Chapter 121 Jason followed her instructions and put the call on speaker. He dialed several times before the line connected. The voice that answered was not Julian's, but Elliot's. "Jason, it's me. The boss is busy. He asked me to pass on a message. Don't call in the middle of the night, or you might get struck by lightning." Eloise's face darkened, her expression so stormy she nearly overturned the table. Jason coughed to smooth things over and went straight to the point. "Elliot, please ask Mr.
Julian-about just now, we got a call from the project-" Elliot, having been at Julian's side for years, interrupted with the same lazy indifference Julian carried, "That was our boss who did it." Jason and Eloise froze. They had not expected such brazen, open admission. There was no attempt to hide it or pretense. Even a subordinate dared speak in this tone. Under Eloise's glare, Jason pressed, "Then what does Mr. Julian mean by this?" "No special meaning," Elliot said evenly. "Mr. Sterling has always been like this.
Anyone who bullies his people will pay." Then, almost kindly, he added, "Oh, and the other buildings have bombs too. Timed ones. Better wait until they've all gone off before sending workers in to rebuild. A lifesaving tip, if you may." "What did you say?" Eloise's roar shook the hall. "Ask Julian what the hell he's trying to do!" If every building blew, the project would be finished. Everything would be reduced to nothing, and the loss would be near 20 billion. "Madam, Mr. Sterling is busy," Elliot replied. In the background, faint shuffling cards could be heard.
"But he did say that the final loss on this project depends entirely on how you choose to act," he said cryptically. "How I choose to act?" Her eyes widened, then understanding dawned on her. 'That ungrateful bastard is turning his back on me!' she thought furiously. She slammed the phone down, rage burning through her frail body. "Quickly! Get that girl into a hot bath. Have the doctor clean the wound on her forehead. At least make her look presentable when she leaves this house!" Her sudden flurry of orders left Jason momentarily stunned.
She ground her teeth and hissed, "Can't you see why he's making such a scene? Who do you think he's targeting?" Dragging Sydney here in the middle of the night felt like a punch to his pride. The kid who once wouldn't dare challenge her had grown into a man who met her gaze without flinching. She cursed herself. She should never have shown him mercy back then. Her softness had given him room to grow claws. Out on the ice, Sydney's foot had slipped into the freezing water when she saw Jason waving people over. With great fuss, they pulled her up, rescuing her from the lake.
3/2 After that, she was not taken to the family hall. Jason treated her with unexpected courtesy, even arranging a car to send her home. Only after the vehicle disappeared down the road did Jason hurry back inside. "Madam, shall I call Mr. Julian again?" "No need." Eloise rubbed her temples with a cold smile. "Before your call even reaches him, he'll already know." In the car, Sydney could not fathom it. Why would Eloise show mercy? In the past, her punishments had never been light-each one harsher than the last. Her thoughts grew hazy, her eyelids heavy, and her body feverish.
Kneeling on an icy lake at night would weaken anyone. She had even removed her down coat, afraid it might drag her under if she fell through. By the time she got home, daylight was breaking. Tiffany had already left for work but had set breakfast on the table. Sydney had no appetite. Dizzy and feverish, she swallowed a fever reducer and collapsed into bed. Her sleep was restless, haunted by fevered dreams. In the end, she dreamed of kneeling on the ice again, then plunging into the lake, with seaweed twisting tightly around her limbs and pulling her under.
When she finally clawed her way back to shore, half her life had already slipped away. 2/2