From His Ex-Wife to the World's Most Sought-After Restorer (Jade and Hudson) novel Chapter 249

"I've known for a while now. I'm not Michael Merchant's daughter."

Jade was done. She'd spent her life worrying about other people's feelings and carrying their burdens. She had nothing left to lose.

She leaned down, staring into Cindy's terrified eyes.

"I also know Michael didn't marry my mother for love. He married her for what she could do for him. And then you all used me to bleed the Walters dry. When I wanted a divorce, you tried to squeeze me one last time for Robert's sake, even trading my mother's ashes for a payout. You're the ones God should be punishing. Not me."

As she spoke, Cindy looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Her entire body began to tremble.

Jade straightened up, her gaze icy.

"Stay away from me. If you push me again, I'll expose every single disgusting thing you've done. I'll make sure Michael Merchant loses everything."

Jade's words hit Cindy like a physical blow. She let out a sharp, panicked shriek.

"Ah!"

She scrambled to her feet and bolted for the door as if she were being hunted.

She ran to a far corner of the block before fumbling for her phone. Her fingers shook so much it took several attempts to dial Michael.

"Michael! Michael, it's a disaster!"

Michael sounded drained. "What now? Jade wouldn't give you the money? Everyone knows her studio is a success. She has the cash. Go back and make more of a scene. She'll pay just to shut you up."

That had been Cindy's plan, but the conversation had gone horribly wrong.

She paced the sidewalk, her voice a frantic whisper. "I tried! But Jade... Michael, she didn't just refuse. she said she was going to burn us both down!"

Michael scoffed. "Jade? She doesn't have the stomach for it."

Cindy checked her surroundings, making sure no one was listening, before dropping her voice even lower.

"She knows, Michael. She knows she's not your biological child."

"What?" Michael's voice sharpened on the other end.

"I kept that secret locked away. I never told a soul. How could she know?"

"I don't know!" Cindy was on the verge of a breakdown.

"But that's not even the worst of it. If she knows that, what if she finds out what we did to Emma Nelly?"

"Keep your mouth shut!"

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify