Chapter 158

Chapter 158

se I was worried about being exposed due to your poor acting skills,” Matthew argued as he scratched his nose.

“Not long. Mostly because i v

Malcolm snorted, “My poor acting skills? What about Madeline? She won best actress!”

Melvin said, “If Madeline knows that Stephanie is our sister, no best actress can suppress that joy. She won’t be able to hide the spark in her eyes.”

Malcolm’s mouth twitched and thought there was no way he could win the argument.

Meanwhile, Matthew narrowed his eyes and said, “After listening to this recording, we know that Megan has already reunited with the Hayes family. However, she’s been keeping it a secret because she’s worried about losing her position. Over the years, we’ve been helping her find her family but failed. It turns out we couldn’t find anything because they were prepared. That’s also why we couldn’t find Stephanie. Since Megan and Florence were sisters, Megan’s kidnapping was fake. The truth should be that Megan and Florence kidnapped Christina together to force Stephanie out so that they could get rid of the two. Megan seems like a gentle soul, but she’s heartless deep down. Although I don’t want to judge people by their genes and trust that one could change based on their environment, the Hayes family truly seems rotten after what Megan did.”

Melvin nodded and said, “Who would switch a child if they’re not? Stephanie had suffered immensely in the Hayes family. On the contrary, Megan had been spoiled with all the love of the Jimenez family since childhood. The reason Stephanie was still alive was probably only because her heart was a match with Florence’s”

Malcolm agreed, “If Stephanie wasn’t a match, chances are, she would’ve been long gone.”

The three of them were terrified at that thought. After all, Stephanie was their biological sister

They were distressed to think of what had happened to Stephanie.

At the same time, they also couldn’t help but think Stephanie risked her life to save Madeline because of their blood ties.

Malcolm narrowed his eyes and said, “Judging from the recording, Florence is very passive. Megan has been controlling her, so Megan must have planned the kidnapping. The kidnapper must also be Megan’s and not Florence’s. Otherwise, why would the kidnapper hurt Florence? He was clearly protecting Megan.”

Melvin nodded and chimed, “If the kidnapper was Megan’s, then she must have planned the explosion on the set too. She’s so ruthless for the sake of protecting herself. To think she even killed her beloved sister.”

Matthew pressed his tongue against his back teeth and said, “Yeah! She did everything she could to achieve her goal.”

Then, Malcolm asked, “So what are you two going to do? When are you going to tell the truth?”

Matthew chuckled and replied, “We don’t have to cover for her since she’s so cruel Wouldn’t it be better to expose her disgusting act publicly?”

The three exchanged glances tacitly.

“Someone hacked into the school’s systems tonight and distracted me. That’s how Megan got into my room. Someone else is helping her. We need to find that out so that we can do a clean sweep,” said Malcolm.

Meanwhile, thinking she had nothing to worry about, Megan dialed a number with another phone.

“Everything’s settled. What’s your condition?” asked Megan.

The woman smiled and replied, “Help me get Vincent”

Megan frowned and asked, “What?”

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“Are you refusing to help because you’ve fallen for Vincent?” asked the woman.

Megan denied, “Of course not! What do you want me to do? I’ll try my best to cooperate with you.”

The woman replied, “This is what you’ll do.”

Isaid, “You want me to do it at the reunion party?”

Megan pursed her lips after listening to the woman and said,

“That’s the best time! I’ve helped you, so of course you have to give back. Remember, we’re in the same boat now. Don’t think about dumping me after using me,” the woman said.

Megan gritted her teeth and replied, “Fine.”

After hanging up the phone, Megan’s eyes turned red. “How could this b i t c h covet Vincent? Despicable! I must think of a way to make Vincent mine,’ she thought.

On a quiet winter night, the phone on the bedside table vibrated. Vincent instantly opened his eyes, reached out for the phone, and ended the call.

Vincent pulled his arm out from under Stephanie’s pillow and got out of bed carefully. Then, he went to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room and dialed back.

It was Matthew.

When Vincent heard about the recorded message, he was also shocked.

