From His Ex-Wife to the World's Most Sought-After Restorer (Jade and Hudson) novel Chapter 261

Jade wanted to fight him, but seeing the crowd at the hospital, she gave up.

Knowing that arguing was useless, she simply remained silent.

They didn't speak a word on the way. As Jade got into the car, Hudson spoke up.

"I'll come by the studio to see you later tonight."

Jade continued to ignore him. Hudson didn't seem to expect an answer anyway; he shut the door and left in a separate vehicle.

Kevin drove her back. On the road, Jade suddenly turned to him.

"Where are my friend and Julian?"

Kevin felt a prickle of unease at the mention of Julian Forster.

"I'm not sure about Mr. Forster, but he had someone take Ms. Ford to the hospital before you and the boss arrived."

Satisfied with the answer, Jade lapsed back into silence, staring blankly out the window.

—

Metamorphosis Studio.

Jade watched Kevin drive away and turned to head inside.

Knock, knock, knock.

A sharp rap at the door stopped her.

Thinking it was Julian, she turned back to open it, but found several police officers standing on her doorstep.

"Ms. Merchant, we have a report that you've stolen commercial trade secrets. We're going to need you to come with us."

Boom.

The words "stolen commercial secrets" exploded in her head, leaving her mind a complete blank.

"I... I didn't..." she stammered.

"Please cooperate with the investigation."

Jade was led into the squad car. At the same moment, Julian's SUV pulled up at the corner. Seeing the scene, he immediately pulled a U-turn and followed.

—

Walter Group, Chairman's Office.

The moment Hudson walked in, Bert delivered a stinging slap to his face, followed by a barrage of furious questions.

"Didn't you vet the research? You said this project was a government priority. Why did they just issue a statement saying it's not even in the development zone?"

Hudson's face went pale. "How could the intel change so—"

"I don't want to hear excuses!" Bert's face was mottled with rage as he paced the room, hands clasped behind his back.

"You have three days to fix this, or the board will have your head!"

Hudson lowered his eyes. "I understand."

As he walked out, Bert's assistant hurried in with a folder.

"Sir, someone dropped this in your inbox."

"Sir?"

Bert stood still, his brow furrowed in a moment of rare hesitation.

"Draft them first. I'll go see him later. I want to tell him what she's done and see if he has a shred of dignity left before I pull the trigger."

After all, Hudson was his only son. He didn't want to burn every bridge just yet.

"Yes, sir."

At the precinct.

A short distance away, the window of the off-road SUV was halfway down. A muscular, tanned arm rested on the sill, a half-burned cigarette between long fingers.

The glowing cherry of the cigarette mirrored the fire in Julian's eyes.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

The phone rang. He checked the ID and answered.

Every ounce of his usual composure had vanished.

"Silas, why the hell was Jade arrested?

"Did you have a hand in this?

"If you knew the project was a setup, why didn't you tell me she was at risk?"

The barrage of questions made Silas's own temper flare.

"Julian, her arrest caught me off guard too. But wasn't this the whole point? To drag Hudson off his throne so we could corner the tech market? You're losing your mind at me now, but did you think about the consequences when you first lured her into the game?"