Chapter 6

"My last name is Saiger. Jason Saiger isn't Jade Quiney's blind date. Her mother is about to marry my father." "If the marriage goes smoothly, then legally speaking, I'll become her brother, although I don't like either of them." Jade stormed out of the Chinese restaurant, leaving Dora Juggins and the elegant young heir she had just flirted with staring at each other. Dora had planned to slip away, but the man across from her caught her by the arm. His explanation stunned her, though her first instinct was still to leave. Then he added one more sentence, and she stayed. "Jade stole your boyfriend. Maybe we can team up and get revenge." Dora couldn't stand the perfume Jade had left behind, so she and Jason switched seats before continuing their conversation. She asked him what he meant. Jason explained that Jade's mother had been his father's secretary until she managed to become his mistress two months earlier. She had forced his father to divorce his mother, who suffered from coronary heart disease. She had collapsed from rage on the spot and was still in the hospital. Jason said he had come that day to warn Jade. If she and her mother insisted on marrying into the Saiger family, he wouldn't let them off easily. Dora listened to the entire melodramatic story with complete seriousness. When he finished, she asked, "So what? How do you plan to get revenge on Jade?" Jason explained that Jade had agreed to the blind dates to please his father. The two men she had met that day had both been introduced by his father, and Jade had accepted without hesitation in an effort to win his favor. The second man owned a family business with more than ten million dollars in assets. He also had a warped personality and had been married before. He had abused his former wife so badly that she ended up disabled before divorcing him. "If he finds out Jade is dating someone while she's still going on blind dates, it'll be quite a show." Jason offered Dora two choices. "First, when the wife-beater goes to the Saiger family's house to cause a scene, you can expose Jade's true colors. My father cares about profit above all else. He won't offend that man for Jade." "Second, I can take you to meet the wife-beater. You can tell him that everything you said today was a lie. Then we can get him to marry Jade. With the way that man abuses women, Jade will be finished the moment she marries him." Jason's analysis left Dora staring at him, speechless. She couldn't help thinking that he was terrifyingly capable. He would have survived at least a few extra episodes in a palace-intrigue drama. "Like mother, like daughter." Dora finally managed to squeeze out the words before waving over two bottles of red wine. She poured a glass for herself, then filled one for Jason. "You're your father's biological son. Why go to all this trouble? Just have him leave all his assets to you. Have him write a will, sign it, and stamp it. Wouldn't that drive those two women crazy?" When a man reached middle age and a mistress took over, there were only two possibilities. Either the woman was rich, or the man had money to spare. Dora had seen Jade's mother before. As Joy Zimmerman put it, she was a flashy peacock who strutted around showing off her ass to everyone. Dora swore she had offered the suggestion in good faith. She hadn't expected to dig a hole for herself. "The will was written years ago," Jason said, "but it came with one condition. I have to give my father a grandson before I turn thirty-five." "Otherwise, he can change the inheritance arrangements at any time. If he and that woman marry successfully, or if she has another son, your suggestion will be completely useless." Jason refilled both their glasses, lifted his stemmed glass, and took a delicate sip. Dora's eyes gleamed as she watched his elegant movements. Slowly, she narrowed her eyes. She asked Jason how old he was. He told her that his thirty-fifth birthday was three months away. Dora gave him a sympathetic look. "Sweetheart, my advice is that you adopt a child and pass him off as your illegitimate son. Or find a divorced woman with a child and claim the kid as your bastard." "Give birth to a son in three months? What are you, the Monkey King from Flower Fruit Mountain?" She snorted. "Seriously, do rich people actually play games like this? You only get to inherit the family fortune after producing a son?" Jason gave her a meaningful look. "A son who's still in the womb counts too."