Chapter 4

Jessica instinctively ducked her head, too scared to shoot back. She knew all too well how terrifying this woman in front of her could be. Back when Louise had just gotten out of prison, she was all over the news. After all, being known as the former fiancée of Edgar, CEO of the Shaw Group, was enough to grab attention - not to mention her once dazzling achievements. One particular photo had made the rounds: Louise, just released, was wearing only a thin T-shirt. Her exposed skin was covered in bruises that screamed of abuse. And yet her eyes... calm to the point of being unsettling, like she'd erased every shred of human emotion. "Sweetie, Jessica isn't cut out for hardships. Plus, your dad already promised this to me," Sophia said sweetly. Louise let out a mocking laugh. "He made that promise. I didn't." Though the Bennett Corp wasn't a corporate giant, it had quite the rep in the industry. And in just two months after taking over - all while mourning her mom - Louise had snagged a major deal from Shaw Group, putting both the company and her name back on the map. This company meant everything to her mom. Louise would guard it with her life if she had to. "Twenty percent of the shares? That's not some game. Even if you're okay handing them over, I'm definitely not leaving the company in the hands of someone who has no clue what they're doing." Jessica's face tightened. She hated being dismissed. "You were just fresh out of prison when you took over, weren't you? You think you were some born CEO?" "Jessica!" Sophia snapped, panic in her voice. What Jessica had said hit a major nerve - that topic was taboo in the Bennett household. Sure enough, Louise's expression turned even colder. Sophia quickly grabbed Jessica's arm. "Apologize to your sister. Now." "But Mom..." Jessica whined. "I said - apologize!" Louise waved her hand, clearly done. "Save it. No need to fake the family love in front of me." Still unwilling to back down, Sophia pushed, "Louise, this company doesn't run on your word alone. Your father has a say, too." Louise's gaze settled on her, slow and steady. "Why don't you ask him - do I make the decisions here or not?" She glanced at Samuel, who remained silent, and let out a cold laugh. "Thought so. If we're done here, I'll head upstairs." "Who do you think you are, Louise?!" Jessica shot back, full of frustration. Louise stopped walking, didn't turn around, but her voice drifted back calm as ever. "You know the two things I absolutely can't stand? One, people yelling at me like they've lost their mind. Two, anyone trying to take what my mom left me. You? You checked both boxes." Jessica's eyes flickered with panic, but the anger of losing what she thought was hers came storming in. "Your mom's gone. That inheritance belongs to the Bennett family. I'm part of this family too! Why shouldn't I get a share?" Louise was stunned at how shameless that sounded. She turned, took long strides straight toward Jessica. Jessica instinctively shrank back, voice wavering. "W-What do you think you're doing?" Ignoring her, Louise walked past, picked up the teapot off the table, and while Jessica let out a piercing scream, poured the still-warm tea straight over her head. With one hand pressing down her shoulder, Louise steadily kept pouring, face unreadable, eyes like ice. "If you had any sense, I'd let you stay in this house," Louise said evenly, not even raising her voice. "But if either of you keep getting ideas, I'm happy to help you go see my mom yourselves." "Louise, stop it!" Sophia shouted in panic. Jessica broke free with a sob, clutching her scalded, reddened face, crying out, "How dare you do this to me?!" Louise curled her lips into a slow, mocking smile, a glint of disdain in her eyes. "There's not a single thing I wouldn't dare to do." She shot one last look at the mess Jessica had become, then turned and walked upstairs, silently telling herself, "Mom, I promised you'd never have to watch anyone hurt me again. I meant it." After her shower, towel still wrapped around her damp hair, Louise glanced at her phone on the table. One new text. "Let's have lunch. Tomorrow. Twelve." She stared at the screen, lips tugging up in the faintest smile as she pictured Dominic typing it. She typed back, "Where?" "Jade Court. Want me to come pick you up?" "No need."