"Call Melvin,” Juniper instructed.


    "Yes, Ms. Payne," Felton said, immediately dialing.


    ...


    Meanwhile, at the back gate of Era High School, J was cornered in a girls'' bathroom by a group of immactely dressed students in school uniforms.


    "We warned you to stay out of Yelena''s way. What, is your brain too small to remember that?" a girl with sharp bangs sneered, looking down at J with undisguised contempt.


    "I was here first," J said, her hands twisting the hem of her uniform as she fought to stay calm.


    "Oh, so you''re saying it''s Yelena''s fault?" the girl shot back, crossing her arms like a seasoned bully. "Do you even know who you are? How dare you suggest Yelena is in the wrong. I bet you knew she was back from her arts program and decided to cause trouble for her on purpose."


    "Alright now," Ynda said, stepping forward with a gentle, disarming smile. "I''m sure she didn''t mean it. How about this..." She fixed her gaze on J. "You get on your knees and apologize properly to Yelena, and we''ll call it even.”


    Ynda knew J. She was the daughter of Juniper''s poor aunt, Saskia. Just thinking about Juniper was enough to put Ynda in a foul mood.


    Yelena Wilcox, standing behind them, tilted her chin up, looking at J with an air of arrogant expectation. She was waiting for her to kneel.


    "Why should I?" J retorted, her expression turning cold. "Get out of my way."


    She needed to get back to the hospital to be with her mother.


    "Why?" The girl with the bangsughed mockingly. "Because you''re a disgrace to the Wilcox family, that''s why!"


    J''s face paled, and she began to tremble with rage.


    "Everyone knows your mother seduced Zorion, the eldest son of the Wilcoxfamily, drove his fiancée to suicide, and tried to marry her way into a life of luxury. But the Wilcox patriarch + h never fell for her little act and didn''t agree," the girl taunted. "And Zorion was a fool, giving up his inheritance for a woman like that. But karma came for him, didn''t it? He died not long after."


    "You''re lying!" J shouted, her voice shaking as she defended her parents. "My mother didn''t drive anyone to their death! She and my father truly loved each other. They didn''t wrong anyone!"


    "Oh, dear," Ynda said, linking her arm with Yelena''s in a show of mock sympathy. "Yelena is offering you a way out. Why won''t you take it? It''s just a simple apology. Don''t tell me—" Ynda''s voice dripped with poison as she fanned the mes. “You actually think you''re the heiress of the Wilcox family?"


    "As if she''s worthy!" At Ynda''s words, Yelena''s expression soured, and she red at J.


    "Your mother is shameless, and your father was heartless," Yelena spat, stepping closer. "My grandfather is still bedridden because of what your father did to him, and you have the nerve to say it wasn''t your fault? you have nothing to do with the Wilcox family So don''t you dare entertain any fantasies about


    J


    The Wilcox family was one of Era City''s elite. Over a decade ago, a scandal had rocked them. The


    eldest son, Zorion Wilcox, had affair leading to his fiancée''s tragic suicide. The family patriarch was so enraged that he suffered a stroke and fell into aa. Now, the family was under the control of the second son, Ezra Wilcox. Yelena was Ezra''s daughter, and she had an older brother currently studying abroad.