Janessa walked toward them with contempt, staring coldly at her uncle's sophisticated face.
"Even before my mother's ashes have been brought back, you've already released the news of her
death.The mourning hall has been set up without my help or say.I have no idea how to express my
heartfelt gratitude."
She spoke these words through clenched teeth.
Her lips were curled into a smile that did not reach her eyes.
She looked her uncle in the eye with so much disdain.
Everyone present probably heard the mockery in her voice, but no one dared to say anything.
Her uncle's expression slowly changed.
He looked back at her with dissatisfaction, but he chose to keep his silence.
"My father is the only elder who can help with such arrangements, Janessa.And of course you are
welcome."
Her cousin, who was holding her mother's arm, said these words with a smile, but her eyes fell on
Rayan from time to time.
There was a hint of shyness on her face.
Janessa slightly raised her chin and glanced sidelong at her cousin.
She did not answer but sneered in her heart.
What a shameless family they were.
Fortunately, when the funeral began, they did not cause any trouble.
But the sad expression they pretended to show on their faces made Janessa sick.
She felt like if she stared longer at them, she would vomit.
When she was about to go to the graveyard with her mother's urn after the service, her aunt stopped
her.
"Janessa, your uncle needs to speak with you."
She addressed her in a soft tone, and her hands were tightly clasped together in front of her as if she
was expecting something.
Janessa wanted to refuse.
She had already walked out the door anyway, but ultimately, she decided to turn back and hear what
her uncle had to say.
Holding her mother's ashes in her arms, she followed her aunt to the lounge to see her uncle.
When Rayan was about to follow in, a guard stopped him at the door.
"Mr.
Lu, this is Qiu family's business.
You're not needed here."
The man spoke in a respectful manner, but he did not realize that he had just crossed the line.
A hint of disdain flashed across Rayan's face.
"I'm Janessa's husband.Her family business is my business.And who are you to tell me when I'm
needed?"
His tone was full of condescension.
He glanced at the man with cold eyes, pushed the door open, and walked in.
There were only a few tables and chairs in the lounge.
Janessa's uncle was sitting steadily at the head of one table.
Janessa approached him and took the seat on his right, setting her mother's urn aside.
She looked calm and serious, but she still felt a little inferior sitting next to her uncle.
The expression on her uncle's face changed a little when he saw Rayan come in, but he remained
calm.
"We're just going to discuss a small trifle in the family.Why is Mr.Lu here?"
As he spoke, he picked up his teacup and took a sip of his tea.
Rayan sat beside Janessa.
He looked calm and casual.
"I wasn't planning on coming in, but my meeting was cancelled, so I came here to sit in.
The Qiu family may have declined a lot, but I'm still interested in the future development of its
businesses."
The latter part of Rayan's sentence stabbed Janessa's heart.
If he did not come in at this time to laugh at her, what other reason could he possibly have? Only
Rayan could be this insensitive at such a lachrymose time.
Janessa held on to her mother’s urn so tightly that her knuckles paled.
She took a deep, shuddering breath to keep herself steady.
Seeing that, the corner of Rayan's mouth twitched, and he directed his gaze somewhere else.
Although Janessa’s uncle felt unhappy over Rayan‘s uninvited presence, he still chose to remain
unbothered.
He simply took a deep breath and went straight to the point the moment he set down his teacup.
"Janessa, as you know, your mother had been in charge of the company since your father passed
away.
Under your mother's management and_ leadership, the company's performance plummeted sharply.
And the situation worsened when she was hospitalized.
If I hadn't stepped in and helped, the company would've collapsed.
Your mother had so many employees working for her.
Since I've taken over, I've been working hard to keep them all even if they're not my people to begin
with."
Hearing this, Janessa felt a big leaden ball settle in the pit of her stomach.
Her uncle had gone through so much trouble positively scripting this little monologue for her when all
he wanted to do was misappropriate her family's properties.
He was such a hypocrite.
Did he want her to tell him that he was kind and generous? Did he want her to be grateful to him? He
had been forcing her mother to hand over the company since her father's death.
And now that her mother was gone, he was playing the same trick on her.
Janessa scoffed and raised her eyebrows.
She looked at her uncle and said, "It's been a long road for you, uncle.
Now you're finally here.
Just spit it out, will you? I'm not as smart as you are.
I don't understand what you're trying to say."
The same cold, mirthless smile spread across Janessa's face.
Her eyes were clear and sharp as if they could see through people's souls.
Her uncle, Aydin, glanced at Rayan and said in a low voice, "You're still young.
You haven't done well in many aspects.
The board of directors convened and temporarily appointed you as a director.
When the time is right, you will be the CEO again."
"Board of directors? Convened? When?"
Janessa could not help raising her voice, but she still kept the contemptuous look on her face.
"My mother was the company's biggest shareholder, and she had been in the hospital for several
months.
Unless the board of directors held their meeting in her hospital ward, I'm not folding to any of their
decisions.
They don't have the right to demote me.
You're going too far, Aydin!"
"Janessa! How could you talk to an elder like that?"
Her aunt suddenly scolded her, her face red with outrage.
Instead of restraining herself, Janessa took her mother's urn and slammed it on the table in front of her
aunt and uncle.
The sudden gesture did not seem to bother Aydin, but it sure made everyone else nervous.
Janessa spun her mother's urn so that her mother's photo faced Aydin.
"My mother's ashes hasn't even settled, and you're already poised to swipe the company from right
under me.
And you even used the board of directors to muzzle me.
I don't care if your so-called board of directors met and agreed.
My mother wasn't present in that meeting, so it doesn’t count.
Now I want you to apologize to me in front of my mother!"
she said firmly.
Even the expression on Rayan's face suddenly became serious.
He watched Janessa with deep eyes.
Being exposed of his real intention, Aydin felt ashamed and angry.
He took out an agreement and slapped it on the table beside Janessa’s mother's urn.
"Look carefully! The board's decision was clearly written in black and white.
There's your mother's fingerprint.
You have to give up the position even if you don't want to!"
Aydin's raging spittle sprayed all over Janessa's face.
She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.
She grabbed Aydin's tie and bellowed, "Anyone could've planted my mother's fingerprint on that measly
piece of paper.
It doesn't prove that she agreed to your board's stupid decision.
And didn’t your mother teach you to say it and not spray it?"
A crisp sound cut through the air, plunging the room into dead silence.
Janessa pressed a hand to her face and stared with bloodshot eyes at her uncle who had just slapped
her.
Her entire body suddenly went numb.
"You...You disrespectful little..."
Aydin pointed an angry finger at his niece's shocked face, too enraged to complete his sentence.
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