Mia grew angrier as she spoke. She thought, if she couldn't deal with Deanna, could she not cause trouble for the Howard family?
"No, I'm going to the Howard family right now to ask if this is how they treat you!"
"If you think I haven't been hated enough by the Howard family, then go ahead and make a scene!"
Emily's voice was furious over the phone. Because of her words, Mia, who was about to leave, had to stop.
Hearing her daughter's sobs over the phone, Mia felt a mix of emotions. Especially when she thought about how happy Deanna was now, her jealousy grew.
But the important thing was to comfort her daughter. "Alright, I won't go. Stop crying."
Hearing this, Emily's emotions calmed a bit. She sniffled for a few seconds and then asked, "Did you call me for something?"
"Nothing much, just wanted to ask how things are going with you and Raphael."
Mia didn't tell the truth and found an excuse. She was worried that if her daughter, already so unhappy, heard her complain about Deanna's good life, she might do something irrational.
But little did she know, even without asking, Emily was still thinking about Vortex Technology.
"Raphael and I are just the same. By the way, didn't Dad say he was going to get back the Honto System from Deanna? How did that go? Did he get it back?"
Emily asked with concern.
Mia didn't hide this. "No, he didn't get it back. And you shouldn't worry about this anymore; let your father handle it."
"Mom, are you hiding something from me?"
Emily immediately sensed something off in Mia's words. Given such a big project, her mother wouldn't just let it go.
Mia knew she couldn't hide it from her daughter and sighed. "Lance got involved in the Honto matter. You don't know this, but your father's company has been hitting walls everywhere these past few days. Even an investment we finally secured was ruined by Lance. Your father had no choice but to give up on the Honto System."
"That's a multi-billion dollar project! Did Dad just give up like that?"
Emily's incredulous voice came through the phone.
Mia sighed again, feeling helpless. "There's no other way. Lance said he would protect Deanna. Your father can't and doesn't dare to offend Lance. I called you to see if you could do something against Deanna. But since you and Raphael are already on such bad terms, if we fail and Lance finds out, to avoid offending the Mercer family, the Howard family might force you to divorce. So forget it. Listen to me and don't seek revenge on Deanna privately. We can't afford to provoke her now."
By the end of her words, Mia felt an unprecedented sense of defeat and regret. "If I had known things would turn out like this, we should have been harsher when that wretch was isolated and helpless. We should have driven her out of Cloudmere so she wouldn't have had the chance to meet Lance."
Listening to her mother's regretful words, Emily felt the same remorse. She was even more jealous and indignant. Why was her marriage falling apart while Deanna lived happily and was cherished by such an outstanding man?
Why Deanna?!
The more she thought about it, the angrier Emily became, and her breathing grew heavy.
Mia immediately sensed her change and sternly said, "Emily, calm down!"
Emily understood her mother's concern-that she might harm Deanna. She took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I'm very calm. Don't worry about me. I know very well the gap between Deanna and me now."
"It's good that you understand. I don't know what else to say. Just take care of yourself. If the Howard family treats you unfairly and it's not your fault, don't hold back. They won't dare do anything to you."
Mia advised Emily on how to deal with her in-laws.
After a few more words, they hung up the phone.
After she put down her phone, Emily's eyes were dark with resentment and unwillingness. Although she promised her mother not to target Deanna directly, causing some minor troubles should be fine.
As long as she did it cleanly, Lance wouldn't be able to trace it back to her.
One had to admit that Mia and Emily were indeed mother and daughter; they thought alike.
And all this was unknown to Deanna.
As the company got on track, she became busier. Sometimes she even had to work overtime.
Because of this, she no longer let Lance pick her up but drove herself to and from work.
That night, Deanna stayed late at the office again. If Lance hadn't called to check on her, she wouldn't have noticed the time.
"I'm heading back now; you don't need to pick me up."
As she spoke on the phone, she started packing up and heading downstairs.
A few minutes later, she reached the company garage but was startled by what she saw.
Lance heard her gasp and worriedly asked over the phone, "What's wrong? What happened?"