Josephine figured she already owed the Sinclair family enough; one more favor wouldn’t hurt. "Then I’ll have to trouble you, President Sinclair."
Ethan had expected her to stubbornly refuse out of false pride. Accepting his help when she needed it was the smart move.
"Get in!" Ethan opened the car door.
As if driven by some unseen force, he got into the driver’s seat himself.
Seeing that he was going to drive, Josephine felt it would be rude to sit in the back. She had no choice but to brace herself and take the passenger seat.
"Seatbelt," Ethan reminded her.
Like an obedient schoolchild, Josephine pulled the belt across and clicked it into place. "Thank you for what happened back there. But you really didn’t have to offend the Sterlings just for my sake."
"It doesn’t matter," Ethan replied. He had only lost his temper because Howard had insulted Mr. Sinclair, not out of any desire to defend Josephine. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, even knowing she had misunderstood, he didn’t feel like explaining himself.
Halfway through the drive, Ethan handed his phone to her. "Leave your contact info, and text me your bank account number later."
Josephine thought of her patent. "There’s no rush. We can wait until you’ve manufactured the finished product and made some sales."
"The contract is already in motion. Finance needs to put it on record, which requires your card number," Ethan lied without batting an eye.
Suspecting nothing, Josephine took his phone, entered her own number, and dialed it. Then, using her phone’s call log, she texted him her bank account number.
Having gotten her contact information, Ethan didn’t say another word until the car came to a halt. He looked at the villa before them with mild surprise.
How could a supposedly useless young lady who had severed ties with the Sterling family and run away from home afford to live in a place like this? Where did she get the money? It certainly wasn’t from her family; judging by their attitude today, they were the last people to give her a dime.
"You live here?" Ethan assumed she had only directed him here to keep up appearances.
Josephine saw the doubt in his eyes but didn’t feel offended. On the contrary, she could sense his underlying goodwill. "I do live here. Thank you again for today, President Sinclair. Goodbye."
"Mhm." Afraid of hurting her pride, Ethan didn’t linger. He got back into the car and quickly drove off.
Only when his car was out of sight did Josephine turn and enter the villa.
The two bodyguards had already returned and were keeping watch in the living room. On the dining table sat a spread of steaming hot, untouched food. Back in the Sterling household, returning late meant she would never get a single bite of a hot meal. Once again, Josephine felt that leaving the Sterlings was the right choice.
She stepped forward and invited everyone to eat together. Deep down, she was terrified of loneliness. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have tried so desperately to please her family in her past life.
Just the thought of the Sterlings left a foul taste in her mouth. For Howard and Grace to storm into the Sinclairs’ home demanding her return, they had clearly abandoned any regard for her reputation. After what happened today, they would be even less likely to let her off the hook.
It seemed she needed to gain the upper hand by striking first!
After a hurried dinner, she headed upstairs. Fresh from the shower, she lay on her bed and opened her laptop. Just as she was about to get to work, her phone chimed with a notification.
To her surprise, it was a bank transfer alert. A transfer went through this late at night?
She clicked on it. It was for a staggering one million!
She jumped to her feet in shock. A quick check revealed the sender was Ethan. Completely baffled, Josephine opened their chat and sent a single question mark.
Ethan’s reply arrived almost instantly: [Advance payment!]
But when they had discussed the partnership, he explicitly stated there would be no advance payment and everything would be based on actual sales. Could he have taken pity on her because of what happened this afternoon? Was he worried she would be strapped for cash after leaving the Sterlings?
The Sinclairs really were kind-hearted people!
Josephine wasn’t one to be ungrateful. She immediately replied with a sincere [Thank you!]
While she had a burning desire for revenge, she would also always remember those who treated her with genuine kindness.
Staring at the two words "Thank you" on his screen, Ethan felt a twinge of regret. He wondered, "Did I end up hurting the girl’s pride?"
Before he could sort through his conflicting thoughts, a call from the company’s R&D department came through. Luke hadn’t sounded this excited in a long time.
"Sinclair, what kind of genius came up with the idea of using a secondary reaction of substitute materials to create the finished building material? You absolutely have to introduce this person to me!"
"So, the data I gave you this afternoon is viable?" Ethan asked, pleasantly surprised.
For it to make Luke this ecstatic, it couldn’t be just any ordinary building material!
Luke’s voice rose in pitch. "They already got the patent certificate! Of course it’s viable! Don’t tell me you’ve been doubting them this whole time? Damn, I have no idea how you managed to swindle this patent from them. Don’t tell me you haven’t even paid them yet?"
He was half right. Ethan had paid, but it was just the one million he had sent moments ago.
"As long as it’s viable. Let me know when the physical materials are ready." Feeling a wave of relief, Ethan prepared to hang up.
"Wait a minute!" Luke shouted. "There’s one more thing I need to tell you.
"I realized this material was specifically researched and developed to counter that flawed material produced by the Sterling Group. You could even call it an upgraded version of theirs.
"Think about how many projects that bastard stole from us using that patent. Sinclair, your chance for revenge has finally come!
"So don’t be a cold-blooded capitalist. Make sure you properly thank the genius who threw us this lifeline, and while you’re at it, introduce me. Deal?"
"Get lost!" Ethan cursed with a laugh. "Just focus on manufacturing the material. If it’s really as good as you say, I naturally won’t treat her unfairly."
"..."
Businessmen were all black-hearted; who would believe he wouldn’t take advantage of her? However, Luke didn’t have time to mock him. He hung up the phone and excitedly rushed back into the lab. He needed to produce this material as fast as possible. He wanted his own revenge!
As the R&D Director of the Sinclair Group, being utterly crushed by the Sterling Group’s building material had been a bitter pill to swallow. He had been holding onto that grudge for years!
***
Josephine stayed up quite late and couldn’t pry her eyes open in the morning. Fortunately, without a job to rush to, she could afford to sleep in. She had worked late into the night and still had plenty to do today.
The patent she had provided the Sinclair Group wasn’t actually her primary area of expertise. In her past life, her actual field of research had garnered remarkable achievements—though sadly, someone else had stolen the credit for them.
She stretched lazily and finally decided to get out of bed. Downstairs, Aunt Shaw was walking out of the kitchen with a steaming bowl of millet porridge.
"You’re awake, Miss. I figured you’d be up soon. You looked a bit pale yesterday, so how about some millet porridge to soothe your stomach today?"
"Thank you, Aunt Shaw. But please just call me Josephine, or Josie. Being called ’Miss’ feels a bit strange."
In her past life, people were always whispering behind her back.
"Look, that’s Miss Sterling. She’s completely useless!"
"Miss Sterling, my ass. She’s nothing but a stepping stone."
"She has the attitude of a rich young miss, but none of the luck!"
Heh... it was almost funny. She had never even wanted to be some grand young lady in the first place! All she had ever wanted was a mother and father who loved her, a brother who cared about her, and a family that lived happily together. That was it.
But why did the Sterlings refuse to grant her even the most ordinary life? They had destroyed her future and ruined everything she held dear!
Josephine shook her head, forcing herself to stop thinking about them. After breakfast, she called over her bodyguard, Sean Pierce.
"Pierce, accompany me to buy a car in a bit. From now on, you and Ken can take turns resting. You two can figure out your own shift schedule."
"Understood, Miss Sterling," Pierce nodded respectfully.
Josephine didn’t plan on buying anything too extravagant—just a simple car for commuting. Besides, she didn’t have that much money to spare. If Ethan hadn’t sent that advance payment, she wouldn’t have even considered buying a car this soon.
The car dealership was located downtown. On the way there, Josephine received a phone call from Clara.