showed that he
agreed with what she said.
Jaycie sneered and patted Zander’s hand, signaling him to release Cole.
Zander hesitated, clearly reluctant, but at her nod, he let go.
Seeing them back down, Cole softened his demeanor slightly, and even Eileen thought they’d backed off because they were
intimidated.
Cole straightened up, preparing to speak, but before he could, Jaycie yanked off the brooch from her chest and hurled it straight
at him.
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Chapter 18
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Cole, ever confident, believed she wouldn’t actually go through with it. After all, she loved him–how could she bear to hurt him?
Surely, this was just for show, to intimidate him.
“Jaycie, I know–ow!” Before he could finish, the brooch stabbed into his hand with a sharp, sudden pain. The shock made him
lose his grip on her arm.
Jaycie stepped back, avoiding Eileen’s rush to retaliate. Then, with a swift motion, she slapped Eileen across the face.
The sound of the slap echoed, and a bright red handprint bloomed on Eileen’s pale skin. Her eyes were wide with disbelief–she
never expected Jaycie to actually strike her.
“Jaycie, how dare you!”
But while Eileen was furious, shrieking in outrage, Jaycie remained calm. Her expression was almost indifferent, as though she
hadn’t just slapped her but merely greeted them.
She handed Zander a tissue, then slowly wiped her wrist. Looking at Eileen with a gaze that seemed both distant and mocking,
Jaycie said, “Do you really think you’re that important?”
Her words stung, the mockery sharp enough to make Cole’s face redden with anger. But the fire in him was doused immediately
when she spoke again.
“You’re both just idiots who can’t even recognize your competitors in a bidding war.”
Competitors?
Cole and Eileen both froze, their minds racing as they recalled the documents they’d been given. After a long pause, they finally
connected Zander to the second son of the Reeds, who was just below the Stantons in Housleton’s hierarchy.
The Bensons and the Wises may have been influential in Rochernia, but they were nothing compared to the Stantons and the
Reeds.
Finally, Zander, who had remained silent since telling Cole to let go, spoke up again, “Instead of asking me whether I know who
you are, you should ask the people around you who we
are.”
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Chapter 19
