Reba didn’t reply. It was clear–if he refused to answer her, she wasn’t about to tell him anything either.
“May?” Richard guessed, watching Reba’s face closely, not missing a single change in her expression.
Reba frowned and asked, “May knows about this, too?”
Her reaction made Richard second–guess himself. He thought, ‘But if it weren’t May, then who else would talk to Reba? And what reason would they have to tell her any of this<b>?</b>‘
“What does May know?” Reba pressed, leaving Richard no room for doubt.
Richard forced his emotions down and said, “Why don’t you just ask her?”
By this point, Reba realized she’d reached a dead end. But at least she knew that what May had said was true. She didn’t n to stay here any longer.
Annoyed and restless, she said, “I’ll go ask her myself. And I’ll get to the bottom of things between you and Mom.” With that, she spun around and walked off.
Ian hurried after her. He caught up and walked next to her, asking casually, “Done trying to ask him?”
“He won’t say anything no matter what,” Reba replied.
“I can help,” Ian offered.
Reba said, “From the way he looked just now<b>, </b>it doesn’t matter how much you threaten him. If there’s something he doesn’t want to talk about, he won’t say a word. It’s no use trying.”
Jan reflected for a moment and then realized that it was indeed the case.
Once they were both in the <b>car</b>, Ian nced at Reba, noticing the worry etched on her face. He asked, “So, are we heading to the hospital to see your mom now?”
“I’ll go myself,” Reba said. She really wanted to see Amelia. Even if Amelia couldn’t speak or answer her right now, Reba just wanted to sit with her for a while.
Ian started up the <b>car </b>and said, “I’lle with you.”
The car was moving fast.
Asn thought about what he’d just heard, he asked casually, “What did you mean by ‘price‘ earlier? Isn’t it just <b>a </b>father’s responsibility to raise his kid?<b>” </b>
“I don’t really know,” Reba answered, her mind in a whirl–some things felt clearer now, but others seemed
14:55 Mon<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>
even messier.
…
:
<b>50 </b>
55 <b>vouchers </b>
She said, “May told me my parents signed a prenup before they got married, and said the money Dad spent on me was basically payment for Mom helping him start the Jensen Group.”
Just then, the car pulled up at a red light.
Ian tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he asked, “Do married couples really keep things that ck and white?”
Reba found it strange herself.
It wasn’t like nobody in their world ever signed prenups or kept their money separate after getting hitched, but they wouldn’t call it price or split things so brutally.
Ian was suddenly hit by a bold idea. He blurted out, “Becky, what if you’re not actually Richard’s kid?” He’d known Reba and Jessica forever–he never sugarcoated anything with them.
Reba asked, “What do you mean?”
Ian knew a bit about what happened back then. He said, “Think about it–for real. If your dad had run off with all the money, how do you think your mom would’ve reacted? She should’ve been pissed, right? Furious?”
Reba nodded.
Ian asked, “So what did your mom actually do at the time?”
Reba replied, “Honestly? She barely reacted. It was like she knew it would happen all along. She even told me straight up not to waste my emotions on people who aren’t worth it.”
“Not worth it,” Ian repeated.
Reba frowned. She still couldn’t quite picture not being Richard’s kid. The idea was just too wild.
Reba’s whole life was in photos–every year, from baby to grown–up. Richard always bragged about how hard he’d worked to win Amelia over.
Reba thought, ‘If none of that is real, then what is the story between Dad and Mom?‘
Ian was the type who jumped into action for everything except romance. He said, “There’s an easy way to find out. Just get a DNA test with your dad.”
Just then, a car honked behind them. Ian hit the gas and kept driving.
“Let me think about it,” Reba replied, her mind already spinning with ideas. She was nning to test the waters with May first.
If only they could talk face–to–face–Reba knew she’d be able to read May’s every reaction, but with distance between them, a video call was her only option for now,
On the other side, other people were talking about this issue too.
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<b>50 </b>
EX 55 <b>vouchers </b>
As soon as Reba and Ian left, Stanley sent Jeffrey the recordings. He said, “Amelia is turning out to be quite the mystery.”
Jeffrey hadn’t even finished listening to the whole thing.
Stanley asked, “You don’t think the Jensen Group was actually Amelia’s idea, do you?”
“Could be,” Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey was just a kid when the Jensen Group firstunched, but he’d dug into its backstory afterward.
The Jensen Group kicked off with a bang, locking down a foothold in Jsburg in a matter of months. Had things kept rolling, it could’ve rivaled the Hanson Group by now. But for some reason, things just started going downhill.
Stanley said, “From the way they’re talking, Richard and Amelia’s rtionship has a lot more going on than meets the eye. Seriously, the whole ‘raising Reba to pay Amelia? That’s just wild.”
Jeffrey was still in his office at the Hanson Group. His eyes had a deep, thoughtful glint, and his cool, handsome features bore a hint of contemtion. After a moment, an idea struck him, and he called Gregory <ol><li>in. </li></ol>
Gregory stepped in.
“Set
up
a DNA test for Richard and Reba,” Jeffrey ordered, his eyes giving nothing away. He added, “And check when Richard and Amelia got
married.”
“Yes, sir,” Gregory answered promptly. He went to handle it right away.
Stanley, who’d been listening in the whole time, asked, “You think Reba might not be Richard’s kid?”
Jeffrey said, “Putting all those weird agreements aside, if you were Amelia, would you settle for a guy who’s not even in your league?”
Jeffrey hadn’t spent much time around Amelia, but from what little he knew, she totally outssed Richard in every aspect. Not saying she had to find someone even better, but at the very least<b>, </b>someone on par with her.
Richard just didn’t have the skills, and honestly, his personality wasn’t great either. Jeffrey couldn’t understand why Amelia was interested in Richard.
Stanley said, “Your logic’s off. What if Amelia just likes guys who are a bit weaker than her?”
Jeffrey didn’t bother arguing. He <b>was </b><b>just </b>specting, and he’d have to wait for Gregory to get the results before he could be sure.
He asked, “Any progress on what <b>I </b>asked you to look into?”
“Nope, it’s a dead end,” Stanley said, sounding frustrated. He added, “It’s like someone wiped Amelia off the map. Want me to bring that hacker back in and get her to hack into all the major systems?”
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