Lago and Jessie were momentarily stunned, then hurriedly stood up. "Shakira, you''re here! Please sit down!" Their faces wore ttering smiles never seen before. If Shakira hadn''t been calm enough, she might have thought she was dreaming.


    However, she kept a wary eye. ''I won''t sit. Give me the card; I''m leaving right away." The reason she came here tonight was due to a message from Lago. He said thepany was encountering some difficulties, and his personal credit was also problematic, with only 300 thousand dors on hand, barely enough to cover Grandma Shi''s medical expenses for a year. He wanted Shakira to keep it for him. If it weren''t for Grandma Shl, Shakira wouldn''t havee here at all. ''I don''tck that money, but it belongs to Grandma Shi; I must get it back for her


    "You little brat, whoes in asking for money right away? You don''t have any manners at all. Jessie covered her mouth, yfully scolding. Shakira tilted her head to look at her, retorting mockingly, "Shouldn''t you be the one teaching me manners? The problem lies with you, Mrs. Smith."


    Jessie still wanted to retort, but Lago quickly reprimanded her. "We''ve finally met Shakira; do you want to scare her away?" With that, he turned to Shakira with a smile, "Shakira, don''t take your aunt''s words to heart; she''s just straightforward, no malice. Please sit down! A lot has happenedtely. I''ve be ustomed to the ups and downs of human rtionships, Indeed, things I couldn''t have imagined before, I now see clearly. Most of all, I feel guilty towards you


    Lago came in front of her, sighed deeply, his voice filled with helplessness and regret. "As parents, we didn''t support or care for you properly while you were growing up. Now we understand the taste of being abandoned and betrayed; we can empathize with your emotions back then." Watching him trying to appeal to her reason and emotions, Shakira remained unmoved. "Mr. Smith, your acting skills are quite good," Shakira gave a rarepliment, extending her hand. "Give me the card."


    Lago, who thought he had already moved her, was almost infuriated by Shakira''s indifference. His face reddened as he took out a bank card from his pocket.


    Just as Shakira epted it, Lago didn''t let go. "Shakira, we''ve ordered all your favorite dishes tonight; please stay and eat before you leave. We genuinely want to apologize to you."


    "Yes, yes, it''s all your favorites," Jessie chimed in quickly.


    Shakira nced at the table, smiling. "Are you sure these are my favorites?" Shakira''s voice turned cold, causing both of them to pause.


    "Aren''t they? The housekeeper said you always eat these..."


    "Chicken feet, fish tails, shrimp heads... Ha, it''s impressive that you could order these, Shakira''s voice rose, her eyes filled with scorn and indifference. "The reason I always eat these in the Smith family is that you always left these for me. If I don''t eat these leftovers, What else can I eat?"


    The two''s expressions turned awkward. Lago hurriedly called for the waiter. "We''ll order new dishes. Shakira, please feel free to order anything you want; tonight is on the house."


    Taking advantage of his distraction, Shakira pulled the card out from her grip. "No need." She turned to leave just as the door opened, revealing a portly man with sparse white hair on his head, looking quite greasy. "Mr. Smith!"


    "Oh, Mr. Blondel! What a coincidence to see you here!" Lago almost messed up the act as he saw Donavan Blondel, constantly giving him signals.


    Donavan''s gaze couldn''t care less about Lago; his greasy, lustful eyes were fixed on Shakira, nearly drooling. This is Shakira, right? Long time no see, little beauty, you''re even prettier now." Donavan reached out his short, thick hand. "Do you remember me? A few years ago, your father brought you to my estate''s opening ceremony. I liked you back then."


    The moment Donavan appeared, Shakira''s eyes were already filled with frost!


    08-26 Wed,


    How could she possibly forget? That year, Lago had dressed her up so beautifully for the first time, buying her a princess dress and even bringing a stylist to do her makeup. He had uncharacteristically decided to take her to a business banquet. Shakira had felt overjoyed and touched, believing that after so long of trying, she had finally earned Lago''s approval. Unfortunately, his rare kindness was just a way to push her into deep abyss disguised as a sweet trap! Shakira stepped aside, no longer lingering. "You all chat: 111 take my leave first."


    "Hey, wait a minute! I just got here, why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Donavan pointedly addressed Lago, appearing displeased. "Mr. Smith, doesn''t your daughter care about my feelings?" Lago


    o was so frightened that he kept waving his hands.


    Shakira didn''t give him a chance to exin and coldly stated, "Mr. Blondel is the one out of touch. I''m not Mr. Smith''s biological daughter; we''ve severed our ties."


    "Shakira, how can you talk like that? Even if we''re not rted by blood, we''ve raised you for over ten years. Without us, would you have what you have today?" Jessie scolded angrily.


    Shakira had no intention of responding. She directly bypassed Donavan and headed for the exit.This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.


    To her surprise, Donavan actually reached out to her again. "Exactly! Even if we''re not rted, there''s still a debt of gratitude. Since we have such a fateful encounter today, let''s enjoy it together..." Shakira yanked the Hermes scarf from around his neck, twisted it into a bundle, and whipped it at him fiercely, Enjoy this, you jerk!"


    As Donavan screamed in pain, Shakira opened the door and stepped outside. But just a few steps in, that familiar yet strange feeling-hot and tingling-quickly spread throughout her body, exactly like that night at the birthday party! She had been schemed against again! Even worse, this sensation was more intense, stronger than the previous drug! Did Lago think that since thest time didn''t work, he would just increase the dosage I was so careful, how could I fall for this? Suddenly, she thought of something and looked down at the bank card in her hand. A fierce light shed in Shakira''s eyes. "Lago is asking for death!''


    Hearing sounds from inside, Shakira pricked her hand with a needle to release some blood, forcing herself to maintain her sanity and painfully move forward. Walter! Walter was right in front of her... She leaned against the wall and managed to walk to the private room where they had just been, pushing the door open with all her strength. The room was in disarray with wine sses scattered around, only remnants of food left-there was no sign of anyonel Shakira immediately looked down the hallway and just then saw Berry sh by the corner,


    At that moment, footsteps approached from behind. "Little beatny, after hitting me, I''ming to get you back tonight"


    Shakira turned around indifferently.


    But before she could raise her hand, Donavan suddenly sprayed something in her face from behind with a malicious grin. Shakira was caught off guard, inhaling a mouthful and copsing weakly to the ground-