Revenge is best served cold

Elsa's act was nauseating, but Jack was clearly eating it up.

He quickly glared at me when he saw Elsa looking like she was on the verge of tears. But as he turned back to face Elsa, his tone softened.

"It's not that you're insisting on the shares. It's that I'm insisting on giving them to you. Since we're family, how could you have no stake in this—"

"Is that so?" I couldn't help but interrupt, breaking the warm atmosphere between them.

Smiling, I suggested, "If you're so keen on making Elsa a true member of the Brown family, why don't you just marry her? It would be a win-win for everyone."

I saw a flash of surprise in Jack's eyes at my response.

He quickly glanced at Elsa and pretended to be nonchalant, but he was clearly waiting for her response.

Elsa's face drained of color, and she immediately clutched Jack's sleeve, her voice dripping with grievances. "How can you say that, Jane? I've always considered you both my true family. I've never thought that way."

She looked at me with tears welling up in her eyes, her face tinged with a look of determination. "If you really think that of me, maybe I should just leave the Brown family. That way, you won't have to keep misunderstanding me."

Before I could reply, Jack wrapped his arms around her tightly and shot me a furious glare. "What exactly are you trying to do to her? You know she's not well. Are you trying to kill her with your words?"

He turned back to Elsa, his voice softening again. "I know you've always seen us as your real family. You're my best sister."

I watched him play the loving big brother role and couldn't help but scoff. "If there were rankings for simps, you'd definitely be the king."

Though I had long given up on Jack, I still hoped that one day, he would wake up for the sake of Mom and Dad.

After a brief pause, I said coldly, "This whole brother-sister act needs to stop. You're just a dog in her hands. If you have spare time, maybe you should ask yourself when she has ever really cared about you."

Jack instinctively opened his mouth to argue, but as he searched his mind for a response, it seemed like my words hit too close to home. couldn't come up with a single, instance where Elsa had shown him any affection. He slowly

look at her, his eyes fillo

with a fleeting moment of doubt.

But the next second, that doubt was replaced by panic.

Elsa clearly didn't want to continue this conversation. Her face turned pale, and she suddenly collapsed in a faint.

Jack immediately scooped her up in

his arms and dashed toward the

stairs but then paused momentarily. He lowered his head and looked down at me from above. "Just wait.

I'm getting that five percent for sure!"

Mom and Dad watched as Jack carried Elsa upstairs, both letting out a long sigh.

"Jae, don't blame your brother. He's just..."

Mom trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. She wanted to make excuses for Jack but couldn't quite find the words.

I waved it off casually, unconcerned. "It's fine. I've never had someone offer me shares before."

Dad gave me a careful once-over, then asked tentatively, "How can you be sure the project you're choosing will make money?"

"It's a secret," I said, winking playfully.

"This bet is already set. When it's time, I'll go claim those shares, and you two can't stop me."

"We won't." Dad nodded.

Clearly, he, too, had begun to lose faith in his eldest son, Jack. His gaze shifted to me. "Are you still sticking with your studio?"

I nodded. "The problems were all caused by someone. Don't worry, I'll take care of

it."

Mom patted Dad's handnoveldrama

reassuringly signaling him not to worry further. "If the kid wants to start her own business, let her go for it. And besides, there's that boy from the Flint family. Look at howO invested he is this time!"