Vincent never imagined that a secret kept hidden for 22 years was involved.

Vincent asked, “What are you going to do?”

Matthew told Vincent about his plan.

Looking at the dark night, Vincent replied, “Do as you wish.”

“Someone is still helping Megan. You take care of Stephanie and Christina,” Matthew added.

Vincent replied, “Okay.”

Then, Vincent stood by the window for a long ti

time before he returned to his bedroom.

Looking at Stephanie’s delicate features, Vincent held her in his arms.

The reason why Vincent and Matthew didn’t tell the secret was that they didn’t want to alert the adversary. After all, words could spread. If it were leaked, their efforts to expose Megan’s horrible actions would be ruined. Secondly, they wanted to surprise Stephanie and the Jimenez family

Vincent patted lightly on Stephanie’s back, hoping that Stephanie would like the surprise.

The next day, Stephanie arrived at Starlight Design Studio, yawning

Julianna stopped Stephanie as soon as the latter got out of the elevator.

Julianna held Stephanie’s arm and walked toward the conference room, saying, “The Jimenez family has come to ask you to design for them.”

“The Jimenez family?” asked Stephanie.

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“Yes! It’s for the reunion party. Mrs. Jimenez really adores you. Not only is she taking you as her grand-g o d d a u h t e r, but she’s even asking you to design the outfit,” said Julianna.

Stephanie smiled and said, “Are we still charging then?”

Julianna glanced at Stephanie and replied, “Why

“Why are you so annoying? Of course noll Do you even need to ask? Are you looking down on me?”

“Aren’t you my partner? Half of the design fee is yours,” said Stephanie.

Julianna held back her laughter and said, “Troublemaker”

The two entered the design studio laughing. Inside, Annabelle, Selena, Madeline, and Megan were sitting on the couch.

Annabelle stood up immediately and stepped forward to hold Stephanie’s hand. “Stephie, we’re here today to ask you to design gowns for us,” she said.

Stephanie smiled and replied, “Sure. You can tell me what style you like and what details you want. I will draw the designs and show them to you. We’ll make them once you’re happy with it.”

Annabelle nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll start then.”

There were pens and paper in the conference room. Starting from Annabelle, everyone introduced their preferences and details. Stephanie noted down everything. Then, she drew a simple draft based on their description.

Selena couldn’t help but praise her, saying, “Stephie is such a genius. You’ve finished two designs per person in such a short time, not to mention they’re in the styles we asked for. You’re a world-renowned chief designer indeed.”

Madeline nodded and chimed in, “Stephie is very tallented. No matter which of her identities you’re referring to, it’s unattainable for most, even with a

lifetime of hard work.”

Megan also echoed, “Stephie is a few days older than me. I’ll have another sister after the reunion party. The thought of having an award-winning actress, a designer, and a skilled doctor as a sister makes me extremely happy.”

Stephanie smiled and said, “A doctor can only cure diseases, but not evil hearts. That often worries me.”

Megan’s smile froze as she said, “Don’t worry, Stephie. Good and evil always exist. It’s beyond anyone’s control.”

Stephanie nadded slightly and replied, “Indeed, but I believe in karma, just like that kidnapper who reaped what he sowed.”

Madeline agreed. “I think that Florence had it easy. She deserves a fair trial, considering how many people were killed and injured in the explosion! Fortunately, she was cremated. Otherwise, people might dig out her body if she was buried to lash out at her, Florence’s mother was even more shameless. She even tried to hurt Christina as a way to break Stephie and Vincent up! Luckily, Stephie had cut ties with the Hayes family. I’ve never seen such a biased family! They’re just horrible. The whole family is rotten to the core!” she said.

Selena sighed, “Stephie, we’re your family from now on.”

Annabelle also nodded and said, “Yes. Stephie will be the Jimenez family’s little princess from now on.”

Meanwhile, Megan was smiling, but she resented everyone in her heart. ‘What am I now that Stephanie is a member of the Jimenez family?” she thought.

At that moment, the urge to destroy Stephanie and get Vincent grew stronger in Megan’s heart.