Chapter 1
It was September in Dasmieca. In the fancy Jennings family mansion in Shoneport, five people sat in the living room, the tension thick enough to choke
- on.
Briar Jennings, fresh off a flight from abroad, kicked ba the other couch across from her, clearly uncomfortable.
Gunfire from a phone game kept blasting from Briar’s phone,
“Briar, you just got back. You don’t even know the first thing me? You’ll still get your annual cut just like before.”
Briar didn’t even glance up. Her thumbs kept tapping.
a couch, legs crossed like she owned the place. The other four were crammed together on
cutting thrash her father’s voice every time he tried to speak.
a
Edgar continued, “Your brother’s grown now. It’s time he started learning the from scratch.”
company,” Edgar Jennings said. “Why don’t you hand your shares over to
rope
I could transfer him half your shares so that he doesn’t have to start
There was still nothing from Briar.
“And about that engagement to the Hargreaves boy,” Edgar added.ve been
sister take your place?”
11
No matter what he said, Briar just kept playing, like he wasn’t
there.
gone for years. You don’t even know him anymore. Why not let your
Edgar’s patience wore thin. His face darkened, but before he could explode, Halle Jennings–his ever–graceful wife and longtime expert at playing the good stepmother–gently placed a hand on his chest.
“Edgar, she just got home,” she said sweetly. “Let her settle in first.”
But her eyes weren’t so sweet. They flicked coldly toward her daughter, Beatrice Jennings.
Catching the signal, Beatrice jumped up and snatched the phone from Briar’s hands. “Briar, Dad’s talking to you! Where are your manners? You’re upsetting him.”
Briar’s face turned stone cold. She shot Beatrice a look sharp enough
to kill.
“Give it back.”
Beatrice froze like a deer caught in the headlights. The overwhelming pressure made a chill
On her spine.”
Briar grabbed her phone back. The game was over. Her teammates were cussing her out in the group chat. Her mood soured even more.
She hadn’t even had time for a drink since stepping off the plane. Her luggage was still sitting by the stairs. But none of that mattered to Edgar.
He didn’t ask how she’d managed all these years alone overseas. He didn’t care. All he wanted was her shares–and to dump her fiancé on someone else.
Some father he was.
Then again, Edgar had never been much of a father to begin with.
Briar didn’t care about that fiancé or the arranged marriage. But that didn’t mean she’d let anyone take what was hers.
She wasn’t like her mother–Rosalia–who gave up everything, even her life, for a man.
What made it worse was that just three months after Rosalia died, Edgar shamelessly moved his mistress, Halle, and her two kids into the house.
The boy, Camden Jennings, was two years older than Briar, and the girl, Beatrice, was only two months older than Briar. Their sudden appearance was a slap in the face to Rosalia, and it instantly had her father’s family boiling with anger.
Even if Briar had been raised overseas by her grandfather, she was still the rightful heir to the Jennings family. Her uncles were so furious that they
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Chapter 1
almost went after Edgar with knives,
Back then, Edgar had built his company with the help of Rosalia’s father, Zeke Grant. Rosalia had held 60% of the shares, and before she died, she secretly left them all to Briar.
It was the one thing she’d done right after everything else had fallen apart.
By the time Edgar found out, it was too late. Zeke’s family had already taken Briar out of the country. Edgar didn’t hear from her again until she got older and started reaching out.
As far as Zeke’s family was concerned, Edgar and Halle were the ones who pushed Rosalia to her death. They had wanted revenge, but no matter what
untouched. they tried, Edgar always slipped away
The only possible reason was that he had someone powerful backing him. Some of the company’s new products didn’t even come from their own team -they came through private accounts under Edgar’s
name you
But the most shocking part was this–Briar found out that
mom hadn’t run off because she had broken down. She’d been taken.
When Zeke’s people finally tracked her down, she was locked in a mental hospital–either completely out of it or asleep. During the rare times she was clearheaded, she’d cry and ask for a lawyer to make her will.
Snapping out of it, Briar slipped her phone into her pocket and looked straight at Edgar.
Her tone was flat, but every word cut deep. “So all those hundreds of calls, rushing me to come home, were just to trick me into handing over my shares so your idiot son can run the company into the ground, huh?
“You really think the company belongs to you now, huh? Did you forget who the majority shareholder is? That bastard son of yours isn’t stepping one foot into my company.”
Edgar’s face twitched. “You ungrateful brat!”
Camden, who’d been quiet up until now, shot Briar a look like he wanted to tear her apart.
Briar didn’t even flinch. She pointed right at Beatrice. “And you want me to break off my engagement just so this homewrecker can take my spot, right? Like mother, like daughter. I’ve never seen anyone so proud to be the other woman.”
She turned her eyes on Beatrice and sneered, “Did your mom teach you that? Was that part of your well upbringing–how to steal someone else’s man? Why are you so dead set on taking what’s mine?”
Edgar’s face went dark. His plan had been laid bare, but he still forced himself to speak calmly. “Briar, don’t say things like that. Camden’s the only boy in the family. Of course, he’s going to take over the company eventually. You don’t even want to work there, so what’s the point of holding onto those shares?
grandfather and Gavin agreed to years ago. Now that Zeke’s gone, it
“And about your engagement to the Hargreaves boy–that was just somethingnt to break them up?”
doesn’t mean anything. Beatrice and that boy love each other. Would you really
Edgar only dared to pressure Briar now because he’d heard Zeke was dead.
With
their
guarded
ite. Edga
AD
