A woman already being the rightful owner of the underground trading market, how could she possibly also own the research institute?
Seeming to sense his thoughts, Evelyn asked softly, “Don’t believe it?”
“I do, I believe it.”
“In that case, do you have any objections if I take this money?”
Caleb suddenly realized something. Even if the research institute didn’t belong to Evelyn, with Jonathan’s influence, he wouldn’t be able to take the money. He might as well leave now and figure things out later.
Understanding this, Caleb forced a smile, “No objections, feel free to take it, I’ll just…”
As he turned around, two of Jonathan’s men blocked his path, and Caleb panicked completely.
“What do you mean? I don’t want the money anymore, why won’t you let me go?”
Evelyn sneered, “Now that you know my secret, do you think I can let you go easily?”
“Jonathan, how can you make someone unable to speak?”
Jonathan thought for a while before he came up with a blunt solution, “Kill him?”
“That’s settled then. Let’s kill him.”…
After killing Caleb, the rest of the Institute will be nothing to fear…
When Evelyn came back from backstage, Mia had already managed to extract a hefty sum from the bald man, at least twenty million. She seemed satisfied and ready to leave.
“Darling, let’s head home,” Evelyn urgently returned to Henry’s side.
Without waiting for his response, she grabbed his hand, ready to depart. “Hurry, I don’t want to miss the ‘show’.”
…
Just as Mia stepped out, she ran into the bald man’s wife, who was known for her fiery temper. Anyone who dared to touch her husband would either be crippled or disfigured. Mia, with her limited strength, had no chance to fight back.
Her face was pressed forcefully onto the ground, scraping against the gravel… Most of her fingers were broken, as well as her legs…
Evelyn took out her phone and recorded the scene, “The show is almost over. If she dies, it wouldn’t be fun anymore…”
She signaled David to anonymously message Jasper to come and pick up Mia.
…
Jasper received the message and rushed to the underground trading market. When he arrived, everyone had already left. Mia lay in the bushes, covered in injuries, in a sorry state.
He hurried to check Mia’s breathing and quickly called the hospital.
It was already 2 AM when Mia woke up. The vast hospital room was illuminated, with only Jasper standing by the door.
Just as Jasper was about to speak, a nurse entered with Mia’s medical report.
“Congratulations, sir,” the nurse said.
“Congratulations?” Jasper glanced at the report in her hand.
“Yes, congratulations on becoming a father. It’s almost four weeks along, and the baby is healthy.”
“Are you serious?” Jasper stood frozen in place, then took the report from the nurse’s hand. As he read through it, he calculated the timeline.
Almost a month ago… that was when he rescued Mia from that villa… Jasper remembered, after the ordeal, and that night, she was particularly passionate.
“Mia, you’re pregnant.”
He handed the report to Mia.
Mia’s face lit up with joy immediately. Then, she cautiously watched Jasper.
“I, I didn’t plan on getting pregnant. Do you believe me?” Jasper naturally believed her. That wild night wasn’t just Mia alone.
Seeing him silent, Mia shook her head immediately. “Jasper, I know this baby came unexpectedly. But trust me, I won’t use him to pressure you into marrying me. I just beg you, please, let him stay.”
Her humble and pleading expression made Jasper even more compassionate. He reached out and stroked her head. “Okay… Let’s get married.”
…
Mia’s wedding was scheduled for a month later.
On the wedding day, Jasper received an email from an unknown sender early in the morning. As he opened the email, shock, anger, and disbelief flooded over him. If all of this were true… he clenched his fists tightly.
At the wedding, Mia’s bridal photos adorned the entire venue.
She walked arm in arm with Jasper, a picture of happiness.
Jasper suddenly pointed to the stage. “On this special day, I want you to be the most beautiful bride. We fell in love because of the piano, and on this special day, I hope to hear you play again.”
Looking at the white piano on the stage, Mia felt a little flustered. “Jasper, my hands…”
“Your hands are fine now,” Jasper reminded her softly. “During your last check-up, I secretly had the doctor examine you. Your hands have recovered as if they were never injured.”
Mia froze, immediately sensing something wrong.
Jasper never doubted her before, let alone conduct such an investigation on her.
Could it be… she’s been exposed?
Mia couldn’t imagine what Jasper would do if he knew the truth.
She touched her stomach, feeling dazed. Her body started to sway, and she was about to faint. But then, Jasper’s merciless voice came through.
“Mia, if you faint, our wedding will have to be canceled.”
“No.” Mia retorted angrily. She was on the verge of becoming the mistress of The Reid family. She couldn’t let it be ruined at such a critical moment.
“If you want to hear it, I’ll play it for you,” Mia affectionately wrapped her arms around Jasper. “As long as you like it, I can play for you every day.”
Jasper pointed to the position of the piano. “Go ahead.”
“Mia, I fell in love with you because of that piano piece. Don’t let me down,” Jasper said.
Mia nodded, sweat beads forming on her forehead.
Jasper must have known something.
Nervously, she sat down at the piano, taking a deep breath. She recalled what her teacher had taught her.
She had studied for six years. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to perfectly match Evelyn’s hand movements every time. If she made any mistakes later, she could attribute them to the injury.
As the first note fell, the entire room fell silent.
Evelyn smirked, unsurprised. Only Mia dared to confidently showcase her skills in such an important setting.
After the silence came low murmurs of ridicule from the audience.
Mia looked nervously at the crowd’s reaction, hastily explaining, “Sorry, everyone, my hands haven’t played for a while, so I’m a bit rusty.” She remained polite, but the audience was not buying it.
After all, no one was stupid; a pianist of Grade 10 should have been thoroughly familiar with all the scores during practice. What Mia showed just now was like someone who had never touched a piano before. Even if a pianist went mad, they wouldn’t play like this.
Jasper’s face had turned completely dark.
He turned to Evelyn, his expression tinged with regret. If the truth was indeed as the person had said, had he misunderstood Evelyn too deeply?
Jasper secretly hoped for that outcome, but his hands clenched tightly together.
Mia took a deep breath, adopting the most serious attitude of her life, and began to play Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”
Choosing a world-famous piece? Where did this woman get her courage?
No one dared to make a sound, quietly watching her on stage.
Seeing this, Mia grew even more confident.
Soon, the piece ended, and Mia awaited the thunderous applause from the audience, also giving a defiant glance at Evelyn.
The venue was completely silent…
Mia’s expression seemed somewhat uncertain as she glanced towards Jasper for help.
Unfortunately, the current Jasper didn’t even spare her a glance.
The people below began to speak again.
“What on earth was that she played? It sounded awful.”
“Yeah, it was terrible.”
“I’ve never heard anything so bad.”
These words hit Mia like a barrag.
So, the eerie silence earlier was because her playing was so bad?
How was that possible? From childhood to adulthood, her mother had always found her the best teachers. Evelyn, that wretched woman, had only learned a bit from listening in. How could Mia possibly be so much worse than her?
“Jasper,” she held her stomach, rushing over to Jasper, “Was my playing really that terrible?”
Jasper lowered his gaze. Normally, at a time like this, he would console Mia softly. But this time, Jasper’s voice suddenly turned cold, as he said firmly, “Do you have no self-awareness?”
“Jasper!” Mia couldn’t believe Jasper was speaking to her in this manner.
“I know I embarrassed you.”
“But Jasper, this time it really was because my injuries haven’t fully healed yet. My hands cramped up so many times during that piece just now.”
Mia grabbed onto Jasper. “Today is our wedding day, after all. Please don’t be angry. I’ll practice more in the future and try to regain my former skill.”