At the end of the truth thoroughly uncovered by Yi Hyun’s instructions was Cho Myung Chul, who was then the vice president of Ilsung Construction.

He took advantage of the fact that Jae Suk knew nothing about the company’s affairs and had no ability to interfere as a major shareholder, deceiving her that the company had huge debts and would soon go bankrupt.

He hired people to spread rumors in the stock market, causing Ilsung Construction’s stock price to plummet to the bottom. He then persuaded Jae Suk to sell all the shares she inherited before they fell further in value, and bought them at a low price.

Thus, he instantly became the major shareholder and swallowed up Ilsung Construction.

Then he quietly changed the company name to Myungsung Construction, and has been openly operating it as the president until now.

Ha Jun, who was just twenty years old at the time, probably knew nothing about this fact.

And the foolish Jae Suk still wouldn’t know what had happened to her.

So Yi Hyun received back as much stock as he had taken from the president of Myungsung Construction, in Ha Jun’s name.

Paying exactly the amount he had fraudulently bought the shares from Jae Suk for.

This way, Ha Jun unknowingly became the largest shareholder of the current Myungsung Construction. And from then on, Yi Hyun started investing in stocks with the money Ha Jun left at the hospital and her stock dividends, and in just 6 months, that money diligently grew.

“It’s really hard for a person to be that stupid. Stupid but full of greed, vanity, and extravagance… Ugh!”

Ji Won, who had dealt with Jae Suk directly, shuddered. If they sold all the luxury goods they had, an ordinary person could live off it for years, it was a skill in itself to spend money like water.

“Prevent her from coming to Seoul… no, now that Ha Jun is gone, does it matter…”

“According to the last report, she’s gathering people saying she’s doing business, I’m not sure if that woman will behave and not cause trouble. Her daughter was quite stupid too.”

“Keep track of what they’re doing. If they run out of money or cause trouble, she’s the type to naturally seek out Ha Jun and ask for help. Ha Jun isn’t here… but block them just in case.”

“Okay! I’ll check on that right away.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door and a nurse came in.

“Kim Yi Hyun, it’s time to remove your cast.”

It was finally time to throw off the shackles.

In front of the Sungjin Group headquarters building, two women wearing large sunglasses were busily scanning the people coming and going in the company lobby.

“Why isn’t this girl coming out yet? It’s quitting time!”

“Did she sell her house, change her number, and change her company too?”

“Hey! Why would she quit such a big company? Unless she’s crazy… Tsk, I really don’t like anything about that Ha Jun. How dare she change her phone number and disappear without acknowledging how we raised her?”

As soon as they found out Ha Jun’s phone number had changed when they went to Busan, the two of them had a field day badmouthing her.

They had fled to Seoul in the middle of the night to escape creditors, but the mother and daughter had no way to contact Ha Jun. So they went to her house first, only to find that someone else had come out saying they bought the house.

Thinking that Ha Jun had finally lost her house to loan sharks, Jae Suk and Seo Hyun came straight to Sungjin Group to find her.

While Jae Suk was grumbling continuously, Seo Hyun, who had been deep in thought, opened her mouth with a skeptical expression.

“Mom, you don’t think that loan shark sold Ha Jun instead of the debt, do you?”

“…Could it be?”

“What? Then we might not be able to find Lee Ha Jun. Even if we do, it’s no use.”

“Hey, but if she’s in the entertainment industry, wouldn’t she have money? She’s quite pretty after all. So maybe she’s earned some money by now…”

“Oh! Mom! I know her! She was with Ha Jun at the department store that time!”

Seo Hyun, who urgently cut off Jae Suk’s words, was pointing at Yeon A.

“Really? Then let’s go.”

The two women blocked Yeon A’s path as she was just leaving the company’s main entrance.

“Excuse me! Do you happen to work with Lee Ha Jun?”

Yeon A’s eyes widened at the sight of Jae Suk and Seo Hyun who suddenly blocked her way.

“Who are you?”

At Yeon A’s question, Seo Hyun took off her sunglasses and lifted her chin.

“We’re Ha Jun’s family. We came to Seoul after a long time and it seems her phone number has changed. She’s not answering her phone, so we came to meet her in person.”

At Seo Hyun’s brazen answer, Yeon A scrutinized her carefully. And the moment she shifted her gaze to Jae Suk wearing large sunglasses right next to her, a shocking memory from the past flashed in her mind.

It was Ha Jun’s stepmother who had come before and grabbed Ha Jun’s hair, causing a scene. Yeon A’s face instantly hardened.

“Lee Ha Jun quit the company a while ago. So stop looking for her.”

Yeon A coldly said and briskly walked past them. However, the conversation she heard from behind made her steps stop abruptly.

“Huh~ Did she really get sold to a loan shark?”

“Seems like it. Anyway, she’s never been helpful in life. Sigh~”

Yeon A’s body started trembling with anger at the two women’s whispering.

“Ha… Really, they’re not even human…”

“I know. What are they doing here again? Was my warning last time not enough?”

“Director!”

