Chapter 28
Janet’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a wave of overwhelming panic washed over her. Something was terribly wrong— she could feel it—and whatever it was, she wasn’t prepared to face it.
She turned to her mother, who stood nearby, silently crying. Janet tried to push down the rising terror in her chest and asked in a trembling voice, “Mom, what’s going on? Please, don’t scare me. What happened?”
Through her tears, Roselyn choked out, “Janet, our company…It’s bankrupt.”
Janet felt like the world had just crumbled beneath her feet.
Her eyes went wide as she shook her head in disbelief, her voice barely a whisper as she muttered to herself, “No, no, that can’t be. Everything was fine this morning… Dad said we’d just landed a huge project, and if we pulled it off, our revenue would be up by several points this year.”
Her face went pale as she clung desperately to Roselyn’s sleeve, like a drowning person grabbing on the last piece of driftwood. “Mom, you’re lying to me, right? You just don’t want to buy me that new bag, huh? I don’t need it anymore, really, I don’t! Please, stop lying to me!”
Roselyn, normally so composed and graceful, was now a mess, her hair in disarray as she looked at and helplessness. “Janet, when will you grow up?”
Janet with a mix of love
Suddenly, Janet clapped her hands over her ears and screamed hysterically, her face a mask of disbelief. Her voice was sharp, almost defiant. “I don’t believe you. Never. There’s no way our family could go bankrupt. You’re lying. You’re both lying.”
Fearing that Janet might snap, Roselyn wrapped her arms around her daughter and comforted her. “Janet, calm down. I’ve been thinking… there might still be a way out of this.”
Janet froze, her voice flat and emotionless as she repeated, “A way out?”
Even Kyle, still slumped on the floor, looked up with a flicker of hope and asked, “Is that true, honey? Is there really a way
out?”
Roselyn replied with a nod, “Yes, when you were calling around for help earlier, even though everyone turned us down, someone gave us a hint. They said that our company had been crushed because Janet had crossed the wrong person at school. Janet, think carefully, who did you fight with at school?”
Before she married Kyle, Roselyn had made quite a name for herself as a sharp businesswoman. Though she stepped back from the limelight after the wedding, that innate savvy never left her.
Now that she had calmed down, she saw a glimmer of hope. If people were saying Janet had offended someone at school, there was a way to resolve it. Apologize or offer compensation if necessary–maybe they could still salvage the situation.
With her eyes swollen from crying, Janet clutched her sleeves tightly and wracked her brain to figure out who she might have offended at school. Then, it hit her–Eleanor! The only person she had clashed with recently was Eleanor.
“Mom, I guess it’s Eleanor,” Janet exclaimed.
Roselyn frowned and instantly started to process this information. After a moment, she asked, “Eleanor… Is that the biological daughter the Vanderbilt family just brought back?”
Janet nodded and said, “Yes, that’s her.”
But then, she hesitated, her brow furrowing as she shook her head. “Wait, no… That doesn’t make sense. Gloria and I are best friends. I have issues with Eleanor because I stood up for Gloria If the Vanderbilt family were really coming after us, Gloria would’ve told me, wouldn’t she?”
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Roselyn pressed her lips together and lost deep in thought. Hall Group wasn’t as big as Vanderbilt Group, but it still had significant local influence. For the Vanderbilts to take them down so quickly, someone else had pulled strings from behind the scenes.
“Janet, call your friend Gloria. Tell her about the bankruptcy and see what she says,” said Roselyn.
Janet hesitated, not wanting to lose face in front of her friends. “Mom, I don’t think-”
+5
Roselyn didn’t even let her finish. She shot Janet a sharp look and snapped, “If you want to keep going to school, keep living in this house, and keep buying designer brands, then do as I say!
Reluctantly, Janet pulled out her phone and dialed Gloria’s number. Meanwhile, Gloria was standing at Eleanor’s door, trying her best to look pitiful and win Eleanor’s sympathy.
“Eleanor, congrats on getting first in the exam. Mom and Dad will be
sweet tone.
SO
proud when they hear the news,” Gloria said in a
Eleanor leaned against the door frame, raised an eyebrow, and replied, “You came knocking just to congratulate me?” She didn’t believe this bitch was being so sincere.
Sure enough, Gloria’s eyes were immediately filled with tears. She stepped forward, gently tugged at Eleanor’s sleeve, and said with a delicate, almost pitiful voice, “Eleanor, I didn’t know Janet posted your old grades in the forum and humiliated you like that.
“I only found that out afterward. I never imagined her jealousy would drive her to hurt you like that. If I had known earlier, I would’ve stopped her, I swear.”
She sniffled, her voice trembling as she continued, “The whole bet thing wasn’t even my idea–it was Janet who got carried away. We’re not even close, just classmates, really. I never thought she’d drag me into it and cause all this tension between us. She’s so malicious. Please, don’t be mad at me because of someone like her, okay?”
Eleanor couldn’t help but think, ‘Tsk, she’s such a pro at flipping the script, turning everything upside down, and pointing fingers at whoever she wants.
‘No wonder, in all those novels I’ve read, Gloria could con both the original Eleanor and the Vanderbilt’s business titans into playing right into her hands. Even as a top–tier actress from my past life, I could have a hard time keeping up with her acting skills.’
Eleanor smirked, curious to see where this would go. “Oh? That’s all? Well, I forgive you then. If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to studying.” After her words, she made a move to turn away.
Gloria hadn’t expected to be forgiven so easily. She thought it’d take a lot more effort. She instantly flashed a bright smile and added, “Since you’ve forgiven me, could you maybe talk to the teacher and have the whole apology thing dropped? It’s not really my fault–this whole mess started because of Janet.”
Eleanor let out a low laugh and thought, ‘Ah, there it is. This is what Gloria has been after all long. If I hadn’t read the novel, I might’ve actually fallen for her doe–eyed innocence!
According to the book, everything Janet did was to defend Gloria. And now Gloria, with
