"Mom, don't be hasty," Zora said with a smile. "Let him be for now. He might be useful to me." Susan frowned. "What's your plan?" Zora held up her hands, admiring her freshly done manicure. She was very pleased with it. "Use him against Darcy, of course. You know that bitch has been making me lose face lately. I was worried about how to pay her back. Now, heaven itself is helping me." Understanding dawned on Susan's face. Her frown eased, and she crossed her long legs. "Good. Make sure you hit back hard this time." "By the way, how are things with Zane lately?" she asked, changing the subject. The arranged family meeting had been canceled abruptly, which had left Susan very displeased. She had privately contacted Olena, only to be met with vague platitudes about young people focusing on their careers first.At the mention of this, Zora's brow darkened. Zane had been noticeably distant lately. Several times she had gone up to his office to ask him to lunch, only to be turned down with a curt "busy." After a few rounds of that, Zora didn't want to keep throwing herself at a brick wall. "You silly girl," Susan sighed. "To achieve great things, don't sweat the small stuff. You can't handle a few rejections? How can I ever entrust the family business to you? "A man and a woman are like a spring. If you are weak, he becomes strong in front of you. If you are strong, he becomes weak." Zora complained, "After the humiliations I've suffered lately, how can I possibly be 'strong' in front of him?" Susan smiled mysteriously, "You are a woman. Learn to use a woman's advantages to the fullest. No matter how strong he seems, he's still a young, vigorous man. He's got needs." Zora looked unenthused. She crossed her arms, leaning back on the sofa. "I've tried that before. He didn't seem very interested."She even suspected Zane was sexually incompetent—after all, she was supposed to be the love of his life, yet he'd resisted her even when she'd thrown herself at him. What a joke. "If once doesn't work, try twice. If twice doesn't work, try three times. You'll find your opportunity." Zora sighed, "Fine. I'll give it another shot." But before that, she needed to regain some face at Darcy's expense. The next day, while Darcy was downstairs finalizing her mother's discharge papers, Zora slipped into the VIP room carrying several lavish gift bags. Ione, assuming she was a colleague of Darcy's, quickly gestured for her to sit. "Oh, please, have a seat! You shouldn't have brought so many gifts! It's too much." She was already mentally planning to treat this kind visitor to a meal. Zora smoothed her long, wavy hair. "It's no trouble at all." She glanced around the room, then asked on purpose, "Where's Mr. Parker? Didn't he come to see you?" Ione's smile froze. "What... what Mr. Parker?" Zora looked up, her expression one of pure innocence. "Mr. John Parker, of course. He must have been visiting you often lately, right?" Ione's chest heaved. An uncomfortable feeling fluttered in her heart. She forced down her rising anger, trying to keep her voice level. "How do you know John?" "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself," Zora said, a sly smile curving her lips. "I'm John's stepdaughter. Zora Moss. He married into the Moss family. Ever since he joined our family, he's been so good to my mother and me. "Out of gratitude for his kindness, I came to visit you today." Boom. The words hit Ione like a thunderclap. She clutched her chest, collapsing back onto the sofa. Her lips turned ashen. She pointed a trembling finger at Zora. "You... you came here... to taunt me." "That's not a nice thing to say," Zora chided, her voice sweet as poison. "I came with good intentions. How could you accuse me of such a thing? "You have no idea how wonderful John has been to us. If I wanted the moon, he'd find a way to get it for me. "I only recently found out that you were his ex-wife, and that Darcy is his daughter. What a coincidence—Darcy and I used to be colleagues." She leaned in close to Ione, her voice dropping to a cruel whisper. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you—Zane called off his engagement with her because of me. Soon, I'll be marrying him. We're gonna be the happiest couple alive." Ione pressed a hand to her chest, her face contorted in pain. "You... you—" Before she could finish, she lost consciousness.Just then, Darcy returned from paying the fees downstairs. Stepping out of the elevator, she collided with Zora. She frowned. "What are you doing here?" Zora's red lips curved into a smile. "I heard your mother was ill. I came to visit." A sick feeling hit Darcy hard. She spun around and ran for the room right away. Finding her mother unconscious on the sofa, she frantically called for a nurse, tears springing to her eyes. After emergency treatment, Ione regained consciousness quickly, though she remained weak. She lay in bed, staring at her daughter without a word—tears just kept rolling down her cheeks. "Mom, did Zora do something to you? I'm calling the police!" Darcy pulled out her phone, her finger already on the "9." Ione weakly reached out and grabbed her daughter's hand, stopping her.