Startled by Se Ra’s sudden voice, Yeon A quickly lowered her head and secretly glanced at her.

Se Ra’s highly raised eyebrows, with her hand resting on her heavily pregnant belly, reflected her current mood.

“Auntie, you remember me, right?”

Despite looking like she could give birth at any moment with her swollen belly, Se Ra’s charisma that seemed ready to devour someone if necessary was still intact.

“Ah… Yes~ Well, I do remember…”

“I clearly warned you back then, you remember that too?”

“No, no~ Wait a minute! I was just going to see Ha Jun quietly and leave. But they said she quit the company, so I was just about to leave. Really!”

Se Ra’s face hardened at Jae Suk’s brazen words.

“Don’t ever appear in front of my company again, don’t even pass by. It’s unlucky to see something that’s not even human hanging around.”

“W-what? Hey! Are you done talking?”

“I’m not done. Want to hear worse? Or do you want to be dragged away like a dog? Choose. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Security guards who had rushed out were now standing in a solid wall behind Se Ra.

Flinching at the fierce atmosphere, Jae Suk and Seo Hyun slowly backed away before running away.

Watching their behavior with a sneer, Se Ra’s cold gaze now turned to Yeon A.

“Heo Yeon A, let’s talk now.”

Se Ra, who passed by the frozen Yeon A, carefully got into the back seat of the sedan waiting in front of the company building. Then Yeon A nervously climbed into the passenger seat.

“Driver, please wait outside for a while so we can talk. It’s cold, so go have a cup of tea in the lobby.”

“Yes, Director.”

As the driver in the driver’s seat got out, a strange silence fell in the car. Se Ra’s bright red lips, which had been staring intently at the back of Yeon A’s visibly tense head in the front seat, opened.

“What do you think about the difference between what I’ve known about Lee Ha Jun until now and what that Cinderella’s mother said today?”

“…”

“I clearly heard that Ha Jun quit the company because of Cinderella’s mother, so why is that woman coming here now to look for Lee Ha Jun?”

“That… I’m sorry… I don’t know anything.”

“Really? Then I should call someone who might know.”

Se Ra immediately took out her phone and called Hyun Ju.

“Director Choi, where are you now? The subway station? Come back. My car is parked in front of the main entrance, so come here.”

Meanwhile, a black car stopped in front of Jae Suk and Seo Hyun, who were panting after running away with their tails between their legs, and a man in a black suit got out.

“Ha Jae Suk, Lee Seo Hyun. Right?”

“Who are you?”

“A loan shark.”

The man waved a paper he took out from his chest. Jae Suk’s face turned pale white as she saw her name and seal clearly stamped at the bottom of the fluttering white paper.

“Ah, no, that’s not…”

“Let’s go.”

The men put Jae Suk and Seo Hyun in the car and got into the driver’s seat. As the car started, Ji Won, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at them contemptuously through the rearview mirror.

“Why can’t you just use the money you have moderately? With that brain, how dare you try to do business and lose everything, and even go as far as to defraud people?”

“No, they said the Russian natural gas mining rights were really coming out!”

“That’s right!”

“Pfft, ah~ This is really driving me crazy. Okay. Let’s say they did come out!”

It was unbelievable. They were causing trouble saying they were doing some coffee shop business in Busan, and who knows when they fell for another scammer.

Moreover, not only did they use up all the money they had, but they also borrowed money from people in the neighborhood they moved to for investment.

Jae Suk, who moved from Seoul wrapped in luxury goods with the title of the former Ilsung Construction president’s wife, spent money like water in Busan too. When she said it was an amazing business opportunity and promised to pay everything back if anything went wrong, people who were tempted slowly started to invest.

However, after being scammed out of not only their own money but also other people’s money, Jae Suk and Seo Hyun, harassed by creditors, finally fled to Seoul in the middle of the night to find Ha Jun, their last lifeline.

“You should at least fall for something more plausible. Tsk,”

Ji Won kept clicking her tongue. It was really unbelievable and infuriating.

“But where did you sell Ha Jun? To a bar?”

“…”

“She’s pretty, so you sold her for a high price, right? Isn’t there anything left for us? Nothing left?”

At Jae Suk’s shameless words, Ji Won barely swallowed the curse that almost burst out and let out a long sigh. This really isn’t human.

“Ha… Auntie, don’t look for that woman unless you’re going to pay her ransom. You’re not her real daughter anyway, so you have no obligation to support each other. Well, if you want, I can find her for you. So, do you have money for the ransom?”

“No! No! What ransom! We have nothing to do with her.”

Jae Suk waved her hands in panic. Seo Hyun sitting next to her kept nodding her head. At their behavior, Ji Won’s gaze grew colder and colder.

Sister-in-law whose face I’ve never properly seen, Ha Jun seemed so pitiful.

In the meantime, the car stopped and the man in the driver’s seat got out. Then Director Han turned around sharply.

“Let’s get out.”

“Where is this?”

Only then did Jae Suk and Seo Hyun glance outside. Director Han, who had already gotten out of the car, opened the back seat door and grinned at them.

“The police station.”