The Heiress They Couldn't Break (Amelia and Jeremy) novel Chapter 682

On top of that, with a troublemaking mother like Regina stirring the pot behind the scenes, there was no way this could be buried completely.

But when people learned that Gianna had been stabbed to death, there wasn't much sympathy to be found.

If anything, most felt that with how high-profile she'd been, how many people she'd offended, and how universally disliked she was, her death didn't seem particularly tragic.

For all those reasons, Gianna's end was humiliating in every sense.

She'd lived resentful and bitter, and she died just as resentful and bitter.

If you had to say anyone truly cared whether she lived or died, it would probably only be Regina, her biological mother.

When Regina found out her daughter had been stabbed to death by Emery, she completely fell apart.

Beyond the devastating grief of losing her child, what consumed her even more was the desire to drag Emery down to hell with her.

Now, not only had she failed to harm that crazy woman in the slightest, but Emery had also escaped the death penalty by claiming "mental illness," and Regina simply couldn't swallow it.

After exhausting every option—crying, begging, trying to pursue legal channels to no avail—Regina had thought about turning to livestreaming and stirring up public opinion online.

At the very least, she could rally everyone to curse that woman and, if possible, shake the stock price of the Jordans' company.

But her face had grown more and more terrifying. The side effects from being used as an experimental subject had worsened, leaving her with deeper and deeper wrinkles.

Her skin sagged and darkened, and her eyes bulged so severely that she looked like she had hyperthyroidism.

In her current state, she didn't just resemble an elderly lady in her 80s—she was worse.

Her teeth had fallen out completely. Her gums had begun to shrink so badly that implants weren't even possible, leaving her with no choice but to wear dentures.

And sometimes, if she got too emotional while speaking or bit down too hard while eating, the entire set of teeth would fall straight out of her mouth.

Regina nearly scared her personal maid half to death, and the poor girl had quit on the spot.

Looking like this, how could she possibly go on a livestream?

Even if she could sell her misery for sympathy, she couldn't bring herself to show that face to the world.

Regina felt like she was losing her mind.

In the end, with no other option, she went to Esmond.

He was the last straw she had left to grasp.

Regina told herself that Gianna had been his flesh and blood too. He couldn't possibly ignore this.

But she had called him countless times, and he either didn't answer or hung up immediately.

And on the rare occasions he did pick up, he fed her excuse after excuse.

Her fingers tightened around the phone until her knuckles turned white.

Esmond's number had practically burned into the screen from how many times she'd pressed it, yet all she ever heard was the cold, mechanical busy tone—or his detached voice brushing her off.

"I'm really busy right now. Something happened on Sabrina's end, and I can't leave. Let me deal with the Jordans' situation first.

"And besides, things are sensitive right now. It's not convenient for me to step in. Try to figure something out yourself."

The maid, hearing the commotion, shrank back near the doorway, not daring to make a sound.

Regina slowly lifted her head. In the dim light, her wrinkled face and toothless mouth looked grotesque and terrifying. "Esmond…"

She forced his name out between her gums, her voice rough like sandpaper scraping against stone. "You think you can just hide?

"She was your daughter too! If you dare ignore this, even I'll haunt you even if I'm dead!"

Her eyes burned with near-mad determination, as if dragging Esmond to hell with her would be a small price to pay.

After all, she knew plenty of his dirty little secrets.

He wasn't going to shake her off that easily. At worst, they could both go down together—if she couldn't live, neither would he.

On the other side, inside Jordan Estate.

"Sabrina, you've got some nerve. How dare you impersonate the real Sabrina!"

Nydia stared at the woman in front of her in disbelief—the niece she had doted on for so many years.

And she had been a fake all along!

This was no less outrageous than what Gianna had done back when she was with the Nygards.

It was absurd. Completely insane.

Thank God Amelia had warned her. Thinking back on all the little details after that sent a chill down her spine.