The strange smell had frightened Vespera and Rebecca. They wondered how Jade could tolerate the disgusting odor.

Jade got up and went to the kitchen. She returned with a few bottles of Coke and handed them to Vespera and the others.

After settling back on the couch, Jade said, “Thanks for visiting me.”

Vespera and Rebecca took the Coke bottles from Jade. They began asking about her life and offered words of encouragement. Vespera even suggested surgery to improve Jade’s scar and offered to pay for it. Jade was delighted and remained in high spirits for a long time.

Since Vespera had offered to pay for the surgery, it made sense that she would ask Jade how she got the scar. The conversation naturally shifted in that direction. Because Vespera was paying for the surgery, she was able to convince Jade to share her story.

At first, Jade was hesitant to talk about her scar. Then she said, “My female classmate in high school did this to me.”

Jade looked at Rebecca before clasping her hands tightly. “I know you two are here to ask about Quentin. I can tell you what happened. But please don’t gossip. Otherwise, I will too.”

Jade lowered her gaze. She was finally about to share the truth.

Rebecca reassured Jade. “Don’t worry. We won’t say a word. We’re here because I want to find out what happened to my poor cousin. I’ll be very grateful if you could tell me what happened.”

Jade hummed in response and nodded vigorously. She seemed to have made up her mind.

Jade became lost in her memories as she gazed at the coffee table. “It was the last day of our finals, and the final paper ended at 2:30 pm. After packing my bag, I was ready to go home when three students stopped me in the corridor. One of them was a female student who often caused me trouble because of Quentin. Things always got worse every time, and I was terrified of her. They said they wanted to hang out with me. I didn’t want to go, but they forced me to come along. I remember we went to a large house with a garden, which wasn’t far from the school. Once I was there, they made me call Quentin. I didn’t want to, so she asked two men to strip off my clothes. She even asked them to…”

At that point, Jade seemed on the verge of a breakdown again.

Vespera and Rebecca were furious to hear everything. What happened was far worse than bullying.

Jade covered her face and sobbed. “I didn’t want to do it. They snatched my phone from me and made me call Quentin. I was scared at that time; I was really terrified.”

Rebecca put an arm around Jade and comforted her. “Anyone in your shoes would be terrified. It’s not your fault.”

Jade calmed down a little and continued, “Later, Quentin showed up and asked them to release me. The young woman said she’d let me go if he agreed to be her boyfriend. Quentin refused because he didn’t have feelings for her. She was the one who kept bothering him. Later, they started arguing, and he really pissed her off. She vented all her anger on me; she hit me and slashed my face with a knife. Then, she asked these two guys to drag me into another room.”

“Once I was free from the depths of hell, it was already dark outside. I couldn’t walk at all, so they dumped me at the junction. A man who happened to pass by took me to the hospital.”

“Later, Quentin had gone missing. I don’t know what happened to him. I wanted to tell the teacher about what happened and make a police report.”

“But very quickly, someone came to warn me that I should keep my mouth shut and drop out of school. Otherwise, my whole family will end up dead.”

“I’m the reason Quentin’s gone. It was me. He didn’t try to save me. If he’d just ignored me, he wouldn’t have…” Jade could no longer continue as she broke down sobbing.

Rebecca and Vespera exchanged glances. So, that was the whole story.

Tina had used Jade to lure Quentin before killing him. Since Tina couldn’t have the young man she desired, she chose to harm Jade, whom he was in love with. Although Jade had survived the terrible ordeal, what she went through was a hundred times worse than killing her. She was physically and mentally hurt and would never recover from the pain. Living with such guilt was worse than death. How old was Tina even back then? She was already so malicious at such a young age.

“Jade, given a chance, do you want to take revenge on those who have wronged you? You can seek justice for yourself and Quentin. Do you want to give it a try?” Vespera leaned forward, looking at Jade.

Jade’s tears kept rolling down her cheeks as she stared at Vespera.

Vespera was in a daze. She pondered for a moment before shaking her head. “She’s really well-off. We…”

Vespera said, “If you even try, you never know. Do you want to hide for the rest of your life? What could be worse than this?”

Rebecca added, “If we fall, that’s on some and Vera. But if we succeed, you can start a new life. There’s still so much more to life for you to enjoy.”

Jade’s whole body trembled, and she kept wringing her fingers. She seemed to be in an internal struggle.

Finally, her gaze grew determined. “What do I need to…”

Behind the couch, Calvert forwarded the conversation he had just recorded to Dominic.