stepmother and a stepsister.
Everything that belonged to her mother and grandfather eventually became the property of this despicable family. But that aside, Nicole had always thought that her mother’s death was shady. She looked at them darkly as her thoughts consumed her.
However, she had no intention of talking about the past with them. After all, they knew no shame, so she asked,
“What do you want?”
“We want you to cover all of the family’s losses!”
They want me to pay for it? I don’t even have money to survive, and they want me to pay? Even if she did have hundreds of millions to pay off the debt, Nicole would never hand a cent over to them. These usurpers have no right to spend the Lane family’s money! It belongs to mom and grandpa!
She could still remember her days of suffering in the Lane residence vividly. The days she spent surviving on leftovers, being their servant, and those winters where Sylvia would drench her blanket with freezing water…
Nicole swore she would make them pay for what they did to her, but a direct confrontation was ill-advised. She was handicapped, so an all-out fight would end with her loss. In the end, she simply clenched her teeth and asked, “How much do I have to pay?”
“Eighty million!”
“That much? I don’t have that kind of money now. You’ll have to wait for a couple of days.”
So is that a yes? The nefarious duo looked at each other and frowned in uncertainty, curious about Nicole agreeing so readily.
“You’re saying you can make eighty million in two days?”
“Two, maybe three.” Nicole hesitated.
Hm? She’s rich! Sylvia looked at her closely. If Nicole wouldn’t budge, all they could do was beat her up to vent their frustrations, leaving their problems intact. But if they trusted her this once, they could get some money. Even though eighty million might be impossible, it was still better than nothing.
Sylphiette had the same idea, so she went up to peer at Nicole. “You’d better keep your promise, Nicole. We’ll give you two days because you’re our family, but if you’re not paying then…” She gave Nicole a threatening look. “You won’t be getting off that easily. We’ll sell you and that bastard child of yours off. I think you two will fetch some good money.”
What the hell? They want to sell me and my kid off? Damn this b*tch! She always acts so innocent and kind. Who would’ve thought she’s capable of evil? “Sure. Just go home and wait for my news. You won’t be disappointed.”
The duo looked at each other again. Deciding to put their faith in this last-ditch effort, they went back to wait.
Nicole heaved a sigh of relief after they left. That’s settled for now, but they’ll be back two days later. What should I do?
Meanwhile, Evan had come back to his office after some business talks, but he knew something was wrong the moment he sat down, and he frowned. When he wanted to stand up and check, he realized his trousers were glued to the seat.
What is going on? Evan’s fully hand-made, Italian trousers were glued firmly on the seat. That realization made his face fall, and he quickly called John. “Come here this instant! You have one minute!” he warned.
John was confused, but seeing that Evan had summoned him so sternly, something big must have happened.
He went to the president’s office as soon as possible, and when he arrived, Evan was changing his clothes. “Do you require my assistance, Mr. Seet?”
“Something’s on the seat. See what it is.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.