After the divorce, he begged

Chapter 240

AGD

“She’s just a kid—speaks her mind, doesn’t know when to hold back. Don’t take it personally, Cynthia, Jessica’s

mom and the head of a big public company, spoke with practiced diplomacy. “But to be honest, what you said

wasn't exactly proper either.”

“What's wrong with that?” someone shot back.

“We're just stating the facts here,” another person retorted, not backing down.

“Everyone saw how Amelia used Ryan's help to grab the Quinn family shares, all while stirring up trouble in his

personal life.” someone added, their tone sharp.

“How about we call Mr. Guzman here and see what he has to say?” Cynthia said in the calmest tone, though

everyone could sense the threat hiding beneath her words.

Everyone's expressions shifted a little at that.

Not many people really knew what was up between Amelia and Ryan. Most folks just picked things up from

gossip or random rumors.

Honestly, nobody could say for sure if Ryan had feelings for Amelia. ‘If he did, why would he ghost her out of

nowhere?’ people wondered quietly. ‘But if he didn’t care, what's with him treating Rebecca so well lately?’

“Whatever you say, | know for a fact that Amelia was still involved with Mr. Guzman when he got engaged to

someone from the Jordan Family,” someone pressed on.

“Trust me, | saw the whole thing with my own eyes,” another person jumped in, sounding sure of themselves.

“And she got pregnant out of wedlock-totally shameless,” someone sneered.

“Bet she thought having a kid would help her lock down Mr. Guzman and move up in the world, but he didn’t fall

for it,” another person scoffed.

“Exactly!” someone else chimed in.

“Wow, looks like you all got older but didn’t get any smarter,” Jessica shot back, her tone sharper than usual.

She almost never snapped, but she wasn’t backing down now. “Funny how you don’t say a word when Ryan's

sleeping around and can’t control himself, but you're quick to point fingers at Amelia?”

Cynthia glanced at her but didn’t stop her.

When it cto sticking up for her friends, Cynthia always let her daughter say what was on her mind. She

never interfered.

“Cynthia, is this what passes for parenting in your house?” Elijah Zane, his beefy face twisted with obvious

disdain, stepped forward from the crowd.

Cynthia shot him a look and answered, her voice as flat as ever, “Yep.”

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Chapter 240

“We're supposed to be the where here, and this is hose the talks to us? Elijah sorted, then gave Paberra a cold

glare. “And her? Figure che’s Amelia’s kid no manners, hus like her moth.”

Rebecca's fingers costled into a fist, but before she could say a word, Cynthia cut in

For once, Cynthia’s face was set with determination. After what you guys just said, honestly, if they tossed drink

in your face. Id say they were totally justified”

“Hey, con!” The crowd immediately started to protest.

“Rebecca, Jessica,” Cynthia called, her tone soft and gentle.

Both girls turned toward her.

Cynthia shot a quick glance at the nearby drinks and told them, “There's sbooze over there-use it however

you want. If things get messy, I'll back you up.”

“Cynthia Scott, don’t get carried away!” someone barked, obviously ticked off.

“In case you forgot, this is Honnala, not Jelasburg!” another sneered, trying to put her in her place.

“Think | can’t wreck your reputation with one word?” someone else threatened, voice dripping with menace.

Loud splashes echoed through the room.

Jessica and Rebecca, in perfect sync, flung their drinks straight at the troublemakers.

Elijah Zane’s hand shook as he pointed at Rebecca, completely stunned-he hadn't thought she’d really go

through with it.

Rebecca's voice was cold as ice. “Mom toldbefore we cthat anyone trash-talking her at these parties

isn’t even worth my time. Most of you are just her old rivals who couldn’t beat her, so you get your kicks by

gossiping and dragging others down.”

“You!” Elijah and the rest were practically bursting with rage.

“But you know what?” Rebecca grabbed another drink, looking at them with contempt. “If | just ignored people

like you, you'd never realize how clueless you actually are.”

“Say that one more time!” The crowd exploded, completely triggered by her words.

Rebecca’s whole vibe was icy, her voice cutting through the tension. “I'll say it ten times if | have to-same

answer every time.”

“You only act so bold because Liam and Mr. Guzman spoil you,” they sneered, shifting tactics. “But lettell

you, the Guzman family will never recognize someone like you as one of their own. Old Mr. Lawrence would

never let Amelia’s daughter step through their door!”

Rebecca just stared at him, her expression completely indifferent.

Honestly, none of that bothered her at all.

