After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 218

Gregory's eyes went wide.

“That's just highway robbery!‘ he thought.

“Sure,” Jeffrey said without even blinking.

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To him, Andrea was nothing but a headache right now. As long as he could pay her off and be done with the

whole debt of gratitude, he wouldn't hesitate to hand over 60 million dollars, let alone 20 million.

“Second,” Andrea said, her hands sweaty. “I want your word that-no matter what happens-you won't ever try to

take this money back, in any way, and you won't givea hard time.”

Jeffrey turned his eyes to her.

He didn’t say anything, but Andrea couldn't shake the sense that he could see straight through her-that made

her squirm.

“Are you going to agree or not?” she pressed, determined not to let him catch on.

“I can do that,” Jeffrey said, not bothering to explain. He just made up an excuse to buy stime. “But | don’t

have that much cash on hand right now. It'll take about a week.”

“Then figure it out and get it borrowed,” Andrea shot back, making it clear she wasn’t giving him any option to

delay.

Every extra day was just more risk.

Ben was being watched around the clock by lan’s people, so she didn’t even get a chance to get close to him.

If he suddenly woke up one day, he might just spill everything about her.

Jeffrey shot Gregory a look, then turned back to Andrea. “I'm the CEO of the Hanson Group. If | go around

borrowing money, people will start thinking the company’s in trouble.”

“Just borrow from your friends!” Andrea said, her mind only on getting the money and leaving. “Stanley’s got

cash. Call him.”

“Andrea,” Jeffrey called her.

Andrea stiffened, but did her best to play it cool.

Jeffrey glanced over at Gregory, who was still secretly tapping away on his phone, then said lazily, “Don’t you

realize you're acting kind of weird right now?”

A shiver crawled up Andrea’s back. She forced a little bravado, “Weird? In what way?”

“| offered you all sorts of things before and you never took any of them. Now suddenly you want cash,” Jeffrey

sounded relaxed, but his eyes were razor-sharp. He knew Andrea was the type to always look out for number

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Chapter 218

one. “What, did you do something you're feeling guilty about?”

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“I just don’t want to keep dragging this out with you!” Andrea fired back, her explanation already prepared. “And

| don’t want anyone thinking I'm the other woman.”

Jeffrey’s stare was almost suffocating-Andrea felt like she couldn't breathe.

Just being looked at like that, Andrea was ready to crack.

Unable to take it anymore, she snapped, “Are you calling him or not? Hurry up-while | only want the cash and not

you! If you don’t agree now and | change my mind, I'll go right back to clinging onto you just like before, and you

and Rebecca can forget about ever being happy.”

“Stanley’s the only one I'll ask. No one else-I mean it,” Jeffrey emphasized.

Andrea didn’t even blink. “Fine.”

Jeffrey picked up his phone and started dialing.

It rang four or five times before Stanley finally answered, smirking teasingly. “Didnt you just tellto get lost?

What's the matter-missingalready?”

Gregory just stared, speechless.

Jeffrey cut straight to the chase. “You got cash?”

Stanley scoffed, “Seriously? I'm the CEO of the Garcia Group-of course I've got money.”

Jeffrey stayed cool. “Lend20 million.”

Stanley replied with a smirk, “Sorry, fresh out of cash!”

Jeffrey said, “I'm in a rush-it’s urgent.”

Stanley shot back, still totally relaxed, “How do | know this ‘urgent’ thing isn’t just you launching snew

project to steal my rice bowl? You want money? Not happening. All I've got is my life, take it or leave it.”

Jeffrey looked at Andrea. “He’s not going to lendthe money.”

Stanley, still playing innocent, chimed in, “Who are you even talking to?”

Jeffrey just hung up.

Andrea took a deep breath, weighing the risk. “If you makewait a whole week, I'll end up regretting it. Even

if you cback with 40 million, I might not take it. Three days tops-take it or leave it.”

“Fine,” Jeffrey replied, his voice low.

“And what about the second condition?” Andrea pressed.

Jeffrey thought it over for a second. “Fine.”

