Chapter 361: Chapter 361: Blackmail

Jenny swallowed before continuing.

“She said it was because she needed help with small tasks… but I knew the real reason.”

Her lips curled faintly with bitterness.

“She wanted to make sure my grandfather never crossed the line.”

Her eyes darkened slightly. “And for a while… it worked.”

Jenny paused for a moment, staring at the floor as if watching the memories unfold there.

“But everything changed when my grandfather brought home a mistress.”

Her tone grew colder. “The woman wasn’t even much older than my mother.”

She let out a quiet breath. “And when she realized that my mother had once been close to my grandfather…”

Her jaw tightened. “She began to see my mother as a threat.”

From that day onward, the mistress constantly made things difficult for Jenny’s mother.

Sometimes it was small punishments. Sometimes humiliations. Sometimes something far worse.

Jenny’s eyes grew red as she continued.

“She would deliberately frame my mother for mistakes.”

Her voice shook with suppressed anger.

“She would accuse her of stealing, of breaking things, of disobedience…”

The punishments became harsher each time.

Soon Jenny’s mother was being beaten or forced to work without rest for entire days.

“There were many times when my mother…”

Jenny hesitated. Her voice grew faint.

“She wanted to kill herself.”

The words felt heavy in the air. “But every time she thought about it…”

Jenny looked up slightly. “She looked at me.”

Her lips trembled faintly. “And she would stop.”

She slowly wiped the corner of her eye.

“My mother always worried about what would happen to me if she died.”

So she endured everything.

The humiliation. The abuse. The cruelty.

Until one day…

Jenny’s voice suddenly dropped into a hollow whisper.

“One day… I came home and found my mother dead.”

Her breathing grew uneven. “When I first saw her…”

Her hands trembled slightly. “I thought she finally couldn’t take the pressure anymore.”

She closed her eyes briefly. “I thought she had killed herself.”

The room remained silent except for her uneven breathing.

“But that wasn’t the truth.”

Jenny slowly opened her eyes again. Her gaze had turned cold.

“It turned out… the mistress had arranged everything.”

Lana’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Jenny continued, her voice filled with quiet rage.

“She hired a few of her men to deal with my mother.”

The words came out like broken glass. “They made it look like suicide.”

For a moment Jenny stopped speaking.

The hatred burning inside her chest seemed almost visible.

“When I found out the truth…”

Her lips curled slightly. “I didn’t hesitate.”

Her voice became frighteningly calm. “I killed her.”

The room fell silent again. “I killed my grandfather’s mistress with my own hands.”

Lana watched her carefully, saying nothing.

Jenny continued quietly. “My grandfather eventually found out what happened.”

Her gaze hardened. “He was furious.”

But the anger hadn’t been for the reason Jenny once expected.

“He wasn’t angry that I killed someone.”

Jenny let out a bitter laugh. “He was angry because both women were dead.”

Her voice turned mocking. “His former lover… and his current mistress.”

Using his influence and connections, Daniel quickly buried the entire matter.

The truth never left the walls of that mansion.

No police investigation followed. No rumors spread outside.

Everything disappeared as if nothing had ever happened.

But after that day… Daniel’s attitude toward Jenny changed completely.

“Before that…” Jenny muttered. “He never loved me anyway.”

Her voice sounded hollow.

“But at least he tolerated my existence because of my mother.”

She slowly looked around the miserable room she lived in. “But after they both died…”

Her lips trembled slightly.

“I became nothing more than something he despised.”

Lana looked at Jenny with a calm expression, her gaze steady and almost unsettling in the quiet room.

“So why is your grandfather keeping you here?” Lana spoke evenly. “Is it because he wants to continue mistreating you out of spite?”

Hearing those words, Jenny slowly lifted her head and looked at Lana.

A complicated expression flickered across her face before she spoke softly.

“If I told you the real reason… even I don’t know whether you would believe me.”

Lana narrowed her eyes slightly, studying Jenny as if she were trying to peel away the layers of her thoughts.

“Why not tell it first and judge later?” Lana’s calm words made Jenny speak the truth: “He maybe… thinks that by mistreating me, he is punishing my mother.”

“Even if that’s true,” Lana continued calmly, “then why didn’t you think of running away?”

Jenny couldn’t help lowering her eyes. Her fingers trembled faintly as they gripped the edge of the table.

“My grandfather already warned me,” she murmured. “He told me that if I ever even thought about running away… he would release all the evidence.”

Her voice grew weaker as she continued.

“He said he would reveal how I killed that mistress back then. Once the media gets hold of it, everyone will see me as a criminal. I would become a wanted person.”

Lana’s eyes narrowed further, her expression turning colder.

“If that’s the case,” she replied calmly, “then why didn’t you just kill your grandfather?”

Jenny’s eyes widened instantly as if struck by lightning.

“I’m not a killer!” Jenny blurted out. “Just because I killed that mistress doesn’t mean I would kill my own grandfather.”

Lana tilted her head slightly, her dark hair sliding over her shoulder as she looked at Jenny with curiosity.

“And why not?”

Her voice was calm… too calm.

“Compared to what people think of me, I believe that if someone ever plans to kill you… it’s better to take action first and kill them.”

The words hung in the air like a chilling breeze.

From Lana’s perspective, Jenny’s grandfather clearly didn’t have good intentions.

The old man was undoubtedly planning something unspeakable.

Perhaps he was waiting for the right moment to completely control Jenny… or even eliminate her once she was no longer useful.

If that moment came, Jenny would have no choice but to obey him.

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