?Chapter 1138:


    She nted her hands firmly on her hips, her face carrying not the slightest hint of shame. Instead, it shone with bold pride and unshaken confidence.


    “Because… just like you, I wasn’t born into that family by blood. The Coopers took me in. I lived as their adopted daughter.”


    Zoey spoke the words “adopted daughter” with steady emphasis, almost as if she dered an honor.


    Lightly, she let one hand rest on Maia’s shoulder. “But you and I share sharp minds. That’s why the true heirs in both our families kept their guard up against us.”


    Maia froze, startled. This truth was something she had never once heard before.


    Every tale and every rumor had painted Zoey as a prodigy, a legend, someone far beyond reach. Yet here stood Zoey, revealing that she was no more than an adopted child of the Cooper n.


    Maia’s voice dropped so low it was nearly a whisper. “You were actually—”


    “Yes. Our paths ran alike. Just like you, I was framed by the heirs and thrown into prison,” Zoey cut across her unfinished words,ying the truth bare without hesitation.


    She moved closer in a sudden step and wrapped Maia tightly in her arms.


    The embrace carried the faint freshness of clean cloth. It felt quiet, steady, and gentle, yet it pressed in with a strength that surrounded Maiapletely.


    “That is why I refuse to see you waste away here.”


    Zoey’s voice came low and even, spoken close to Maia’s ear. “Maia, you remind me of myself, so I want you to carry on in my ce, to finish the goals I left behind, and to hand Cooper Group over to Chris.”


    Her arms drew Maia in tighter. Zoey gave a softugh, her breath skimming Maia’s cheek as she spoke near her ear. “It pleases me deeply to hear you see me as your mother. I do wish I really were, to watch you live the joy that I never touched.”


    Zoey stopped for a brief moment, as if dulling the edge of her own words before releasing them. “Maia, truth cuts like a de. Do you still wish to dig into my past? I may fall short of the perfect image you once held of me.”


    Maia wrapped her arms around Zoey in return, her fingers gripping the cloth of Zoey’s clothes as if she feared letting go.


    g?lnσν????s is where magic happens


    The sting in her throat atst melted away. All the heavy words she could never speak pressed into one shaky plea. “If… if it’s allowed… may I call you Mom?”


    Zoey’s frame quivered so faintly it was almost unseen. She had pictured this very moment over and over in her mind, yet she had never truly believed it woulde to pass.


    “Of course, my precious daughter,” Zoey said, her lips curving into a smile.


    “Mom!” Maia called out, her voice breaking.


    Tears streamed down, and she suddenly understood she had not been chasing the shelter of a strong protector but had been running toward a long-lost home.


    She had yearned for it all her life. At that instant, every wall between them crumbled away.


    Maia suddenly understood she had been mistaken. She had once believed Zoey was nothing but ruthless, forgetting that kindness also lived in her. She had once thought Zoey only spun snares, forgetting that Zoey also stood guard for others. Until now, Maia had only noticed the chill in Zoey, never the warmth hidden beneath it.


    Zoey had carried herself with honor, and countless people had once admired her.


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