Rory looked around vigilantly, lowering her voice as she spoke on the phone with Jonathan.
Jonathan’s crying stopped abruptly, and a glimmer of excitement flashed in his eyes. "What? You guys came back too?! That’s great! The plan is one step further!"
A smile touched Rory’s face as well, and she quickly warned him, "So you have to keep it a secret from Mommy! I told Mr. Morgan that I missed Mommy so much that I decided to come back. If Mommy and Mr. Morgan find out that we came up with this whole plan to lure them back on purpose, they’ll definitely—"
Her soft, chubby face scrunched up as she made a slicing motion across her neck.
Catching her drift, Jonathan suddenly turned serious. "What’s our next step? Daddy seems to mistakenly think Mommy got married. Should we have Mr. Morgan step in and explain things?"
Rory wrinkled her cute nose, her tone dripping with disdain. "...Jonathan, your emotional intelligence is so low. Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out for that. All you have to do is deal with that stupid woman hovering around Daddy!"
"Okay, I’ll listen to you!"
Jonathan gave a proud little nod and flashed an OK gesture into the air.
Meanwhile, standing outside the door, Claire Lockwood was losing her patience, realizing that Jonathan had been in the bathroom for a long time.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. She rapped on the door. "Jonathan, are you done yet?"
Hearing her voice, Jonathan’s scalp tingled. He reluctantly hung up the phone with Rory. Then, scrunching up his little face, he sniffled loudly, dramatically inhaling nonexistent snot, and let out a wail. "Jonathan! It’s time to make a sacrifice for Daddy and Mommy’s happiness!"
Sitting on the sofa, Zoe let out an unprovoked sneeze.
She rubbed her nose and brought her thoughts back to finding a solution.
Here on Cyrus Ford’s turf, where he held absolute power, she had no way of taking Jonathan away. The only option left was to take Cyrus to court.
With that in mind, Zoe opened her laptop and drafted a lawsuit.
However, after hesitating over and over, she couldn’t bring herself to fax it to Zachary Morgan. She was afraid that he might do something rash out of concern for her. After mulling it over, she sent the document to Marina Shelton, who was working in a laboratory overseas.
The two had met after Zoe went abroad and had always been on good terms. However, Zoe had heard that Marina was recently buried in research, so they hadn’t been in touch for a while.
Surprisingly, Marina called back immediately.
When she learned that Zoe was preparing to go up against Cyrus, she gasped, sounding overly anxious. "Are you crazy? Sue Cyrus Ford? Do you have any idea how much power he holds in Avenburg? What are the odds of you actually winning with this lawsuit?"
Before Zoe could respond, a dark look crossed Marina’s face on the other end of the line, and she lowered her voice. "Zoe, do you want to pull some other strings?!" Enjoying the story? Read on at NovelPing.
Zoe’s voice was languid, laced with a hint of coldness. "...It’s a trivial matter. There’s no need!"
It was just a child custody issue. Zoe wanted to resolve it amicably. Unless absolutely necessary, she wasn’t going to let any third-party factions intervene.
On the other end of the line, Marina grimaced. "Don’t try to play the tough girl at a time like this. If Cyrus is as ruthless as they say and decides to make a move on you, I’m seriously terrified something bad will happen.
"Besides, Cyrus has made it clear he won’t give up this ready-made son. You’re openly defying him now. If you piss him off, I won’t be able to help you from all the way out here!
"Why do you have to be so stubborn? If Cyrus holds a grudge, he won’t show you any mercy."
Back when they were abroad, Zoe had mentioned Cyrus to Marina. Marina had even heard the rumors circulating back in their home country—when Cyrus first rose to power, it was said that he had killed his own father. Just thinking about such a ruthless man was enough to send chills down anyone’s spine.
Marina truly couldn’t rest easy knowing Zoe had fallen into the hands of a man like that.
Zoe shook her head, unable to agree. "It won’t come to that. Those rumors are a hundred percent fake. Knowing the kind of person Cyrus is, I firmly believe he could never do something so inhuman."
Cyrus certainly had a formidable reputation. He was cunning and ruthless in his methods. But Zoe believed that he would never raise a hand against his own family for the sake of power.
Hearing Zoe defend him, a trace of skepticism flashed across Marina’s face. "You can’t be sure of that. How do you know what’s true and what’s not? Maybe after you guys broke up, Cyrus was so deeply traumatized that he completely changed."
Zoe’s expression remained resolute, her tone unwavering. "Impossible!"
They had been together once, after all. Zoe still trusted him on this point.
Marina sighed, knowing she couldn’t convince her, and dropped the subject. "Alright then, handle it as you see fit. Just stay safe over there and call me if you need anything."
With that, Marina hung up.
For a moment, Zoe found herself zoning out as her mind brushed against those distant memories that still felt like they had happened only yesterday.
Back then, Cyrus hadn’t even liked her that much. According to Claire, she was nothing more than a passing fancy, a wild flower he had picked up on a whim. You are reading on novelping dot com, the official source.
In truth, Zoe’s pride had gotten the better of her later on, and she had actually gone to Cyrus to ask if it was true. But all he said was that his family had indeed arranged a childhood marriage for him. He hadn’t denied Claire’s claims.
Even back then, Zoe had felt that offering her true heart to a wealthy heir like him made her a complete and utter fool!
She had been caught in the whirlpool of high society herself at the time. She had heard plenty of rumors about how the friends around her toyed with women and played with their feelings. Even Sean Shelton had warned her not to get in too deep!
It was her own romantic delusion that made her foolishly believe she was the most special person in Cyrus’s heart.
After all, the Shaw Family wasn’t exactly inferior to the Ford Family. There were very few medical enterprises back then, and the Shaw Group dominated the industry. In terms of family background, they were absolutely a match for the Fords. But in large aristocratic families, marriages were almost always prioritized for the sake of family interests.
And the Ford Family and the Shaw Family had no overlapping interests whatsoever...
DING.
The notification brought Zoe back to reality. She unlocked her phone and was surprised to see a message regarding the Class of 2014 reunion for Avenburg University.
After leaving the country, Zoe had completely lost contact with her old college classmates. How did she even receive an invitation?
She had actually known in advance that Avenburg University was going to host this reunion. According to her original plan, if it weren’t for the whole ordeal with Jonathan, she would have used this reunion as her excuse to return to the country.
Scrolling through the invitation, Zoe found herself dazed for a moment. Her eyes happened to catch a familiar name on the guest list: Yasmine Shaw!
What a coincidence.
Yasmine was Charles Shaw’s daughter, which made her Zoe’s cousin. She had been spoiled rotten since childhood. With no one to discipline her, she had grown up arrogant, domineering, and completely lawless. She had even spat on Zoe’s mother once.
That was a transgression Zoe remembered to this day.
This was the perfect opportunity delivered right to her doorstep. Zoe intended to use it to send a warning to Charles.
She was back!
She was the rightful, legitimate heir of the Shaw Group!
A cold sneer suddenly blossomed on Zoe’s lips. She shut her laptop. To prepare for the reunion, she needed to head to a boutique and try on some dresses.
But the moment she remembered she was currently restricted from leaving the premises, a wave of irritation washed over her.