Although Mandy Snow didn’t say it outright, the meaningful look on her face said it all.

"This incident will definitely affect the company—you know that Wanrui is at a disadvantage right now. If we want to save the company, someone has to take the fall."

Her meaning couldn’t be clearer, and Xue Qiang wasn’t stupid. He easily caught on.

"You mean, have Yvonne Sung bear the blame for this?"

"I never said that," Mandy Snow replied lightly, "I’m just thinking about the company’s interests. What you do is, of course, up to you."

Sitting in her swivel chair, she turned to gaze out the window, looking utterly unconcerned. "What’s important is solving this as quickly as possible. If it blows up, our stock price will nosedive. You and I both know Wanrui can’t take another hit."

Xue Qiang hesitated. Yvonne Sung was basically his right-hand man—someone he trusted. In contrast, he didn’t really trust Mandy Snow.

But this wasn’t the time to debate loyalties; Mandy Snow had a point. Someone had to take responsibility, or the company would face huge losses.

When that happened, the shareholders would all come after him again.

—

When Claire Xu heard about Lauren Shaw’s kidnapping, she rushed over to her studio in a panic.

She gave Lauren Shaw a once-over, up and down, only relaxing after confirming she was unhurt.

"You scared me to death! Henry Mills told me you were kidnapped yesterday—what happened?"

Lauren Shaw motioned for her not to worry. "That was all yesterday. I’m totally fine today, aren’t I?"

She looked calm as a spring breeze, with none of the panic one would expect from a kidnap victim. Even so, ever since Henry Mills told her, Claire Xu still couldn’t shake her lingering anxiety.

Pulling Lauren Shaw into a hug, she scolded lightly, "Babe, you nearly worried me to death."

She’d never faced kidnapping herself, but she’d seen enough movies to know how brutal those thugs could be. How could someone as delicate as Lauren Shaw not be scared?

Lauren Shaw couldn’t help but laugh at her concern. "See? I’m perfectly fine. Stop worrying so much."

Claire Xu saw that she was completely unfazed, which just made her more curious. "Shengsheng, are you really okay?"

"Don’t worry, I’m fine. The people who kidnapped me weren’t after me in the first place."

Their real target was Xiao Pei, not her. On top of that, the two kidnappers weren’t especially ruthless, or else she never would have come out of it unscathed, waiting for Yancy Shaw to rescue her.

A stroke of luck amid misfortune, really.

"They weren’t after you?" Claire Xu was thoroughly confused.

After Lauren Shaw filled her in on what happened, Claire Xu was shocked. "I can’t believe Zhu Yurou is that vicious—actually hiring people to kidnap Xiao Pei!"

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became—thank goodness they hadn’t hurt Lauren Shaw.

"There’s so much darkness behind these wealthy families," Lauren Shaw said quietly.

As hateful as Zhu Yurou might be, she was also a little pitiful. Born a pampered heiress, she should have had it all, but her mother’s cold treatment and her father’s neglect meant she’d grown up starved for love, never learning the value of sincerity.

Isn’t that just another way families can poison a person?

After learning about Xiao Pei, Claire Xu sighed.

"Xiao Pei kind of brought this on herself. If she’d just learned when to stop, none of this would’ve happened. Honestly, it’s all about greed."

Lauren Shaw shrugged. "She’s getting her just deserts now—hopefully she’ll turn over a new leaf."

Honestly, what Xiao Pei did—wrecking another woman’s family—was rotten, but even if it hadn’t been Xiao Pei, there’d have been someone else. That’s just how Zhu Xun is.

Really, Zhu Xun is the true culprit.

"See? That’s why it matters so much who you choose to spend your life with. If you pick the wrong person, you’ll waste your whole life in misery..."

Claire Xu trailed off, her mood darkening as she thought of something unsaid.

Lauren Shaw knew exactly what was on her mind—her mother—and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Life’s a long road. You need to look forward, live well for yourself. If your mom’s watching over you, seeing you happy would make her happiest of all."

Claire Xu pressed her lips together. "My engagement party’s at the end of the month. I don’t care if the rest of the Xu family shows up, but Shengsheng, you have to come."

From now on, Lauren Shaw would be her real family.

Thinking of the party, Lauren Shaw thought of something important.

"I designed a dress for you! Wear it at the engagement banquet—you’ll be the most dazzling bride-to-be there."

Claire Xu was moved to tears. "My dear Shengsheng, I’m so lucky to have you. I love you to death."

Lauren Shaw was her light—the one who appeared after family had hurt her deeply, and helped her heal.

—

Mandy Snow made her way to Mo Fan’s place.

She knocked, then strode in, fury written all over her face. "Didn’t you say there wouldn’t be any mistakes with this shipment? So why’d it get found out?"

Mo Fan sat on a stool, cigarette dangling from his lips and a mocking look in his eyes. "And what are you getting worked up about? They haven’t traced anything back to you. Why freak out?"

"Worked up? You have any idea how hard this has hit Wanrui? Xue Qiang’s already starting to mistrust me. If this keeps up, he’s bound to suspect me sooner or later."

"So what if he does? Without you, Wanrui wouldn't even be a Xue company anymore. If anything, Xue Qiang owes you his gratitude."

Mo Fan’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flickering within them.

Mandy Snow snorted, mocking him. "If he ever finds out you and I had anything to do with Eva Snow’s death, he’d probably kill me himself."

"Relax. I tied up all the loose ends. No one will ever find out," Mo Fan replied coolly.

Mo Fan was ruthless—a cold-blooded man. As long as his interests weren’t threatened, he wouldn’t lift a finger; but once he felt in danger, he’d strike before anyone else could blink.

"So who leaked the information this time?"

Mandy Snow’s tone turned sharp. Only the two of them knew about this—unless, somehow, there was a third party?

"There’s a mole. I’m still investigating exactly who it is."

As they spoke, the doorbell rang.

Mo Fan’s expression turned cold and vigilant, but relaxed slightly when he opened the door and saw Mo Qinglin outside.

"What is it?"

Mo Qinglin smiled innocently. "Uncle, Grandpa asked me to tell you to call him back when you get a chance. He has something urgent to discuss."

"Why didn’t he call me himself?"

"Your phone was out of service. Grandpa said he couldn’t reach you, so he sent me instead." Mo Qinglin looked as harmless as a puppy; next to Mo Fan, he seemed every bit the naive, wide-eyed youngster.

Mo Fan finally relaxed a little. "Alright, I’ll call him back in a bit."