Chapter 8
Iris’s panicked sobs pierced Leo’s heart like a thorn.]
For the first time, he realized that the woman before him was no longer the Vera who had once allowed them to control her, who came running at their beck and call.]
I looked coldly at Iris on the ground.[]
Like a dog, she crawled across the venue on all fours, clinging to my legs with tears streaming down her face, her makeup completely ruined.]]
All her former arrogance and bullying had now turned into humiliation and desperation.[]
“Vera… no, sister Vera! Please save me! If you help me, I’ll work like a slave for you forever! I’ll never dare again, never again! I really can’t take it anymore!” []
“I can’t even leave the house or turn on my phone! If they keep exposing me like this, I’ll go insane!“]]
Her desperate pleas were grating to the ears.]
But they couldn’t move my heart in the slightest.[]
I raised my eyes calmly, my gaze falling on Leo standing behind her.]]
His expression was rigid, his self–proclaimed pride finally stripped away.[]
The arrogance and coldness in his eyes had been replaced by fear and panic.[]
“Vera…“[]
His voice was hoarse, his Adam’s apple bobbing.]
“I was wrong. I was too arrogant before, failed to protect you properly, failed to see your value. Come back – the Stone family can’t survive without you.“]
I laughed softly, but the sound was filled with coldness.]
“Leo, what would I go back to the Stone family for? To continue being your servants? To continue living that life where you didn’t even see me as human?“]
“I remember you saying the Stone family didn’t need me, that I’d be nothing without you.“[]
“So.“1
“What about now?”
My words struck like a sword straight to his heart.[]
Old Mr. and Mrs. Stone rushed over at that moment. Mrs. Stone still put on that fake loving act, her voice gentle.[]
Vera, Mom knows you’ve suffered all these years.“[]
Chapter
“But no matter what, you’re still part of the Stone family.“[]
“The Stone family is in trouble now we’re family, so we should weather this storm together.“]]
“Exactly.”
Old Mr. Stone followed, suppressing his anger but still speaking like he was giving orders.[]
“Vera, if you come back, the Stone family will give you an official position. We can have a proper wedding, publicly acknowledge your status.“[]
My eyes turned cold.]
my mother’s illness
“Three years ago, you used my mother’s illness to force me to sign that contract.“[]
“For three years, I poured my heart and soul into helping you through difficulties, only to be rewarded with humiliation and oppression.”
“Now that Stone Corporation is crumbling, you dare say letting me return is a favor?“]]
“You really know how to play your cards.“]
Old Mrs. Stone’s face stiffened, then she shrieked.[]
“Vera! Don’t be ungrateful! Without the Stone family, you have nothing!“]
I met her gaze and said coldly.[]
“Without the Stone family, I’m still Vera Hart. But without me, Stone Corporation can’t even survive!“[]
The conference hall fell into dead silence.]]
Sebastian stepped forward, pulling me into his embrace, his tone brooking no argument.[]
“Hart Corporation never cooperates with conspirators.”
Then he threw down the final document – evidence of the Stone family’s secret stock market manipulation to cover their funding gaps.
The media erupted, camera flashes exploding like fireworks.[]
Old Mr. and Mrs. Stone went deathly pale, nearly fainting on the spot.]
Iris collapsed to the ground, eyes vacant, muttering repeatedly.[]
“It’s over… all over…“]
Leo stared at me intently, as if he wanted to tear me apart.[]
But deep in his gaze, what he couldn’t hide was fear and regret.]
He stepped closer, his voice almost pleading.]
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Chapter R
“Vera, if you’re willing… if you’ll come back, I can give you everything Stone Corporation has.
I looked him straight in the eye, my voice cold as ice.[]
“Leo, you’re wrong. I never cared about anything the Stone family had.“]
“All I wanted was my freedom and dignity. And those two things were trampled to pieces by you over these three years.“]
Leo’s body went rigid, as if struck by a heavy blow.[]
I turned around and never looked back.]
The day the meeting ended, Stone Corporation’s stock price crashed to rock bottom, all partners terminated contracts, and banks officially called in their loans.]
Within a week, Stone Corporation collapsed completely, falling from a powerful conglomerate to a laughingstock everyone despised.]
Old Mr. and Mrs. Stone were caught up in investigations due to exposed scandals, their later years miserable.[]
Iris suffered a complete mental breakdown and was forcibly committed to a psychiatric hospital, surviving on daily medication.
Her former arrogance and bullying made her a target of hatred, leading to terrible abuse – someone even stabbed her eye with a syringe, blinding her in one eye.[]
As for Leo.
That man who once thought he could look down on everyone could now do nothing in the face of overwhelming evidence, watching helplessly as his family empire crumbled.[]
Media cameras caught his final image in a run–down bar, drowning his sorrows in alcohol like a walking corpse.[]
As for me.]]
I finally welcomed a new dawn in Sebastian’s embrace.[]
The day my eyes fully healed, he led me out of the hospital room. Sunlight flooded my world, clear and bright.[]
I saw the light in his eyes, just like when we were young – warm and steadfast.[]
“Vera.” He called my name softly.]
“From now on, through any storm, I’ll be by your side.“[]
I gazed at him, my lips curving slightly upward.]
Yes, three years of darkness had finally passed.[]
The Stone family’s so–called “favors” had turned to dust.]
And my true happiness had finally arrived.[]
From Mans Mistress to Billionaire WIG Same Day Different Groom
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Chapter 1
