Chapter 257

Richard never expected to run into Madeline at the airport on this trip back home, especially since she was now calling herself the lady of the Jean family.

The world seemed huge, but it was actually pretty damn small. That was how they ended up bumping into each other like this.

Richard knew exactly what was going on. The woman everyone thought was Ruth these days was actually Madeline in disguise.

Back in the day, Juliana wasn’t Juliana yet. She was Ruth, the powerhouse businesswoman who’d saved Jean Group from going under when it was on the brink of bankruptcy. She was gentle, brilliant, and wise as hell.

Ruth had been Richard’s secret crush since high school, the one who got away that he could never forget. He’d been too broke back then to even think about confessing his feelings. Instead, he watched her marry Jameson, then watched Jameson and their so-called friends completely betray her.

Ruth had already figured out how to break through the bottlenecks in cloning technology years ago. But she thought the tech was too dangerous for the world, so she kept her research hidden away.

Problem was, Madeline had been working alongside Ruth the whole time. One day, she discovered Ruth’s secret and cut a deal with some lab doctor to steal the research. But Madeline didn’t stop there. She hatched this whole plot to kill Ruth and take over her identity.

The plan worked perfectly. Madeline became the new Ruth and stepped into her role as the lady of the Jean family. If Richard hadn’t pulled Ruth out of the ocean that day, there wouldn’t be any Juliana in his life right now.

Later on, Juliana woke up.

Richard kept everything buried deep inside because of his own selfish reasons. He never told her a single thing about what really happened. Over all these years, he hadn’t kept close tabs on the Jean family situation because he felt way too guilty about Juliana’s son, Ross.

Back then, Ross was so little when he lost his sister and his mom too.

Richard heard from people that after Madeline became Ruth, she put on this whole act like she was devastated about losing her daughter.

She brought home an adopted girl, and because of this new kid, Ross got pushed aside and ignored. Madeline never showed him any motherly love at all.

Richard could imagine how rough things were for him back then.

Sitting in his car, Richard’s mind was all over the place, and the guilt just hit him like a wave. What he really wanted to know was how Ross was doing these days.

After thinking it over for a while, Richard made a phone call. “I need to know what’s been going on with the Jean family lately,” he told whoever picked up.

Once Richard got that sorted out, he headed to the prison. The guy who ran that child trafficking ring was locked up in the north part of Basterel.

From what Richard learned from the person who actually abducted Juliana’s daughter, the kid got sold to some family in a small town really far from Basterel.

Richard didn’t know the family’s last name, but the one thing he remembered was that the man was blind and couldn’t have kids of his own.

As soon as Richard got this news, he immediately sent people to investigate.

After Richard left the prison, another plane from Rodunst landed in Basterel.

Juliana stepped off the aircraft carrying just a small suitcase. She’d used some clever tricks to slip under the radar and fly back to Basterel from Rodunst.

Something about Richard hiding things from her made her feel like it was connected to her somehow, so she really wanted to know what exactly he was keeping from her.

The night stretched on under a sky full of twinkling stars. It was Shermaine’s third evening of the orientation, and she’d just gotten out of the shower when she received a WhatsApp message from Joshua: [Sheary, want some ice cream and desserts?]

Water droplets were still falling from her silky long hair, and her delicate collarbones peeked out from her shirt. She licked her lips and texted: [Yes.]

Joshua: [Come downstairs.]

Shermaine smiled when she saw that. Joshua really couldn’t sit still.

Shermaine: [Give me two minutes.]

Shermaine put down her towel, threw on a T-shirt, and headed downstairs. Following the directions he’d given her, she found a low-key Bentley parked under the cotton tree. Since hardly any students were walking around, she casually opened the car door and got in.

Shermaine looked at Joshua. “Where’s the ice cream and desserts?”

Joshua reached into the back seat and handed the stuff over to her.

Shermaine was absolutely delighted as she pulled out the ice cream and started eating it with a little spoon, one bite at a time. She licked her lips. “Want to try some?”