Chapter 269 The Trap

“Do you want to hear it?”

0:

Scarlett asked, “Does it cost money? You know I’m broke.”

Jack replied, “…It’s free.”

Scarlett shook her head. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I’d better not.”

Jack nearly lost it.

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Shouldn’t she be eager to know? Even if the news was useless, shouldn’t she at least listen? How could she just let it go like that?

He sighed. She was still young, too na?ve about how dangerous the world could be. Letting information slip away was only natural.

He convinced himself of this and then shouted,

“If you won’t ask, I’ll tell you anyway! The Fletcher family acted quickly. A few clueless branch brats were summoned by Fu Jiu yesterday, and today they’ve already been thrown out of the family business!”

Scarlett’s lips curved in satisfaction. “Good. Keep those recordings of Aurora’s threats safe. They’ll be key evidence for exposing her next time.”

She nced out the window. The sun was shining bright.

Aurora’s attempt to cripple her project hadn’t just failed–it had backfired, bringing her an even stronger technical team rmended by Jasper. A blessing in disguise.

Aurora, however, nearly fainted when she learned what had happened.

The tech team had slipped from her grasp. Scarlett had gained an even better team. And the Fletcher family’s branch supporters had been ruthlessly punished by Jasper,

If soft methods failed, and hard ones failed too, then she would go for the most vicious. She would see Scarlett ruined–her reputation destroyed, her very life at risk.

A darker, more reckless n took shape in her mind.

She knew Scarlett had been making frequent trips to inspect a potential factory site in the

suburbs.

…

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Chapter 269 The Trap

The ce was remote, the roads poor.

Aurora bribed a local thug to stage an “ident” on Scarlett’s next trip.

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Her instructions were clear: no need to kill her outright. Just leave her gravely injured. Ideally scarred–disfigured. Strip her of her looks and her ability topete for the project.

To make sure nothing went wrong, Aurora even purchased Scarlett’stest travel schedule.

That evening, Scarlett returned to the vi.

Sophia invited her into the family’s main house. Everyone was there except her eldest brother.

“My precious daughter, you’re incredible!” Sophia beamed, giving her a thumbs up. “You solved something so tricky in just one day! I worried you’d juste back, with no connections, no resources, and people would bully you. But look at you now–so capable! Who’d dare cross you again?”

She pushed forward a cake she’d ordered.

“I got this to celebrate your first victory. Come on, itry /iit!”

She personally cut the cake, selecting the best slice and handing it to Scarlett.

Scarlett felt overwhelmed.

In the Joyner family, she had long grown used to solving every problem alone.

If she seeded, it was treated as nothing more than expected.

If she failed, she was met with endless humiliation.

She had gotten used to it.

This time, she didn’t even feel she had done much. It was just urgent PR, nothing she saw as a real achievement.

Yet Owen and Sophia both looked at her with open pride in their eyes.

For the first time, she felt what it was like to be treated as the center of the family.

Carefully, she pinched her arm.

It hurt.

Chapter 269 The Trap

It wasn’t a dream.

Her eyes brimmed with tears.

“It’s delicious.”

Taylor then presented her with a set of pearl jewelry.

“Finally, I’ve got an excuse to give you this. Take it.”

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Scarlett wiped her tears. “But you’ve already given me more than twenty sets of jewelry these past weeks.”

Back at the Joyner family, she had been the least favored. Other than a pair of earrings, she had never received any precious gifts.

Taylor, on the other hand, casually handed her pieces worth millions.

It was almost too much for her to ept.

To her surprise, Taylor grew nervous.

“What–you don’t like them? My friends all say girls love little trinkets like this. Tell me what you do like, and I’ll get it for you tomorrow!”

“Never mind, I’ll just keep these pearls.”

Scarlett epted them, tears slipping down her face as she held jewelry worth millions.

After the cake, she returned ito /iher vi.

Her phone buzzed–it was a message from Jasper.

“Tomorrow, when you head to the factory site in the suburbs, take another road. Or I’ll send someone with you.”

Scarlett frowned. “Is there danger?”

Jasper called.

In the quiet of the night, his voice was low, smooth, andzy.

“Yes,”