Jamison found a quiet bistro nearby and took Ivy there for dinner. Worried that she might be upset, he kept stealing glances at her throughout the meal. But Ivy, head down and focused on her plate, was clearly starving; she barely looked up as she ate.

Eventually, she caught his concerned gaze and offered him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve been insulted or slandered by those people. Honestly, I stopped caring long ago.”

Even if it stung, the pain only lasted a moment.

Jamison finally relaxed a little.

“In fact, there’s even some good news tonight–something I really didn’t expect.” Ivy’s lips curled into a small smile.

“Good news?” Jamison looked puzzled.

“Yeah. Baillie wants to buy back my shares in The Windsor Group. I never saw that coming.”

Just a few weeks ago, she had assumed The Windsor Group would keep tumbling and never recover, leaving her with a hefty loss.

Sure, she’d gotten some satisfaction out of taking down the Windsor family, but it was a pyrrhic victory–hurting herself just as much in the process.

But she hadn’t expected Baillie to land himself a wealthy wife and suddenly come into money, enough to try and prop up The Windsor Group’s stock.

Even more surprising, he was now itching to reclaim the company and wanted to buy back her shares.

“So, when you do the math, my losses aren’t so bad after all. That’s good news, isn’t it?” Just thinking about it seemed to restore Ivy’s appetite.

Jamison understood and smiled with her before saying, “That money means nothing to me. You really don’t need to worry about it.”

“That’s not the point,” Ivy replied. “Every penny you earn comes from your hard work. It’s not like it just falls from the sky.”

Besides, making Baillie sweat a little more was just an added bonus.

She didn’t go out of her way to target the Windsor family–it was just that their hostility toward her had always run so deep.

Whenever she thought she’d finally left the past behind, the Windsors always found a way to reignite her anger.

Whenever she remembered the things Rosetta–her own mother–had said to her, so vicious and cruel, the hurt would surge up all over again.

On their way home after dinner, Ivy was still lost in thought. “Tell me, what kind of person hates the Windsors so much that they’d set their house on fire in broad daylight? If the family had still been living there, would that person have dared do it?”

Jamison considered her question, his profile turning serious and stern. “I’d guess it was just a warning. Whoever did it probably wanted to scare the Windsors, so they torched the empty house as a show of force.”

“So, you’re saying the danger isn’t over for them yet?”

“Maybe not.”

The whole thing felt off in so many ways, and Jamison could tell Ivy was uneasy. He tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry. The police will get to the bottom of it soon. I’ve already asked Boyd to have his people run a parallel investigation–just to be sure.”

Anyone bold enough to commit arson in the open would also be careful enough to cover their tracks.

With the police looking into it officially and Boyd’s team working behind the scenes, Jamison was confident they’d find some clue, no matter how small.

Even though the incident seemed to target only the Windsors, Jamison couldn’t afford to let his guard down. Only when it was clear that the culprit was after Adkins and his family–and not Ivy–would he finally be able to breathe easy.

The next morning, Baillie called Ivy first thing, wanting to pin down a time and place to meet.

Since she didn’t want the Windsor family to know she worked at Quantum Hedge Securities, Ivy reached out to Boyd Ludwig. She asked him to bring a lawyer and arrange a meeting spot.

Around noon, with a two-hour break in her schedule, Ivy headed to a nearby tea lounge Boyd had reserved–a quiet place with private rooms, just a short walk from her office.

When she arrived, Boyd and the attorney were already waiting.

“Ivy, is Baillie nuts? The Windsor Group is a mess–losing money left and right. Even if the stock bounces a bit, it’s not going to change a thing. He’s just throwing good money after bad.” Boyd shook his head, seeing the situation as an outside observer.

Ivy took her seat, an amused smile playing on her lips. “But without The Windsor Group, Baillie is nothing…”

She understood Baillie’s motivation. He couldn’t stand the idea of being a kept man, so he was using his new wife’s infatuation to his advantage.

The Windsor Group was the foundation of the Windsor family–a legacy passed down through generations. Adkins would do anything to protect the company, so Baillie was taking a gamble.

He wasn’t even risking his own money. If, by some miracle, the company turned around, he’d be crowned the new CEO–what a triumph, especially since Adkins’ health couldn’t handle the stress anymore.

And if the company crashed anyway? Well, it’d be his wealthy wife who took the hit, not him.

You had to admit, Baillie’s scheme was shamelessly clever.

Before long, Baillie arrived, lawyer in tow.

He didn’t bother with pleasantries; the moment he sat down, he got straight to business.

With her new job in finance, Ivy was required to divest all privately held stocks. She’d already sold off her profitable investments long ago. Only the Windsor Group shares–deep in the red–remained, and even those she hadn’t managed to unload yet, thanks to industry restrictions.

Now, with Baillie swooping in like a godsend, her last headache was about to disappear.

Privately, she was delighted. Feeling generous, she decided not to haggle over the price.

Baillie looked genuinely surprised. “Didn’t you say yesterday that you’d set the price? Why are you letting it go at market value now?”