Her Return, His Regret

Jason had been laying low the last few days after his last encounter with Lora. Even though he had told her he would never give up on her, the resolute look in her eyes showed him that she would never love him in this life. That night, his mother had invited him for dinner, claiming there was someone who wished to meet him for business.

Although Jason was no longer interested in fighting Ryan for the position of CEO, he still went to see what his mother was up to.

To his shock, he happened to overhear something that shocked him to the core. As he stood outside the VIP room, his heart raced as he listened to the conversation between his mother and an unknown man.

"Celeste, don't try to act innocent in this. You wanted to get rid of Ryan, so you asked for our help. Now that I have nothing else to lose, I want to destroy the Kingsleys once and for all. I want Ryan to feel the pain of losing something precious to him," a man's voice came.

"I'm not trying to act innocent, David. You were the one who went against our deal. You didn't want the Kingsley Group to land in my hands. You wanted it all to yourself by making your daughter marry Ryan. Our plan was to kill him and then we would share the benefits once my son took over but you became greedy. It's your fault for letting Ryan live...."

Jason's heart dropped to his feet when he heard those words. He felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head.

His mother had orchestrated Ryan's kidnapping years ago? Was she always such a scheming person?

"That's because I knew you were going to betray me, Celeste. Miles may have fallen for your lies, but I know you and what kind of fraud you are. I wouldn't have gotten my cut... that's why I thought it was better for my daughter to become a Kingsley instead. However, that bastard, Ryan didn't love my daughter... in the end, he was her doom. Now I want to finish him and make him pay for what he did to her!"

Jason's breath hitched.

His mother and the man he had now recognised as David Williams were talking about how they planned to kill Ryan years ago. Jason never thought his mother was capable of killing anyone.

He just thought she had been mistreated by Charles and Ryan, and that was why she wanted him to claim the company for himself. Who knew it was for her own selfish reasons? Memories of the past flashed through Jason's mind... whenever she talked to him, she always made sure to show her disdain for Ryan, planting a bad impression of him into Jason's mind. In the end, Jason ended up hating Ryan and thinking he was the reason his mother had a hard time and sent him away from the family.

Who knew Celeste was a murderer and all she had said about Ryan was a lie?

"Lower your voice," Celeste snapped at David. "Jason will be here soon. I don't want him to know about what we did. I want him to hate Ryan and grab everything that belongs to me." Jason clenched his fists, a mixture of rage and disbelief coursing through him. So, his mother was just using him for her own gain?

'Oh mother, it's too late. I already know your true colours,' Jason mused.

The conversation inside the room continued.

"We will hear him when he's here," David replied.

Another female voice reached Jason's ears. "Do you think Ivy will talk? She knows everything."

"Come on, Celine. Our daughter is relying on us to avenge her. She's not going to confess when we are the only ones who can finish Ryan," David replied to his wife.

"What if Ryan finds out the truth?" Celine asked again.

"He's a dying man anyway, what can he do?" It was Celeste who replied this time and the whole place echoed with laughter.

Jason felt sick, his stomach churning. He wanted to burst in and demand answers but his legs felt like lead.

“We need to act fast... I have to buy

into the Kingsley group since the stock price keeps dropping. I'm sure once Ryan realises that I own most of the shares, he will die from shock. I think that would be doing him a favour... it's better than dying from pain," David said in a mocking voice.

Jason couldn't listen anymore. He stepped back, his mind reeling with emotions-anger, betrayal, confusion.

He had always looked up to his mother, so finding out she was this wicked was very disappointing.

Without a word, he turned and walked away from the VIP room, not making his presence known.

On his way, he bumped into his sister, Isabella Kingsley as she walked out of the elevator.

"Bro, where are you going?" Isabella asked, looking behind Jason to see if the others were following him. "Is the meeting over already? That was quick." "I've got an emergency. Please tell Mother I'll see her later," Jason replied before stepping into the elevator, not sparing Isabella a glance.

He was very sure she was their mother's accomplice and that made him feel more disturbed.

Isabella frowned when the elevator doors closed. Jason couldn't even look her in the eye and he looked upset. Did something happen?

A few seconds later, she brushed those thoughts away and went to the VIP room.

"Where's your brother?" Celeste asked when she saw Isabella walk in alone.

Isabella shrugged and replied, "He said he has an emergency and he will see you later."

Celeste clenched her hands into fists. She thought she had Jason under her control but lately, he had been doing things contrary to their plans.

"Will there be a problem?" David asked, sensing Celeste's shifting mood.

Celeste composed herself and smiled, saying, "Not at all... I'll fill him in later. Let's go ahead."

Meanwhile, Jason sat in his car, his

hands tightening around the

steering wheel as anger flared. through him. His mother's wordsNôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

kept echoing in his mind like a broken record.

"It's your fault for letting Ryan live..."

"You should have made sure he died when we arranged the kidnapping years ago..."

Jason still couldn't believe his ears.

How could his own mother have been involved in something so heinous? Was she that desperate and greedy to the extent of becoming a murderer?

Jason's heart clenched in pain. He

never expected his mother to be the bad guy in all this. And here he was, following her lead to get everything from Ryan. How was he different

from her?

en

A sigh escaped Jason's lips. He was about to start his car and leave when his phone rang.

When he saw that the call was from Ryan, Jason's heart skipped a beat.

He furrowed his eyebrows and answered, "Hello?"

"Hello, Jason," Ryan said on the phone. "Can we meet? There's something we need to talk about and it's important."