"Ruin your skin?”


    Adeline sucked in a sharp breath. She''d been using the face masks Effie gave her and thought they were pretty good, so she kept at it. But now that she thought about it, there was definitely a risk.


    What if they seemed fine now, butter suddenly caused a breakout? That would be a disaster.


    Suzan noticed the sudden silence, realizing everyone was lost in thought. She jumped in quickly, "My dad''s factory has always specialized in producing top- quality ingredients for cosmetics. For example, hispany is the biggest supplier of hyaluronic acid. Because he''s got the most advanced refining technology, the quality is second to none-the purity and concentration are excellent, and the price is unbeatable. That''s why so many major brands buy from him."


    "In recent years, my dad figured, why just supply ingredients to otherpanies when we could produce our own line? We''ve got all the resources right here. That way, people here can enjoy premium products at the lowest possible price. In fact, one of the masks hispany produced even got featured in academic journals and made international news. You can look it up online if you don''t believe me."


    Adeline had always turned her nose up at products from Shepard Bagnold''spany. Whenever Suzan gave her anything, she''d just pretend to ept it and toss it asideter.


    Honestly, she hadn''t cared much for the masks Effie gave her either. It was only because the housekeeper mixed things up and brought her one by mistake that she tried it at all. The next morning, though, her skin was unexpectedly dewy, and her makeup went on wlessly.


    When she asked about it, she discovered it was actually the mask from Effie.


    After that, she stuck with it, and—almost miraculously-the dark spots on her face started to fade.


    From then on, Adeline became a devoted fan of that mask.


    Now, Suzan added, "Auntie, with my dad''s reputation and technology, you can be sure you''re getting a safe product. We''re not going anywhere, so if anything does go wrong, we''ll take full responsibility."


    Adeline was starting toe around.


    “All right,” she said, “send me some samples. I''ll give it a try."


    Then, after a moment''s thought, she added, "Actually, bring a bit more. I''ll share some with my friends."


    Her reasoning was simple: if there was a problem, she wasn''t about to be the only one caught up in it.


    Suzan was delighted. "Of course, Auntie. I''ll arrange it right away."


    After hanging up, Suzan rushed to share the good news with Shepard and Vera.


    Vera made sure to praise Suzan in front of Shepard. "Suzan''s really a good girl. She never forgets about the family, no matter what she does. We''re so lucky to have her


    She paused, then couldn''t resist fanning the mes, "Not like some people, who


    can''t even acknowledge their own father."


    Shepard hardly needed her to spell out who she meant.


    His expression darkened, stormy enough to wring water from.


    Still, he said, "Suzan''s idea is clever-using those society wives to get our


    products into their inner circles. But..."


    He hesitated, then continued, "Even


    though our product has passed testing it hasn''t officiallyunched yet. There are still some details we haven''t ironed out. What if something goes wrong whenthey use it?"


    no


    "Dad, our form is safe. There''s way it could be worse than Effie''s mystery products. If they''re willing to use hers, they''ll have no problem


    with ours."


    Shepard''s face shifted at that. He sounded a bit anxious as he asked Suzan,


    "Wait—are you saying Effie''s been making face masks too?"