Chapter 4 Plotting to Seize the Family Property

"Can you skydive?" Ethan immediately pulled a parachute pack from under the seat and handed it to Elara, adding, "If you can't, it's fine. I'll jump with you—I promise I'll keep you safe."

As he spoke, he'd already started strapping the pack onto her back himself, walking her through the basics of skydiving.

There was a time when Elara had been into extreme sports. She'd mastered skydiving ages ago—she hardly needed his instruction.

Still, those few words of his made her realize he was genuinely worried about her.

She casually tossed the pack back to him and turned to James. "It's just simple airflow turbulence. The balance system can't be that badly damaged. Take me to check it out."

"You know how to repair private jets?" Ethan froze, clutching the parachute pack, completely at a loss.

Elara strode quickly into the cockpit. "The system's misaligned—we need to manually lock the attitude stick in place!"

Her voice was sharp and commanding. She didn't even have time to look at the control panel, her hands flying across the keyboard, entering codes from memory alone.

"Listen to her! If you don't want this plane turned into scrap metal, cooperate. Now!"

The pilot hesitated. Ethan shot him a glare, and he immediately dropped any objections.

Elara opened the panel beneath the central console, inspecting and repairing with practiced ease, all while barking orders at the pilot.

One minute later...

"Back to normal!" The pilot's face lit up with undisguised relief. "Ms. Shaw, you're incredible!"

But there wasn't a hint of a smile on her face. She packed up the toolkit and turned to Ethan. "I think you need to keep an engineer on staff. You don't have to bail out of a plane every time something goes wrong."

Ethan nodded vigorously, not embarrassed in the slightest.

He glanced at the butler. "You heard her, right? Once we land, do exactly what Elara said."

Elara had long since given up on her family.

But as she watched Ethan, earnest while sorting out arrangements, a faint emotion stirred inside her.

Maybe the Shaw family was different?

Then again, after witnessing the farce that had been the West family's funeral, she wasn't holding her breath.

Before long, they arrived.

The Shaw Manor was massive—several times larger than the West Manor. Drivers and housekeepers lined the entrance.

Only then did Elara realize just how wealthy her birth parents were.

"Mom and Dad are traveling around the world. They just found out about your situation, so they're still on their way back. Your other brothers and sisters have things going on too—they couldn't get away. But they'll definitely be at your welcome party, and they'll have gifts for you!"

Ethan rattled on. Elara didn't mind.

But when she was led into a spacious, sunlit room, her eyes did brighten a little.

It was a suite—at least eight hundred square feet—divided into a bedroom, study, walk-in closet, bathroom, and a balcony with excellent natural light.

A swing chair with a whimsical, girlish vibe hung there.

It was clear the room had been decorated with great care.

"Do you like it? The decorating was a bit rushed. If you don't like anything, we can change it."

Ethan studied her expression, his tone tentative.

"It's nice." She wasn't sure how long she'd be staying here, but for now, this family seemed genuinely thoughtful.

She set her suitcase on the table and began carefully sorting through it.

Many of the medications were still sealed. Aiden hadn't listened to her and taken his medicine? And why had Aiden passed away precisely when she wasn't home?

Her brow furrowed deeply. Recalling Jasmine's revulsion toward this suitcase, she couldn't help but suspect the West family had deliberately kept Aiden from touching it.

The thought that Aiden's death might have been indirectly caused by the Wests made rage surge inside her, threatening to boil over.

She'd never been one to swallow injustice, and she couldn't let Aiden suffer in vain.

If the West family had done wrong, she wouldn't let them get away with it.

She pulled out her laptop. Her fingers flew across the keys as she sent a video file to Gordon.

Would he really not have a heart attack when he found out his beloved daughter was scheming for his fortune?

Maybe the West family would be hosting a second funeral very soon.

Meanwhile, at the West Manor.

Gordon had never cared for Aiden out of genuine filial affection. Every arrangement for the funeral was just for show.

Once the outsiders had left, he sat on the sofa with his wife Wendy, and together they cursed Elara for being an ungrateful wretch.

The two were in full swing when his phone rang.

He picked it up irritably, but after just a few seconds, his eyes went wide.

By the time he'd finished watching, his expression was dark as a storm cloud.

"What's wrong?" Wendy asked.

He ignored her completely, stormed upstairs with a thunderous face, and kicked open Jasmine's door.

Jasmine, who'd been applying a face mask, jumped in shock and sat up. The mask slipped off.

She was about to snap at him when a vicious slap came down hard.

Caught off guard, and with Gordon using his full strength, she was knocked to the floor. Her ears rang.

Jasmine tasted blood in her mouth. Angry and indignant, she still couldn't help but shrink back at Gordon's ferocious glare.

She raised a hand to her face. Tears streamed down in fat drops, her voice thick with grievance.

"Dad, what are you doing? If you're heartbroken that Elara left, I'll just—"

"Shut up!"

Gordon furiously hurled his phone at her. "You did something this disgusting, and you still have the nerve to talk?! I never imagined you'd team up with outsiders to scheme against your own family!"

Jasmine thought, 'This bastard's lost it again.'

But her face still wore an expression of wounded innocence.

The phone had hit her painfully, but she forced herself to pick it up.

When she saw what was on the screen, her face darkened.

She was about to explain when she accidentally hit the play button. Intimate sounds filled the room.

On the screen, Brandon and Jasmine's closeness grew even more explicit.

"Dad, this... Brandon and I are a couple. A little intimacy is normal. Who would be shameless enough to secretly film us?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued defending herself. "Whoever sent you this isn't just trying to ruin my reputation—they're trying to drive a wedge between us..."

Before she could finish, her own soft voice came through the phone first—

"Brandon, when are you going to help me take over as president of the West Group? Once the West family is under my control, we can move on to the next phase of our plan."

Instantly, Jasmine was at a loss. She couldn't say a word.

Flustered, she fumbled to close the video, her face full of panic as she looked at Gordon, whose entire body had gone cold.

"Dad, it's not like that. You have to believe me... the video is fake!"

"Get out. Get out of the West family right now!"