Nora Lowell woke up later than she had expected. Paige Summers had been ruthless, truly aiming to kill her. It was a shame, then, that she had failed at the last moment.

Groggily, she opened her eyes and found herself lying in bed. The room wasn’t unfamiliar; she had rested here during a previous visit to the Lowell Family estate.

Her throat ached terribly, making even breathing an effort. Inwardly, however, she was incredibly pleased with herself.

’What could be more wonderful than everything going according to plan, with an enemy who was so cooperative?’

But as she glanced around, she felt a pang of disappointment.

She had expected Wendy Lowell to be here, but at the moment, only a Lowell Family servant was sitting at the foot of the bed. Seeing her awake, the servant quickly stood up. "Miss, you’re awake. Would you like some water?"

Nora Lowell nodded slowly and drank a little water to soothe her throat. Feeling a bit more comfortable, she opened her mouth, intending to ask where Wendy Lowell was, but suddenly discovered she couldn’t make a sound!

A flicker of panic went through her. She reached for her throat, trying desperately to make a sound.

The servant, being quite perceptive, quickly stopped her. "Miss, the doctor said you shouldn’t use your voice for now. Just get plenty of rest, and you’ll be able to speak again soon."

Nora Lowell paused for a moment. Relieved that she hadn’t been rendered mute, she waved the servant out of the room and lay back down quietly.

She was the only one left in the room.

The deep hatred in her eyes was no longer concealed.

’Paige Summers!’

’I will make you pay!’

’You think you can fight me?’

’Hmph. Let’s see you act so tough when your own biological mother refuses to help you!’

Then, her thoughts turned to Sheldon Reid.

At first, she hadn’t understood. He had the data, had placed her in the operations department, and had even mentioned that Central City would soon move against Norgate. Yet, the man had remained consistently lukewarm toward her. Why would he suddenly decide to take her to the Reid Estate?

Fortunately, she had unintentionally overheard his conversation with Wendy Lowell, and that was how she discovered the truth: Wendy Lowell was Paige Summers’s biological mother!

The news was, without a doubt, terrible for her. But the line between crisis and opportunity is a fine one.

From Sheldon Reid’s tone, he wasn’t fond of Wendy Lowell’s desperate attempts to acknowledge Paige Summers. This was understandable. Given the Reid Family’s current status, forcing him to accept a completely unrelated stepsister... If it were her, she would object as well.

So, his sending her there was obviously not done with good intentions.

She refused to believe he didn’t know that she and Paige Summers were both from the Dead City, and that there was deep-seated animosity between them.

He wanted to use her; that was undeniable.

But wasn’t this also an opportunity he was handing her?

She wouldn’t just sabotage Wendy Lowell’s attempt to acknowledge Paige Summers. She would go even further. If she could take Paige Summers’s place... *that* was the outcome she wanted most.

The heavens themselves were helping her!

By accompanying Wendy Lowell back to the Lowell estate, her status had shifted once again.

’A cousin of the Lowell Family...’

’Ha. It’s not enough. It’s far, far from enough!’

’The Lowell Family’s third generation has no one truly outstanding. I consider myself far superior to them!’

’My only obstacle is Paige Summers!’

With this incident, Wendy Lowell’s personality meant she was bound to be disappointed in her impulsive and hostile daughter... A small smile touched Nora’s lips. ’No rush. I’ll take this slow. Paige Summers, I will make you lose everything, one piece at a time! Sooner or later, you will regret taking what was precious to me, regret framing me as a captive... You will pay the price for all of it!’

Nora Lowell’s plan couldn’t be called a bad one, and Paige Summers, too lazy to get entangled in schemes, had acted with direct and brutal violence. At this very moment, sitting in the study with her father, Frederick Lowell, Wendy Lowell was indeed frowning, her brow furrowed with worry.

However, Nora Lowell had underestimated a mother’s desire to protect her daughter.

"Paige must have her reasons. She wouldn’t be like this otherwise. I just don’t know what happened..."

Frederick Lowell glanced at her. "I’ve told you many times to change your ways. Be soft when you need to be soft, and be firm when you need to be firm! No matter what, she is your daughter. Don’t spoil her without limit just because of what happened in the past. That will only end up hurting her!"

Wendy Lowell lowered her eyes, dejected. "I want to dote on her, but she won’t give me the chance," she said softly. "You saw it yourself. She has no intention of acknowledging me at all. She just keeps calling me Ms. Lowell. It hurts me so much. And you—why were you so harsh with her? What if you had hurt her? Are you trying to break my heart!"

Frederick Lowell chided her, his tone one of sheer exasperation. "She’s being foolish, but must you be as well?! Given the circumstances, if I hadn’t stepped in, Nora Lowell would be dead! A murder in her own home, right in front of us! If word of this gets out, there’s no guarantee that people with ulterior motives wouldn’t seize the opportunity to attack the Lowell Family!"

Thinking of the current political climate, Wendy Lowell knew her father had an incredibly difficult job ensuring the Lowell Family’s continued prosperity, so she couldn’t refute him. "You’re right... But Paige must have been hurt... And Nora is a nice girl, too. Why would Paige get so furious with her?"

Frederick Lowell shot her a look and said no more.

’This daughter of his had been spoiled. It wasn’t that she wasn’t intelligent, but she always failed to see the crux of the issue.’

’Did the reason for the conflict between two young women matter?’

’Not in the slightest!’

’In this day and age, people would kill each other over a bottle of water, a bite of food, or a crate of supplies. They both came from the Dead City and were close in age, yet their personalities were polar opposites. What was so strange about them being hostile to one another?’

’What mattered was that Paige Summers’s disposition was right up his alley.’

’That was how one should treat enemies: be strong enough, be ruthless enough!’

’Although he had personally stepped in to stop her, that was merely due to the circumstances. When it came to handling matters, he definitely preferred Paige Summers’s methods to Nora Lowell’s.’

’He had judged countless people in his life; how could he fail to see that Nora Lowell’s initial display of weakness and her plea for peace were nothing but an act? But her tactics were completely wrong! To expose her own weakness to her opponent—it was utterly foolish!’

’The girl had too many petty schemes. She was neither forthright enough nor ruthless enough. Stuck in the middle, she was not someone who could be entrusted with great responsibility.’

’Paige Summers was different.’ 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

’She was still too unrefined, however. She needed to be polished.’

’As for how to do that, he would have to think it over carefully.’

Frederick Lowell looked up from his contemplation. Seeing his daughter still staring into space, he prompted, "Nora Lowell is probably awake by now. You should go see her."

"Huh? Oh, yes. I should go see her."

As she stood up, Frederick Lowell couldn’t help but add a word of caution. "Wendy, you must remember, although she is a distant relative of the Lowell Family, she is now under your stepson’s command. It’s even possible their relationship is more than that. You can show concern for her, that’s fine, but it must be in moderation. Don’t get too close! And things that shouldn’t be said must absolutely not be said. Do you understand?"

A helpless look appeared on Wendy Lowell’s face. She was a mother herself, yet her father still treated her like a child. "Dad, I know who’s important and who isn’t. You don’t need to worry!"