Chapter 229

Chapter 229

After spending a few days in the hospital, Yanny recovered well enough to return to work. Whenever she had a free moment, her mind would fill with images of Ethan falling into the sea.

So she never let herself stop. She just kept working, and the office lights burned late into the night.

After pushing herself for days, Yanny finally broke down and collapsed in her office.

Amy rushed over and helped her to the break room. When Yanny came to, she could see the worry in Amy's eyes.

"Ms. Spencer, you can't keep doing this. Don't you care about your health? Even if Mr. Smith comes back, you won't have the strength to take care of him if you keep this up."

Yanny was quiet for a moment, then forced a small smile.

"Okay. Go on now — I'll rest for a bit."

Right. Ethan was so annoyingly persistent. Even when she'd brought up divorce, he never let it go. A troublemaker like that wasn't going to die so easily. So she needed to save her strength and wait for him to come back.

Holding onto that thought, Yanny finally fell asleep — the first real rest she'd had in days.

She slept straight through to the next morning. When she woke up, the Smith family came to mind, and she couldn't help but ask, "How are Bianca and Cleo doing?"

Amy nodded. "Cleo is fine. From what I hear, she's eating and sleeping okay. But Bianca has gone to the Smith Group to step in for Mr. Smith."

With no one at the helm, and Bianca having never run the company before, plus all the people inside the Smith Group just waiting for their chance — things weren't going to be easy for her.

At that same moment, over at the Smith Group, Bianca was poring over a pile of headache-inducing account books. She'd never been deeply involved in running the company, and while she could just barely manage, her lack of experience made everything feel like an uphill battle.

Chase knocked on the office door.

"Mrs. Smith, it's time for the meeting."

One thing after another. Bianca felt like she couldn't keep up with the relentless pace.

She rubbed her throbbing temples. "I'll be right there."

The two of them walked to the conference room, where the company's top executives sat on both sides of the table. The board members watched Bianca with mixed expressions.

"Bianca, everything in the company has come to a standstill. Can Mr. Smith really come back?"

It was a fair concern — everyone had a stake in the company. But the question still stung. Deep down, Bianca had already lost hope. Such a vast stretch of ocean, and he'd been shot on top of it all. After so many days of searching with nothing to show for it, she had to face the truth, even if she didn't want to: Ethan's chances of survival were slim.

She looked up, pushing her feelings aside, her gaze sharp.

"The company's projects have stalled just because Ethan is gone? Does that mean this company falls apart without him? Even if the stock price is dropping, we keep moving forward. That's not up for debate."

The board members went quiet. Bianca pressed her lips together.

"Everyone knows morale is low right now, which is exactly why we can't afford to talk like this. Whether or not Ethan comes back, the Smith Group keeps running. If anyone brings up something like this again, don't expect me to be nice about it."

The moment she stepped out of the conference room, a wave of bitterness hit her. If it weren't for Yanny, none of this would have happened. Her son wouldn't be missing.

She was still thinking that when a familiar voice came from nearby.

"Mom, I've gone through the account books. I've added notes throughout — just have them follow the instructions."

Bianca froze. "What are you doing here?"

Yanny had expected this reaction. "I'm here to help."

Bianca eyed her warily. "Ethan is gone. Why are you suddenly showing up at the Smith Group? What are you after?"

Her instinct was to keep Yanny at a distance. But then Yanny spoke, calm and steady.

"I know what you're worried about. But think about where the Smith Group stands right now. I'm the only one who can actually help you — and the only one you can trust."

Bianca had no answer for that, because Yanny was right. She knew exactly what the Smith family relatives were after, and she couldn't count on any of them.

Without a word, Bianca led her to the office.

Yanny moved fast. With the solid foundation Ethan had built, she quickly steadied things at the Smith Group. The stock price stopped falling, and projects started moving again.

It was only then that Bianca realized she had completely underestimated Yanny. Her abilities far exceeded anything Bianca had imagined, and her leadership was second to none.

Faced with her own long-held bias, Bianca found her attitude toward Yanny softening without even realizing it.

One night, after seeing Yanny burning the midnight oil, Bianca brought her a late-night snack she'd made herself.

"Staying up like this every day — who knows, you might end up looking terrible. A woman needs to take care of her face, not just her career."

Yanny looked at the steaming bowl of seafood and oatmeal porridge and felt a small smile cross her face.

"Thank you, Mom."

Quietly, amid all this hardship, the two women's relationship had begun to shift.

While they were managing the company, news came from the police station — Maisie and Veda were about to be sentenced.

Even though Veda was her own sister, Yanny felt nothing. They'd had it coming for a long time. She hadn't planned to give it another thought — until she got a message saying Veda wanted to see her.

After going back and forth on it, Yanny went.

She looked at Veda, who had grown thin and pale. Yanny pressed her lips together. "What do you want?"

Veda stared at her with pure hatred, not a trace of remorse on her face. She gripped the bars tight.

"Let me tell you something, Yanny — I'm not done with you. My biggest regret is that I didn't kill you with my own hands. If I'd known it would come to this, I never would have hesitated."

Yanny stared at her, genuinely lost. They shared the same mother. How could Veda hate her this much?

"Veda, I used to think of you as my sister, so I let a lot of things go. But you kept pushing it further, and I'm done forgiving you. Whether you're sorry or not doesn't matter anymore. You're going to spend the rest of your life in prison."

Veda looked like she was about to lose it. Watching her like this, Yanny felt something loosen inside her.

Some people will never accept you, no matter what. Some people just want to see you destroyed. She wasn't going to keep looking back. This so-called sisterhood — it was long overdue to end.

She turned and walked out of the visiting room. Not long after, she could hear Veda and Maisie screaming and fighting each other inside. Yanny let out a cold laugh. They had no one to blame but themselves.

Time passed, but Yanny's longing for Ethan never faded.

That night, she dreamed of him — covered in blood, his body broken, limping away into the distance. She reached out instinctively to grab him, and jolted awake.

Her phone was ringing. It was William. She picked up, and heard him say:

"Yanny, we found Ethan."