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Chapter 218

Andrea felt a wave of relief, but she still made sure to drive the point home. “You said it yourself-if you break

your promise, you and Rebecca can forget about ever being happy.”

Jeffrey didn’t even blink. “Yeah.”

“Tell Gregory to booka suite at a luxury hotel. Three days from now, I'll cback for my payout,” Andrea

said, already plotting her escape.

Jeffrey jerked his chin at Gregory.

Gregory instantly started making the arrangements.

Not long after, Stanley called. “What was that call about?”

Stanley sounded skeptical. “Seriously, what are you up to?”

‘If he’s got that much money himself, why’s he askingfor cash? Stanley thought, raising an eyebrow.

‘Something’s definitely off here.”

Jeffrey gave him a quick rundown of what was going on.

Stanley looked completely stumped. “Didn't she use to cling to you for dear life and try every trick she could?

How cshe’s suddenly backing off now?”

“Run a check on what's happened lately,” Jeffrey told him. “See where she’s been and who she’s met with.”

Stanley just stared, dumbstruck.

Stanley shot back, “Weren't you the one who toldto get back to my own business? So now I'm just your

errand boy?”

“After you've checked up on that overseas client, I'll fix it for you,” Jeffrey said softly. “Plus, I'll help you wrap up

that deal you've been stuck on for a year.”

Stanley didn’t hesitate for a second. “Deal!”

The call ended.

Just then, there was a knock at the hospital room door.

Jack strolled in, still rocking his hospital gown like he owned the place, totally chill and not giving a damn. “Fancy

running into you here, Jeffrey.”

Jeffrey let out a silent sigh, just staring at Jack, resigned.

‘Can’t even sit still when you're laid up in the hospital?‘ Jeffrey thought.

“It's late and I'm bored out of my skull,” Jack said, plopping himself into the chair and kicking back with his legs

up like he owned the place. “How about we talk business?”

Jeffrey said, “Go ahead.”

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Chapter 218

Jack grinned. “That's what I like about you—you're easy to talk to”

Jeffrey just let that slide.

With guys like Jack, arguing with him just egged him on.

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“Letlay it out for you-I've got something to tell you, but | need your help getting Stephen out of the way,”

Jack said, skipping all the usual circles people run in this line of work. “This one’s about Rebecca”

Jeffrey's eyes were deep and impenetrable.

Before all this, Rebecca had never had anything to do with the Quinn family,

‘How could she possibly be mixed up in any of this?‘ Jeffrey thought, baffled,

“My aunt's accident wasn't just srandom mishap,” Jack said, blurting it out. “It was deliberate.

“Got any proof?” Jeffrey fixed him with a steely stare, voice cool and unwavering.

“No solid proof-I just happened to overhear it,” Jack shrugged, sounding unconcerned. “That bit of nosiness

when | was a kid gotscrewed. They've been keepingdown ever since. Never even had the chance to

claw my way back. Go figure.”

Jeffrey caught on instantly. “Did they catch you?”

Jack just rolled his eyes, totally chill. “Duh. If they hadn't, you really think I'd be living like this?”

Jeffrey figured Jack was always plotting something.

Jack was bold about it-coming to him out in the open, staying in the shospital, making it obvious for

everyone to see.

He was trying to rope Jeffrey in, making sure the rest of the Quinn family thought they were teaming up.

“Doesn't matter if you agree or not,” Jack said with a sly grin, “after these couple of run-ins, my brothers are

definitely thinking I've told you everything. Too late for you to keep your distance.”

Jeffrey's gaze was dark as midnight, impossible to read.

Jack might look laid-back, but given how things are for him in the Quinn family, he isn’t the kind to make things

up.

Odds are, ninety percent of what he says is legit.

“As far as | know, your aunt has been estranged from the Quinn family for decades,” Jeffrey said after a brief

pause. “So why would they target her, even after all this time?”

“It's because of the shares,” Jack answered plainly. “Back then, my aunt was forced to sell her shares and leave

Honnala. Even so, she was my grandpa’s only daughter. The share agreement made it crystal clear-her

descendants have the right to buy those stocks back at the sprice she sold them for.”

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