"Mom, I made a mistake! Please forgive me! I'm still young, I didn't know any better! I promise I won't do it again!" Ione calmly pried her fingers loose. "Don't call me 'Mom' anymore." Kaia's heart dropped. If the Gales didn't want her, who would lend her money in the future? Her credit cards were already maxed out. She had been planning to borrow some money to pay them off. Just as she was about to try crying again, Darcy threw a bag at her. It contained the few things Kaia had left behind during her stays. "Everything of yours is in there. Don't come back," Darcy said, her gaze icy. Kaia froze, a slight tremor running through her body.Ione turned her face away, her voice sorrowful. "Just go." Kaia gritted her teeth. Fine, I'll leave. Who needs this dump anyway? The servant's quarters at the Lark Manor are bigger than this place! Bang! The door slammed shut. Darcy held her mother. "Mom, I'll always be here with you from now on." Ione's eyes reddened. "My good girl. You've suffered so much lately. You should have told me sooner." "It's not too late. It's all over now." ... Carrying the bag back to the Lark Manor, Kaia found Chloe applying a face mask. Seeing the bright red, swollen marks on both of Kaia's cheeks, Chloe couldn't help but laugh. "Well, well. Looks like you got caught with someone's husband?" Kaia was furious, but she was intimidated by Chloe's favored position with their parents and didn't dare retort. She tried to move past her to go upstairs, but Chloe blocked her way. A smirk played on Chloe's lips. "You'd better watch your reputation, or the Lewis family will send you back." Sent back by the Lewis family? What does that mean? Kaia looked up at her. "Oh, so you don't know yet?" Chloe's smile widened, her masked face looking like a devil from hell. Kaia grabbed her wrist. "Stop playing games and tell me!" Chloe shook her off with disdain. "Mom and Dad have been looking for a suitable match for you lately. Mr. Barry Lewis of Greenfield Group seems like a decent man. He doesn't even mind your... background. You two are quite—" Here, Chloe looked Kaia up and down, raising an eyebrow. "—well-matched." Bullshit! Her parents had never treated her well since the day she moved in. No way they'd go soft and find her some "well-matched" rich guy. Was that possible? Not a chance! Upstairs, Kaia slammed her bedroom door shut, threw her bag on the floor, and, without even washing up, sat down at her computer. She searched for the official website of Greenfield Group. The photo of the president, Barry Lewis, was on the homepage. He was a man with a large, round head and a belly like a woman seven months pregnant. It nearly made her sick. Fuming, Kaia dug deeper, searching for gossip about Barry. She found discussion threads on local forums. Turns out, this Barry had been married twice before, and both wives had died in "accidents." Some said he was cursed to bring bad luck to his wives; others claimed the deaths weren't accidents at all. Reading this, Kaia felt her hair stand on end. This is terrifying! She knew it. The Larks would never be kind enough to find her a good man. This had to be a business transaction. But what could she do? How could she fight back? If she hadn't burned bridges with the Gales, she could have hidden there. Ione and Darcy would have taken care of her. But now that bridge was ashes, and she was too proud to beg. There was one other person! Kaia quickly pulled out her phone and called Zora. "Dr. Moss, I swear I wasn't protecting Darcy on purpose! I've cut ties with her tonight! From now on, I'll only listen to you! You have to believe me!" Her voice was choked with sobs. On the other end, Zora paused, then a slight smile touched her lips. "Kaia, you're overthinking it. I haven't lost trust in you." Kaia's eyes lit up. "Really?" "Of course." "Dr. Moss, you're so kind! You're the only one who's ever truly been there for me!" "By the way, Kaia, are you free Friday night? That contract with Mr. Kent still isn't settled. I've re-scheduled with him for this Friday. You'll need to seize this opportunity." Kaia bit her lip. Isn't Mr. Kent the man who tried to get handsy with me last time? She swallowed hard. "Dr. Moss... will you be there too?" Zora replied, "I'll see. If I have time, I'll go with you.""O-okay." Whether she wanted to or not, she had to go. She desperately needed Zora's approval right now. After hanging up, Kaia collapsed on her bed with a sigh of relief. As long as Zora still believed in her, she would surely help her. She couldn't stand another minute in the Lark Manor. ... The next day, as soon as Darcy arrived at the office, Rowan called her on the internal line. "Ms. Gale, could you come up to the top floor when you have a moment? Mr. Blackwood would like to see you." Darcy knew what it was about. During their brief discussion about next year's R&D plans, Jethro had mentioned wanting to see a detailed roadmap.