Like Jonathan, Jared had not lived alongside his own children since his retirement and preferred a life of
solitude in his original place of residence, which was The Ataraxy.
Meanwhile, Gossamer Creek was where members of the branch family of the Jadesons were based.
Therefore, Jonathanâs sudden intention to send Sasha to these places was apparent. As a result,
Stephen left Oceanic Estate blue in the face.
Jasmine was there waiting when he returned to the Red Pavilion. She immediately came up to him when
she saw him. âHow did it go, Stephen? What did Dad say?â
âWhat could he have said? He has always favored him, so what else could he say?â
For a moment, Stephen was concerned about not having an outlet for his pent-up frustrations. His wifeâs
inquiries instantly prompted him to rant unreservedly.
Jasmineâs face became white as a sheet.
âWhat does this mean? Is he really going to have you relinquish everything you have? How are we to
survive in the future? How are we to profit when we have nothing left to milk?â
âProfit? Never mind profit; youâll be counting your lucky stars if you can even go on living!â Once more,
Stephen replied with resentment.
Being modest of talent and painfully aware that he had little to contribute toward the family, Stephen had
long conducted himself extremely cautiously while with the Jadesons, especially in front of his father.
Hence, he had always given everything he had to whatever task Jonathan assigned him.
Fortunately, he was Jonathanâs only son, so his old man kept looking out for him in the past decades.
Because of this, he took up an administrative position in the military and had the opportunity to manage
the family business.
Had Sebastian not surfaced, perhaps he might have continued to live out the rest of his life in relative
comfort.
However, what caught him off guard was how quickly Sebastianâs appearance robbed Stephen of his
own fatherâs affection. Not only that, but now Stephen was also expected to cough up all the power and
prestige he held in his hands.
Like a rooster defeated in a cockfight, he slumped into the couch in the living room, utterly deflated.
âNot just myself. Itâs game over even for you as well.â
âMe?â Jasmine quickly sat next to him. âWhat do you mean by that?â
The smirking Stephen continued, âHavenât you always dreamt about becoming the lady of the house?
Believe me when I tell you to kill that thought. Just now, the old man instructed Janice to bring Sasha to
visit Uncle Jared and to make a trip to Gossamer Creek.â
Jasmine was absolutely shocked. She stood there petrified; all she could hear was the humming in her
own ears.
What perks were there to becoming the lady of the house of the Jadesons?
First was total control of the familyâs wealth.
Be it The Ataraxy or Gossamer Creek in the outskirts of the city, everyone in the family was dependent
on the support of the business interests of the Jadesons to sustain their ways of life. The income would
first go to Oceanic Estate before it was redistributed to them by the lady of the house who presided over
the familyâs finances.
Second was the right to speak.
With Jonathan taking a hands-off approach to domestic matters and in the absence of a woman in
charge, everything that the three branches of the family wanted to do previously had to go through the
butler, Tony, before being presented to Jonathan himself.
That was the only way to settle matters.
During that time, Jasmine, by virtue of her marriage to Stephen, enjoyed the indubitable honor of being
the only one who could pass the word along to Tony.
Now, even this little bit of privilege was being stripped from her when the old man, within a few days of
his arrival, decided to appoint Sasha as the lady of the house.
Jasmine felt that she was going bonkers.
âWhat right he has to do that? Weâre his son and daughter-in-law, arenât we? Why does he favor them?
Whatâs more, weâre senior to them, so why does he treat us so shabbily? Havenât we done enough for
him all these years?â
The more she questioned it, the more her outrage grew and she eventually took that all out on the items
on the table which she left strewn across the floor.
Stephen wanted to know why that was the case as well.
Their anger, however, was for naught, as there was no way back once the old man had his mind made
up.
Consumed by rage, discontent, and hatred, the middle-aged man sat there for a while before he finally
stood up. Amidst his wifeâs continued hysterics, he returned to his study.
Inside the study was an old computer.
Given his rather advanced age, he was not too used to newer technologies. When it was booted up, the
computer automatically logged him into a messaging program and a chatbox opened up.
Anon: How about it? Have you thought things through?
Stephen was hesitant.
With his outstretched fingers hovering over the keyboard, the apprehensive man had to overcome a bit
of a struggle internally before he started to tap away steadily on the keys.
Stephen: Are you certain that he will not be harmed?
Anon: Positively. We are mercenaries, Lieutenant Colonel Jadeson. If all that the client wants is for him
to go mad, weâll make it that way. No reason at all for us to do anything to make ourselves a target of law
enforcement, wouldnât you agree?
Stephen took a deep drawl as that seemed to ease his own emotional burden.
A moment later, he finally typed: Okay.