One sentence knocked the wind out of the entire Larkin family, especially the patriarch, who could only stare helplessly at the clear blue sky. Their empire in the capital was done for!
With the situation being what it was, no one felt like sticking around, so they slowly began to leave. Jackson and Kimberly got word from the search team—despite their best efforts, none of the rescue boats found any sign of Zoe. Without saying much, they hopped on a cruise ship and set sail.
After most of the guests had cleared out from the island, Zoe finally surfaced from the water, gasping as she clung to the rocky shoreline. If she hadn’t quickly hidden below deck on her yacht, Jackson’s team would have surely spotted her.
She never thought Jackson would be so cold-hearted. Fine, she thought, two can play at that game. With determination flashing in her eyes, she leapt onto the island, searching until she found a speedboat, probably left behind by Jackson and his team. With no intention of showing mercy, she took off, disappearing into the vast ocean.
Meanwhile, on the other cruise ship, an assistant rushed to the door. "Mr. Jackson, we’ve started tracking the yacht. It’s heading... towards the U.S.!"
Jackson waved him away, signaling him to leave. Kimberly chuckled, "You’ve got to hand it to her, Zoe's quite the escape artist," quickly catching on. "Hold on, you let her go on purpose, didn’t you?"
Jackson didn’t bother to respond, which was answer enough. "You let her go so she’d run back to the Larkin family in the U.S. and tip them off, right?" Kimberly, quick on the uptake, pieced it together and gave Jackson a playful pat on the shoulder. "You sneaky genius, thinking so many steps ahead."
With Zoe unable to stay in the capital, her only choice was to return to the Larkin family in the U.S., where no one would dare openly speak against her. Even if they did, it would be behind closed doors, and if she caught wind of it, the Larkin family, always mindful of their reputation, wouldn’t take it lightly.
But going back wouldn’t spare her from punishment unless she brought back earth-shattering news that could save her skin. The Larkin family wouldn’t just spare her; they’d protect her at all costs.
With that, she shut her eyes to relax.
...
Back at school, the rumors about Jackson and Zoe were spreading like wildfire. Everyone seemed to have it out for Zoe, and the online chatter was filled with venom.
Fiona, however, remained glued to her seat, lost in thought. Zoe’s actions must’ve really damaged her brother’s reputation! Wondering how her brother was holding up, she pulled out her phone, typed out a message in the chat box, but quickly deleted it.
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