Chapter 2

My hand froze in mid-air, hovering over the door. I never imagined Jenny, the girl I'd protected and cared for all these years, could harbor such dark thoughts.

Vera hurried after me, clinging to my sleeve, tears in her eyes. "Mom, I don't want to go to school."

'Jenny's so mad today. She's definitely going to kill me,' Vera thought. 'I don't want to end up like my previous life, locked up with the dogs by Jenny. Those dogs bit me so hard. They even tore off my nose and ears.'

Hearing Vera's thoughts, I couldn't keep my rage bottled up any longer.

After we finally brought Vera home, Jenny always seemed so pitiful to me. We'd spent years together, and I really tried to treat both girls the same.

But not only did Jenny act like she's the princess around here, but she's actually treating Vera so cruelly.

I called the nanny, Sarah, over right away and told her straight up, "Send Jenny to the children's home."

Jenny instantly went silent, while Sarah stared at me in shock. "Mrs. Taylor, how can you play favorites like this? Jenny's bawling her eyes out, and you're being so cold. People are gonna gossip about you.

"Besides, Jenny's so smart. She's definitely going places. But Vera? She's so timid and weak. Who knows how she'll turn out?"

I slapped Sarah hard across the face. "Who do you think you are, running your mouth about my daughter? Either you take Jenny to the children's home right now, or you pack your bags and get the hell out of my house."

Sarah panicked. "Mrs. Taylor, maybe we should wait for Mr. Wells to come back. The men run things in this house. It's not your place as a woman to make these calls."

I couldn't help but laugh in anger. Rayden was just a son-in-law who married into my family. Everything in this house was mine.

How dare a nanny with those stubborn old ideas try to lecture me?

I sneered, "Even if Rayden comes home, he still has to listen to me. And you. You're fired."

I called the butler on the spot and fired Sarah.

Sarah was fuming, yelling that she'd get Rayden to come back and put me in my place, but the bodyguards had already tossed her bags outside.

Watching her stuck outside the door, I felt a wave of satisfaction. I grabbed Vera and headed out.

In the car, I told Vera, "If anyone ever bullies you, you tell me right away. I'll always protect you."

Tears welled up in her eyes, but then she suddenly broke into a smile and nodded hard.

And just then, I caught her thoughts again.

She thought, 'Why is Mom so different from the way Dad always describes her? Could Dad have lied to me? Does Mom love me?

'But if that's true, why did Dad tell me Mom didn't want to see me when I begged him to call her as I was dying in my previous life?'

My heart twisted painfully. Could Rayden really have had a hand in all this?

In the next moment, the suspicion in my mind only intensified, because the principal, Ayah Hughes, said Vera's name wasn't on the enrollment list.

I specifically told Rayden that when both our daughters started school, he should give each of them ten percent of Taylor Group shares as a gift for starting school.

"Ms. Hughes, could you please check again? Jenny and Vera were enrolled together," I said to Ayah.

Ayah gave Vera a disdainful look and said, "When Mr. Wells came to enroll Jenny, he promised to give her twenty percent of Taylor Group shares as a welcome gift for starting school.

"Who's this girl? Is she some bastard child? She doesn't deserve any shares."

I exploded with rage. "How dare you slander my daughter and call her a bastard? Who the hell do you think you are? The Taylor Group's shares are mine to give, and I'll give them to whomever I damn well please."

She flashed me a mocking grin, was about to snap back at me, but in the next second, her contemptuous face instantly switched to a sycophantic smile.

"Mr. Wells, why are you showing up now?" she gushed.

I looked in the direction she was rushing toward, and sure enough, there was Rayden.

Rayden brushed right past Ayah's bootlicking and rushed over, worry written all over his face. "Babe, what happened at home? Why is Jenny bawling her eyes out?"

Without warning, I smacked Rayden right across the face. "Why the hell didn't you sign Vera up for school?"

Rayden finally snapped out of it, stammering, "Vera just got home from the orphanage. She's not used to the elite school environment. I was worried she'd get bullied."

"Vera is the only heir to Taylor Group. Why would anyone dare bully her? Even if she does get picked on, she should learn to fight back. Otherwise, how else is she supposed to run the company?" I shot back.

Rayden froze. "What are you saying? Are you seriously not giving the company to Jenny? How can you play favorites like that?

"Even if you don't give it to Jenny, we've got three sons. How could Vera possibly be the only heir?"

I sneered, "In our family, it's always the women who call the shots in the company. When I said Jenny would get it, you didn't bat an eye. But now that it's Vera, suddenly it's a problem?

"And you've got no right to call me biased. Ms. Hughes just told me you said you'd give Jenny twenty percent of the shares."

Rayden looked at Ayah in shock.

Ayah was still jabbing her finger at me, shouting, "A mistress should know her place. Don't act all high and mighty. Do you really think Mr. Wells can't live without you?"

"What are you talking about? I'm the one who can't live without my wife." Before I could even shoot back, Rayden snapped at her.

Ayah finally realized she'd messed up and sheepishly lowered her head.

Rayden explained meekly, "Babe, I just felt so bad for Jenny. She's living in a house full of strangers, and nobody really cares about her. That's why I wanted to give her more shares."

Vera thought, 'Jenny isn't unloved at all. She's got a beautiful lady who really cares about her.

'Every time the dogs bite me, that pretty lady would laugh and say that once I'm gone, Mom will die from anger, and she'll get to live with Dad and Jenny.

'She even said Dad swapped me and Jenny on purpose. But if I ever told Mom about any of this, she'd think I was lying.'