Megan Kane patted their shoulders. "Rowan Monroe, Jason Forrester likes you so much. Are you just going to abandon him like this? Don't you feel bad?"
"I've heard him say that he annihilates the entire families of those who are disloyal and unrighteous."
"You should think about your mom and dad. Staying strong until the very end is your only purpose in life now."
"Don't give up so easily."
Rowan Monroe's eyes widened in disbelief. 'My dear best friend, that doesn't sound like words of comfort at all. Isn't that a blatant threat?'
"What on earth did my mom and dad ever do to him? Why is he always threatening to kill my entire family?"
She really couldn't figure out how her family had gotten in Jason Forrester's way.
'Maybe I should go tell my parents to change their ways right now.'
"And Mom, Dad, Jason Forrester told me he'd give you high salaries. That money isn't for nothing, but I'll be the one holding onto it for you for now."
"You've worked hard your entire lives. Think about it, how much money can you really make running a company?"
"And sure, your new jobs are extremely dangerous, but the pay is high! See how they complement each other?"
"Sometimes you have to broaden your horizons. You need to have lofty ambitions in everything you do."
"Our paltry lives are a small price to pay. First, let's earn a trillion off him."
"Come on! Muster your energy and shout it with me! First, we'll earn a trillion!"
The moment Megan Kane's words landed, the housekeeper sweeping nearby burst into tears and started wailing.
"Mommy, I want to go home! This villa is full of crazy people! I don't want to be a housekeeper in a nice house anymore!"
"Mommy! Save me!"
The housekeeper's ghostly wails brought everyone back to reality.
Rowan Monroe hesitantly raised her hand and mumbled a few words, but then felt it wasn't quite right.
She drew her hand back and sighed. "Forget it. We've only got a few days left to live, anyway. We might as well take the money and have a good time. After it's spent, we can at least die as ghosts with full stomachs."
Mr. and Mrs. Kane listlessly dragged their luggage into the bedroom that had been prepared for them. They had no spirit left to speak.
'It feels like my life has already come to an end.'
'The retirement we worked so hard for, the one we were finally about to enjoy... No need to enjoy it now. We can just go report to the great beyond.'
'If I'd known this was where I'd end up, I wouldn't have bothered slaving away at some bullshit career. I would have just had fun.'
'Well, this is just great. No need to have fun now. We can just report to the Underworld ahead of schedule.'
'When I meet the Nether King, I'm definitely going to file a complaint against Jason Forrester. He's not even human!'
Megan Kane hadn't even finished settling her relatives in when she received a sudden phone call telling her she had to attend some bullshit banquet.
"Who are you? What right do you have to tell me to attend a banquet? I'm telling you, I'm not going! You scammers are getting bolder and bolder these days."
"Do you know who my husband is? Believe it or not, I'll have your little scam operation razed to the ground by tomorrow! Don't you people do your background research before making calls?"
"Why'd you go quiet? Speak up! I want to see exactly which organization of scammers you belong to!"
"And why don't you dare send me your location? I'll absolutely level you. I'll level your entire family, too, nice and tidy."
When Megan Kane had answered the phone, an unfamiliar man's voice had come from the other end.
That's why she had gone off on him immediately, holding nothing back.
The call had been put on speaker at the bustling family banquet, and everyone was stunned by Megan Kane's audacious tirade.
Mr. Forrester let out a heavy sigh. And here he'd thought Jason Forrester had found a good wife.
'So much for that,' he thought. 'It was just a pipe dream. The madman just found himself a madwoman.'
'From now on, the two of them can team up and put on a show together.'
'The Forrester Family's future, I'm afraid, will be nothing but chaos and turmoil, without a single day of peace.'
"I don't know this woman. The woman I love is Blair White. She is merely one of my patients from the psychiatric hospital."
"She has a rather rare condition, and I've been treating her recently. You don't need to give me those strange looks."
Jason Forrester had immediately spoken up to disavow any connection to her.
He would never, under any circumstances, allow himself to lose face in public.
"Ahem. In that case, call her and have her come to the family banquet."
Megan Kane never would have guessed that the family banquet actually had something to do with her. Before she could explain, the line went dead.
'I might have been a little over the top,' she thought, 'but that was only because I didn't know what was going on. So it's not really my fault, right?'
Jason Forrester, however, had it all figured out. 'That woman deliberately embarrassed me in public. I'm going to make her pay when I get back!'
Blair White was still in the hospital recovering from her injuries when she was suddenly summoned by phone to the family banquet.
She thought about every sad thing that had ever happened to her in her entire life, and none of them felt sadder than this moment.
It was one thing for no one to come visit her, but now she was being forced to attend some bullshit family banquet.
'Do they expect an injured person to also be a model employee?!'
To say Blair White didn't want to go was an understatement; she had a million and one reasons to refuse.
Her head was still throbbing, and she worried that the moment she saw Jason Forrester, she'd end up getting bruised or banged up again somehow.
Besides, hitting her head today had knocked some sense into her. She didn't want to be a simp anymore.
She, Blair White, was supposed to have her own life, but Jason Forrester gave her no room to negotiate whatsoever.
It seemed she had no other choice but to go.
So, she could only grit her teeth and head over.
Although Megan Kane knew she'd handled things poorly back home, she couldn't be bothered to overthink it.
Besides, no one at that event knew that Jason Forrester was the one with the screw loose.
Right now, she was going to use these two hours of freedom to go shopping and relax. Everything else was none of her goddamn business.
She was the master of her own life. Anyone who tried to intimidate her wouldn't even get in the door.
"Rowan, are you ready? If so, want to go out for a bit?"
"I want to buy a few more dresses and some jewelry today. We can go together."
Rowan Monroe hurriedly pushed open her door. "Okay, and I have some money here for my parents."
"We won't be needing it in the future anyway. Besides, Jason Forrester is paying for everything we buy, so I won't be spending my own money."
"But you're the most pitiful one. You even brought your parents over. Looks like your whole family is stuck here for good."
"Sigh. When it comes down to it, this is all my fault. If it weren't for me..."
As Rowan Monroe spoke, she sighed heavily and patted Megan Kane's shoulder, saying no more.
Megan Kane offered a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Rowan had no way of knowing that she hadn't needed to come here at all; it was Megan Kane herself who had strongly recommended her for the "job."
Megan Kane would never, ever reveal the truth. It would completely destroy their iron-clad best-friendship.
A bond between best friends, strong enough to cut through metal.