On the Ruins of His Regret I Soar novel Chapter 141

Melissa Gates glared at Jessica Brown with pure venom.

Jessica, however, seemed completely unfazed. “You have two choices, Melissa,” she said coolly. “Either you convince your uncle to drop this investigation into what happened to Lawrence Harris, or you can watch him get knocked off his pedestal. I hear he’s angling for one last promotion before he retires. It would be a shame for that to fall through.”

Melissa’s hands clenched into tight fists. “How dare you?” she whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief.

Jessica offered a careless shrug and a small smile. “You see the position I’m in. I’ve got nothing left to lose. So go ahead, have your uncle come after me. But last I checked, I’m still legally Lance’s wife. Do you really think he’d risk the scandal of moving against me directly?”

Panic was beginning to flicker in Melissa’s eyes.

Jessica pressed her advantage. “And another thing to consider,” she added, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Even if you claim Lawrence seduced you, do you really think your uncle is going to do anything to his own crippled son? No. He’ll turn on your family, and you, my dear, will be the one to blame for all of it.”

Melissa’s legs gave out, and she sank onto the bench, completely stunned.

“Are you trying to scare me?” she spat, trying to regain some semblance of control. “Lance is divorcing you. The Browns have disowned you. What leverage could you possibly have?”

Jessica casually brushed a strand of hair from her face. “You’re right, I can’t do much on my own. But what do you think would happen if a little folder containing all your uncle’s dirty secrets happened to land on his biggest rival’s desk?”

Melissa shot to her feet, her heart pounding erratically. She stammered, “I’ll… I’ll go talk to him. But I can’t promise anything.”

Jessica gave a slight, satisfied nod.

Grabbing her purse, Melissa fled the coffee shop as if the devil himself were on her heels.

“I told Melissa everything I know,” Jessica replied smoothly. “I don’t know how much of that she relayed to you, but I do know that what I have is enough to seriously jeopardize your promotion.”

He leaned back, a humorless smirk on his face. “My son—my only son—is crippled for life. I’ll never have grandchildren. The Harris family line ends with him. Do you really think a man in my position still cares about climbing the corporate ladder?”

“Yes,” Jessica said without hesitation. “I do.”

Robert raised an eyebrow, his gaze filled with a new level of intrigue. “And why is that?”

Jessica looked down, her voice calm and measured. “Because the higher you climb, the fewer people dare to whisper behind your back. Right now, you might have ten people gossiping about you. Get that promotion, and maybe that number drops to two. For a man like you, power is the ultimate goal. Your son is important, of course, but not as important as you claim. I’m sure you want revenge, but if that revenge conflicts with your ambition, you won’t hesitate to choose ambition.”