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“No problem,” Stanley agreed cheerfully, then added, “Want me to send you a secret video feed while I’m at
it?”
All Jeffrey gave as an answer was to abruptly end the call.
Stanley just tutted, but went ahead and set everything up anyway.
Inside the bar, Richard was in his work uniform, hunched over and diligently scrubbing sses. The expression on his face couldn’t get any worse–it was sheer misery.
Reba watched this scene, her heart tangled with all kinds of thoughts, but she couldn’t really feel sorry for him.
“Richard, someone’s here to see you,” Brady called out.
A sh of malice crossed Richard’s eyes, but when he looked up, his expression was back to normal. He asked, “Who is it?” As soon as he finished speaking, he spotted Reba and Ian standing at the door. His hand froze
mid–scrub.
Brady said, “This is staff only back here. If you want to chat, take it to the room next door. No one’s there, it’s all yours.” He had already rigged that ce with a bug.
Reba nodded and said, “Sure.”
The three of them made their way over to the empty room.
Richard shrugged off his apron and chucked it aside. With a furrowed brow, he shot Ian a look, then fixed his gaze on Reba. He said, “Didn’t I tell you toe tomorrow? What’s the deal with showing up today?”
“I’ve got something I need to ask you,” Reba said, not bothering to beat around the bush.
Richard let out a sharpugh, his mood growing nastier the longer he stayed in this dump. He said, “I’m not answering that.”
Reba just stood there, staring him down.
Ian leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
Richard assumed that Reba was following up on theirst chat. He said, “When you bail me out of this dump, then and only then will you get your answers. Otherwise, don’t even bother.”
Ian said, “If you’d rather not talk, trust me–I’ve got ways to keep you scrubbing sses here for the rest of your life.” He shed a cocky half–smile, clearly unfazed.
Richard shot upright in his seat, ring at fan. He snapped, “Don’t
you dare!”
Ian just shrugged, utterly unimpressed. He said, “Why don’t you give it a shot?”
<b>14:55 </b><b>Mon</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>
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Richard’s gaze was as sharp as a knife, every pent–up emotion in his chest spiking to its peak. He fumed inwardly, ‘Even a tiger gets bullied when it’s down. Now, any random nobody feels bold enough to mess with
me.‘
But Richard didn’t dare to truly sh withn. The Yeats family was a family with a long and distinguished history. Even though Ian had a falling out with his father, they were still father and son. Richard didn’t dare to offendn too overtly.
So Richard turned his anger on Reba. “You really are an ungrateful wolf,” he sneered.
Reba didn’t flinch. She retorted, “You were the one who threw Mom and me aside–then forced me to entertain those men, no matter how much I protested. If you hadn’t done all that, I would’ve done everything. I could to help you weather any crisis.”
Richard said, “I’ve poured so much money into raising you since you were little. So what if I had you pour drinks for my friends? Don’t forget–it’s always been me putting food on the table for you and your mom.”
There was a time when Reba might’ve struggled to find the right words to fight back. But ever since May filled her in, Reba was done backing down. “Oh really?” she shot back, her tone sharp and unwavering.
Richard fired right back, “Isn’t that the case?”
“Then why do I remember you telling me it was Mom who helped you set up the Jensen Group?” Reba retorted, throwing his own words in his face.
Richard shot back, “That was just to keep your mom’s pride intact. All she ever did was say a few nice things each day–like she was really something special.”
Reba looked at him like he was someone she’d never known.
Even if she couldn’t remember much before she turned three, she still recalled how, before the Jensen family went bankrupt, Richard always said Amelia was incredible.
Reba thought, ‘In just a few short years, how did everything <b>get </b>so twisted so fast?‘
Richard said, “Don’t give me that look. I’m just stating facts<b>.” </b>
Reba’s eyes locked onto him as she snapped, “Would you really say that to Mom’s face once she wakes up?”
Richard hesitated, his gaze flickering, then quickly regained his bluster. “Why not? You think I’d chicken out?” he scoffed, refusing to back down.
Reba locked her gaze on him, refusing to look away.
Under her stare, Richard felt a wave of guilt creeping in–he tried to act tough, but his conscience was already wobbling. Not wanting to stay on that topic, he quickly switched gears.
He said, “You’d better hurry and figure out a way to get me out of here. Otherwise, if I wake up in a bad mood one day, maybe I’ll start telling everyone you’re nothing but a two–faced traitor.”
Reba had already figured out his little game. She said, “Go ahead and spread the word. Let’s see what
<b>14:55 </b>Mon, <b>Sep </b>22
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people talk about more–calling me an ungrateful daughter, or you being that guy who can’t survive without mooching off women.”
Richard shot up from his chair, his gaze on Reba so intense it seemed he could devour her whole. He demanded, “What did you say?”
Reba decided to repeat what May had told her just to see his reaction. She said, “Without Mom, there wouldn’t even be a Jensen Group. All that money you spent on me–wasn’t that really just the price you paid for everything Mom did for you?”
Ian’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Richard stared at Reba, his eyes nearly burning holes through her. He wondered why Reba knew about this.
Hardly anyone knew about the deal Richard had made with Amelia, and she’d always told him to keep it hidden from Reba–just act like the perfect dad, and no one would ever suspect a thing.
Richard asked, “Who told you this?” His face was a mask of panic, all color drained, and he was barely holding it together.
Reba felt her heart skip a beat, a cold wave washing over her. His reaction told her that what May had said
was true.
Reba thought, ‘But if all this was true, then why did Mom stay with Dad in the first ce? And why did Dad have to use the money Mom earned for helping him just to raise me?‘
Reba’s mind was flooding with questions, each one leaving her even more lost and bewildered than before.
“Say something!” Richard shouted.
Reba didn’t flinch, eyes steady as she faced him. She asked, “Just what kind of arrangement did you and Mom have going on?”
Richard had lost all trace of calm; his face was twisted with rage and panic. He snapped, “Forget the arrangement–who the hell told you this? Nobody knows about this except me, your mother, and maybe a handful of others.”
The only people who really knew what was in that prenup included thewyer who put it together, the staff who took care of all the paperwork, and a couple of Amelia’s friends.
On top of that, the two partners who helped Richard build the Jensen Group from the ground up were well aware of just how big a role Amelia yed in making the whole thing possible.
“Answer me first,” Reba said, meeting his eyes without flinching.
Richard clenched his fists tight. If Jan hadn’t been here, he probably would’ve snapped and gotten physical.
Reba watched his every move and already pieced most of it together from the look in his eyes. She pressed, “How much do you actually know about Mom?
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“And earlier you said, ‘Don’t you want to know why I left you and Mom?‘–What did you mean by that, anyway?”
Before May said those things, Reba had simply thought that Richard was making excuses <i>to </i>swindle her out of money again. But now it seemed that there might be another reason behind his words.
“Didn’t the person who told you all this mention anything else?” Richard sneered, a cold smirk twisting his lips.
Reba frowned.
Richard’s eyes churned with wild, chaotic emotions–rage, desperation, and an almost unhinged intensity.
For an instant, he wanted to tell Reba everything, to reveal that she was a child with mysterious origins, and that Amelia had gotten pregnant before marriage, only looking for someone to take responsibility.
But those words–he couldn’t let them slip. He didn’t dare. He knew if he ever said it outright, people would start digging into his own secrets. When that happened, he’d be the one with everything to lose.
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