Chapter 76

Henry was on the fence about whether to spill the beans to Zoey about her mom's real identity.

When he saw Alfred's pissed-off face at the mention of the past, he figured it could wait until after his wedding with Zoey.

But he didn't want to keep Jagger in the dark.

After having dinner with Alfred and Hazel at home, Henry drove over to the research institute where Jagger worked. 

Henry walked into Jagger's lab and watched him, deep in his experiment. After a moment, he finally spoke up, "Jagger."

Jagger turned around at the familiar voice and saw Henry.

"Henry, when did you get back?"

He stood up with a grin and gave Henry a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Henry handed him the food box he brought from home. "Got back this afternoon. Mom had someone whip up dinner for you, thinking you probably haven't eaten yet."

Jagger smiled, taking the food box and opening it, letting the delicious aroma fill the lab.

"Smells amazing. Nothing beats home-cooked meals. I'm starving."

Henry sat nearby, watching Jagger finish his dinner before he spoke up, "Jagger, I'm getting married."

"What?"

Jagger was taken aback for a moment but then broke into a happy smile, "So you came back to tell Mom and Dad the news? Did you bring your girlfriend?"

Henry shook his head. "Not yet. She's got two kids to look after and can't come to Starlight City right now."

"Two kids? Your girlfriend's a single mom?" Jagger was surprised.

Henry then filled Jagger in on what happened three years ago.

After listening, Jagger got it. "No wonder you stayed in Maple City for three years. You were waiting for her. You're luckier than me."

A hint of sadness crossed Jagger's face.

Seeing this, Henry sighed and said, "Jagger, actually, Zoey's mom is Ophelia."

"What? Say that again!" Jagger's eyes widened in shock, turning red, and he stood up from his chair.

Henry had just mentioned that Zoey's mom had passed away years ago.

But how could Ophelia be dead?

Seeing Jagger's bloodshot eyes, Henry felt a pang of guilt but knew the truth about Ophelia's death couldn't stay hidden forever.

He solemnly told Jagger, "Jagger, you heard right. Ophelia died when Zoey was three years old."

Jagger froze, his face going pale.

All these years, Jagger had been sad about Ophelia's disappearance but never hated her, just hoping she was living well somewhere.

But he never expected that Ophelia had been dead for eighteen years.

"How could Ophelia choose such a cold and heartless man as her husband? If I had known, I would have gone to Maple City to bring her back, even if she hated me forever. At least she would still be alive."

Jagger clenched his fists tightly, his emotions boiling over. "I can't stand this anymore; I have to go to Maple City now and confront that bastard about how he mistreated Ophelia and what led to her car accident."

Seeing Jagger about to storm out of the lab, Henry quickly grabbed him.

"Jagger, chill out."

"I can't. She was the only woman I ever loved. I always thought she was out there somewhere, happy. But she's been dead for eighteen years, and I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

Jagger's tears flowed freely, and Henry felt his heart ache for him.

Once Jagger's emotions finally settled, Henry said, "Jagger, I actually think Arthur might not be Zoey's real dad. If you met Arthur, you'd get what I mean."

Jagger looked puzzled.

"Even though I never met Ophelia, I can't believe a woman like her would choose a jerk like Arthur as her husband. So, I'm planning to dig into Arthur's past. You don't need to confront him."

After hearing Henry out, Jagger started to calm down.

Based on what Henry said, the way Arthur treated Zoey didn't seem like something a real father would do.

He let his other daughter steal Zoey's fiancé and even tried to make the 18-year-old Zoey sleep with some guy for the company's gain. What kind of father does that?

Jagger slumped back in his chair, frowning deeply. "If that's true, then Ophelia left me because she was pregnant with another man's child? Who is that guy?"

Henry's face was serious. "We don't know yet, but Zoey's mom clearly wanted to keep it a secret. Otherwise, she wouldn't have just left Zoey with property and shares. I even think she saw danger coming."

Jagger nodded, looking at Henry with bloodshot eyes. "Henry, you have to find out the truth. Let me know as soon as you find anything."

Seeing Jagger's pained expression, Henry nodded solemnly. "Jagger, I will."

The next morning, Arthur was holding a meeting at the company.

He was up against a tough call—having to let some staff go. The company just wasn't landing the big projects like it used to, and the money was drying up fast.

Plus, he'd handed over a hefty chunk of cash to Zoey not long ago, which put a real dent in the budget. So, to keep the company afloat, he had to make the tough choice to cut some jobs.

When the board members heard that Arthur even planned to lay off two entire departments, including the managers, they weren't happy.

Even the usually agreeable Juan said, "Mr. Spencer, this isn't right. Not only are you laying off two departments, but you also can't provide basic compensation. This will definitely cause an employee backlash, which will hurt the company a lot."

Arthur dismissively said, "If anyone dares to resist, I'll have Bobby bring his guys in to teach them a lesson until they fall in line."

Ten years ago, this might have worked.

But in today's connected world, it was much harder to pull off.

Arthur had it easy in recent years, thanks to the Brown family's support, which let him keep up a civilized front.

Now that the Brown family had called off the engagement with Catherine, Arthur was at a dead end, and his true, thuggish nature was showing.

The board members weren't happy with his response, but thinking of the gangster Bobby, they were too scared to keep arguing.