Chapter 206 Howard Wants to Fire Jasmine
Ethan didn’t waste any more words with May and headed straight to the car, unable to provide any proof to continue their discussion. May's reaction was peculiar. The driver drove off. It took May a while to register what had happened before she started cursing violently.
"Stop cursing, Mom. Don't you think you’re being unfair?" Richard rubbed his ears, voicing his concern.
May turned on Richard, lashing out at him as well. "Is Jasmine really a part of our family?"
Richard asked with a frown, expressing his doubts. "Sometimes I even wonder if you’re not thinking straight. Jasmine is my sister, your daughter. How did you treat Serena before? You couldn’t have been kinder to her if you had been on your knees. Does she appreciate any of it?"
Seeing that May remained silent, Richard spoke again. "Or do you think after sucking up to the real Wilson's Family heiress for twenty-one years, she'll remember your kindness and throw some money your way once she's back with the Wilson's?"
Richard let out a smirk tinged with irony. "So, because Jasmine is your own flesh and blood, you think she won't leave no matter how you treat her? Is that why you feel so emboldened to hurt her?"
"Hurt?" May's eyes reddened as she ushered Richard inside after seeing off some relatives. Glancing around to ensure they were alone, May pulled out a check from her purse. "Have you seen this much money before?"
"Where's it from?" Richard's face darkened.
"Does Howard know about this? The chairman of Stellar Enterprises, Ethan's father?" May tucked the check away securely. "He gave me this money to get Jasmine married off."
"Jasmine's reputation is shit. How many decent men would want her?Am I not just looking out for her? I'm just trying to marry her off, to have her lead a stable life away from these rich folks who could make us disappear as if it were a game!"
May thought Richard was still too naive. "Besides, Howard said once Jasmine gets married and stops pestering his son, we'll get another two million after everything's settled. Sure, it's not a lot, but with five million, buying a small house in a prime location isn't a problem. I've got to think ahead for you; you're not getting any younger and still don't have a partner.
"Do you think I'm in the dark? Aunt Trish must have suggested plenty of matches over the years, right? But they all see you as the guy with a mom who did time, plus Jasmine and her kid." May whispered. "You're my son. I have to look out for you.
"And you doubt Aunt Trish? You think she’d find Jasmine a bad match? Of course, the guy's got to be rich." May sat down, convinced her son would understand her position.
"Give the money back." Richard's face was dark as he reached for May's purse. "Or do you miss prison so much that you want to go back in?"
May reached out to grab it as well. "What are you talking about? This was given to me!"
"Have you forgotten how Jasmine was framed and ended up in jail?!" Richard bellowed, his anger thickening the air.
May paused, clearly frightened. "Then... what should we do?"
Back then, when the real versus fake heiress case blew up, Daniel and the Wilson’s Family deposited money into Jasmine's account and later concocted a defamation that Jasmine was extorting them, presenting so-called WhatsApp chat evidence. All the evidence was fabricated by Evan and Daniel using Jasmine's WhatsApp account.
Jasmine's wrongful imprisonment had stemmed from her despairing plea of guilt.
"Do you really think we stand a chance against these wealthy people if they want to take us down?" Richard's voice trembled with fear. "You're truly disappointing. All those years in prison, and you haven't grown one bit."
May's voice began to tremble in response. "Are you saying he wanted to give me money only to then accuse me of extortion?"
"Money that comes under false pretenses is extortion!" Richard asserted, trying to instill a sense of urgency in May.
May's face turned ashen as she sank onto the sofa. "I don't believe it. He gave it to me willingly. Stop trying to scare me."
"Give it back tomorrow!" Richard demanded, adamant that May return the money to Howard. "If you won't do it, I'll go myself."
With that, Richard seized the check and made for the door, ignoring May's plea to stop.
"Everyone's turned against me!" May's cry echoed through the room, but Richard remained undeterred.
…
At Ethan's residence, he had decided to bring Jasmine and Justin home rather than return to the hotel.
With Howard no longer actively targeting Ethan, the looming threat outside their house had dissipated.
"I ordered some desserts. How about a late-night snack?" Ethan suggested softly to Jasmine as he knelt before her.
"I'm sorry..." Jasmine murmured nervously, clutching her clothes tightly.
The humility ingrained in her during her five years in prison lingered stubbornly.
"Why are you apologizing?" Ethan asked quietly.
"I... with my family issues... I'm afraid it might affect you," Jasmine confessed, mindful of May's recent release from prison and her apparent eagerness to marry her off.
"I don't know if someone has approached her or not," Jasmine continued, her anxiety palpable. "I don't really know May, and if she uses me for her own gain and ends up hurting you..."
"Am I that weak?" Ethan offered a wry smile. "Given her capabilities, hurting me is unlikely. What I'm afraid of is them hurting you."
Jasmine nibbled at her lip, her eyes welling with tears, rendering her unable to speak.
"Don't worry about it. Until she can prove the mother-child relationship with actual evidence, all you need to do is deny it. She doesn't deserve to be your mother," Ethan assured, enveloping Jasmine in a comforting embrace. "You have me now. This is your home; there's no need for you to go back."
Jasmine clung tightly to her clothes, gazing up at Ethan. "Okay..."
…
At Stellar Enterprises, in the boardroom, the tension was palpable as the discussion turned to Ethan's absence.
"Daniel, what's the situation with Ethan?" inquired one of the board members impatiently. "Why isn't he back at this halfway point of the project? Is it a health issue or...?"
It was becoming evident to some that Daniel didn't quite measure up to Ethan's capabilities, despite his own competence among trust fund beneficiaries.
With a scowl etched across his face, Daniel gripped his pen tightly, feeling the weight of the expectations upon him.
"Hasn't brother already returned?" Daniel asked, his tone deliberate, trying to deflect the attention away from Ethan's absence.
Howard's expression darkened. "Maybe he's caught in traffic, waiting for a ride," he offered as an explanation, giving Ethan one last chance to prove himself.
It was Howard who had ensured that Liam informed Ethan about today's board meeting, having prepared for every possible scenario.
"Mr. Gu, there's a woman named May causing a scene out front, claiming she's looking for her daughter, who she says works at our company," the Security Manager burst into the room, his voice tinged with anxiety.
Howard let out a derisive chuckle, feigning ignorance. "Her daughter? What's her position?"
"Her name's Jasmine. She's Mr. Ethan's... CEO assistant," the Manager quickly responded, eliciting disapproving frowns from the board members.
"Somebody needs to put an end to this disruption," one of the board members remarked. "If it comes to it, just have HR fire her."
The security staff added more details, explaining the extent of the disturbance caused by May and her companions. "Manager Daria mentioned that Jasmine is the CEO's assistant; firing her would require the CEO's approval... That woman is being too dramatic, rolling around on the ground and causing a major disturbance. And Jasmine's mother has even brought a few other troublesome women. They claim to have heart issues and high blood pressure; we didn't dare to intervene..."
Howard's face darkened further. "Tell HR to fire Jasmine! I'm the Chairman of Stellar Enterprises. Do I really need Ethan's approval to fire someone?"
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