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Chapter 240

“Who are you calling a bastard?” A calm, icy voice rang out, and Ryan strode over, his face dark with anger.

If nobody had tipped him off, Ryan would've had no idea his precious daughter was being treated this way.

“Mr. Guzman?” someone stammered.

“Mr. Guzman...” another voice trailed off, suddenly nervous.

The crowd that had been so cocky just a second ago instantly shrank back, all their bravado gone.

Ryan shot them a cold look before heading straight for Rebecca, his eyes full of unhidden concern. “What did

they say to you? Dad's got your back.”

“Dad?” Rebecca shot back, her voice as frosty and skeptical as Amelia's was back then.

For a moment, Ryan seemed genuinely uneasy, a rare look for him.

A chill settled over the room as Ryan's icy gaze landed on Elijah and the others-one by one.

Winning back his wife and daughter was already an uphill battle, and now these people just had to make things

even harder for him.

Rebecca glared at him. “Mr. Guzman, you're always playing it safe. | can’t bring myself to call you ‘Dad, and |

definitely won't admit you're my father.” Her voice was colder than ever-if she had grievances with him before,

after hearing all that, they only multiplied.

Ryan turned to Cynthia. “What's going on?”

Cynthia glanced at Rebecca, then spelled it out clearly. “They're running their mouths saying Amelia ruined your

engagement, secretly got pregnant to try and climb the ranks, and used you to snatch the Quinn family

assets...”

With each accusation, Ryan's expression grew more stormy.

He hadn't expected people would stoop so low, dragging Amelia's nthrough the mud like this when she

wasn’t even around.

“We were just passing on the gossip, seriously—we didn’t make anything up!” someone blurted, desperate to

sound innocent.

“That's right, that’s right!” they echoed quickly, scrambling to cover themselves.

“Please, sir, don’t hold it against us,” someone added hastily, trying to smooth things over.

Elijah Zane and his crew were old pros at this-seeing Ryan rush to defend Rebecca, they immediately pivoted,

tweaking their tune and switching to damage control mode.

Ryan’s gaze chilled the room. “Maybe in a few days, I'll casually mention your tax issues to the right crowd. If

someone decides to dig up dirt, | hope you won't hold it against me.”

“Mr. Guzman, we really didn’t mean it!” someone blurted out, panic in their voice.

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Chapter 240

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235 vouchers

“We'll do anything to make it up to your daughter-please, Mr. Guzman, just let this go!” one of them stammered,

practically groveling.

Honestly, almost none of them could survive a real audit-if news spread and the authorities cknocking,

they'd be totally screwed.

Ryan couldn't be bothered to even spare them a glance. “Get out of my sight.”

Stried making a last-ditch plea. “Please, Mr. Guzman-"

But one sharp look from Ryan was all it took. Whatever they were about to say died in their throats and they

scrambled off in embarrassment, scared stiff and totally humiliated.

“Next tyou run into something like this, just givea call-I'll take care of it,” Ryan said, his tone much

softer now when he spoke to Rebecca. “Don’t waste your breath on people like that.”

Rebecca didn’t bother looking at Cynthia. “Aunt Kate, Jessica, let's go.”

Ryan called out after her, “Rebecca.”

“Maybe you should talk to him,” Jessica whispered in Rebecca's ear, knowing full well why she was upset. “Look

at him-if you don’t say something, he'll never figure out what's wrong.”

Rebecca had zero interest in talking to him.

But thinking about all the stuff they’d said about her mom still burned her up inside.

‘Why does he get to play the hero, while Mom has to carry all the bad press?‘ Rebecca seethed.

“Mr. Guzman, when you two talk, make sure you remember every single word Rebecca says,” Jessica said boldly

before stepping aside to give them sspace. “Really think it over.”

Ryan nodded, steady as ever. “I will.”

Jessica patted Rebecca on the shoulder, then went off with her mom for a while.

With just the two of them left, Ryan glanced around and said, “There’s a conference room upstairs. Why don’t we

head up and talk?”

Rebecca followed-there were things she needed to say to him, and it was tto get them out in the open.

The conference room.

A waiter brought over a glass of juice and ssnacks, quietly setting them down in front of Rebecca before

slipping away.

Once they were alone, Ryan looked at his daughter, his expression tangled with emotion. He hesitated, then

said, “You can talk to me, about anything-complaints, questions, whatever you need.”

“Do you love Mom?” Rebecca looked up at him, her voice steady and calm.

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