Jason had beenying low thest few days after hisst encounter with Lora. Even though he had told her he would never give up on her, the resolute look in her eyes showed him that she would never love him in this life. That night, his mother had invited him for dinner, iming there was someone who wished to meet him for business.


    Although Jason was no longer interested in fighting Ryan for the position of CEO, he still went to see what his mother was up to.


    To his shock, he happened to overhear something that shocked him to the core. As he stood outside the VIP room, his heart raced as he listened to the conversation between his mother and an unknown man.


    "Celeste, don''t try to act innocent in this. You wanted to get rid of Ryan, so you asked for our help. Now that I have nothing else to lose, I want to destroy the Kingsleys once and for all. I want Ryan to feel the pain of losing something precious to him," a man''s voice came.


    "I''m not trying to act innocent, David. You were the one who went against our deal. You didn''t want the Kingsley Group tond in my hands. You wanted it all to yourself by making your daughter marry Ryan. Our n was to kill him and then we would share the benefits once my son took over but you became greedy. It''s your fault for letting Ryan live...."


    Jason''s heart dropped to his feet when he heard those words. He felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head.


    His mother had orchestrated Ryan''s kidnapping years ago? Was she always such a scheming person?


    "That''s because I knew you were going to betray me, Celeste. Miles may have fallen for your lies, but I know you and what kind of fraud you are. I wouldn''t have gotten my cut... that''s why I thought it was better for my daughter to be a Kingsley instead. However, that bastard, Ryan didn''t love my daughter... in the end, he was her doom. Now I want to finish him and make him pay for what he did to her!"


    Jason''s breath hitched.


    His mother and the man he had now recognised as David Williams were talking about how they nned to kill Ryan years ago. Jason never thought his mother was capable of killing anyone.


    He just thought she had been mistreated by Charles and Ryan, and that was why she wanted him to im thepany for himself. Who knew it was for her own selfish reasons? Memories of the past shed through Jason''s mind... whenever she talked to him, she always made sure to show her disdain for Ryan, nting a bad impression of him into Jason''s mind. In the end, Jason ended up hating Ryan and thinking he was the reason his mother had a hard time and sent him away from the family.


    Who knew Celeste was a murderer and all she had said about Ryan was a lie?


    "Lower your voice," Celeste snapped at David. "Jason will be here soon. I don''t want him to know about what we did. I want him to hate Ryan and grab everything that belongs to me." Jason clenched his fists, a mixture of rage and disbelief coursing through him. So, his mother was just using him for her own gain?


    ''Oh mother, it''s toote. I already know your true colours,'' Jason mused.


    The conversation inside the room continued.


    "We will hear him when he''s here," David replied.


    Another female voice reached Jason''s ears. "Do you think Ivy will talk? She knows everything."


    "Come on, Celine. Our daughter is relying on us to avenge her. She''s not going to confess when we are the only ones who can finish Ryan," David replied to his wife.


    "What if Ryan finds out the truth?" Celine asked again.Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org.


    "He''s a dying man anyway, what can he do?" It was Celeste who replied this time and the whole ce echoed withughter.


    Jason felt sick, his stomach churning. He wanted to burst in and demand answers but his legs felt like lead.


    “We need to act fast... I have to buy


    into the Kingsley group since the stock price keeps dropping. I''m sure once Ryan realises that I own most of the shares, he will die from shock. I think that would be doing him a favour... it''s better than dying from pain," David said in a mocking voice.


    Jason couldn''t listen anymore. He stepped back, his mind reeling with emotions-anger, betrayal, confusion.


    He had always looked up to his mother, so finding out she was this wicked was very disappointing.


    Without a word, he turned and walked away from the VIP room, not making his presence known.


    On his way, he bumped into his sister, Isabe Kingsley as she walked out of the elevator.


    "Bro, where are you going?" Isabe asked, looking behind Jason to see if the others were following him. "Is the meeting over already? That was quick." "I''ve got an emergency. Please tell Mother I''ll see herter," Jason replied before stepping into the elevator, not sparing Isabe a nce.


    He was very sure she was their mother''s aplice and that made him feel more disturbed.


    Isabe frowned when the elevator doors closed. Jason couldn''t even look her in the eye and he looked upset. Did something happen?


    A few secondster, she brushed those thoughts away and went to the VIP room.


    "Where''s your brother?" Celeste asked when she saw Isabe walk in alone.


    Isabe shrugged and replied, "He said he has an emergency and he will see youter."


    Celeste clenched her hands into fists. She thought she had Jason under her control buttely, he had been doing things contrary to their ns.


    "Will there be a problem?" David asked, sensing Celeste''s shifting mood.


    Celesteposed herself and smiled, saying, "Not at all... I''ll fill him inter. Let''s go ahead."


    Meanwhile, Jason sat in his car, his


    hands tightening around the


    steering wheel as anger red. through him. His mother''s words


    kept echoing in his mind like a broken record.


    "It''s your fault for letting Ryan live..."


    "You should have made sure he died when we arranged the kidnapping years ago..."


    Jason still couldn''t believe his ears.


    How could his own mother have been involved in something so heinous? Was she that desperate and greedy to the extent of bing a murderer?


    Jason''s heart clenched in pain. He


    never expected his mother to be the bad guy in all this. And here he was, following her lead to get everything from Ryan. How was he different


    from her?


    en


    A sigh escaped Jason''s lips. He was about to start his car and leave when his phone rang.


    When he saw that the call was from Ryan, Jason''s heart skipped a beat.


    He furrowed his eyebrows and answered, "Hello?"


    "Hello, Jason," Ryan said on the phone. "Can we meet? There''s something we need to talk about and it''s important."