Broken Memories, Intertwined Hearts novel Chapter 321

When Ines and Ethan were the only two left in the room, Ines turned to Ethan, "Ethan, don’t tell me Joy was an old flame of yours?"

"Absolutely not, I don’t have any ex-girlfriends." Ethan firmly denied.

Ines rolled her eyes, "Did Joy really work at the Meyer Group before?"

"You should know, the Meyer Group used to be in real estate a few years back. We had to pull out because of some issues, so it's not that weird that Joy worked there." Ethan said.

Ines nodded. She knew about this; it was no secret among their circle. Ethan had mentioned it when they were discussing Leila . Not long ago, Silvia had tried to provoke her by saying that Ethan had pulled out of real estate because of Leila.

"Joy was the main architect at the time." Ethan said.

"No way, Joy’s expertise doesn’t seem to match Jeffery’s. I heard them mention that Joy doesn’t have the necessary certifications. She was always helping Jeffery with small tasks as his assistant. How could she possibly be the main architect?" Ines asked.

Ethan shook his head, "Not anymore, but she used to be. It was because of a safety accident that her certification was revoked."

"Was the accident caused by a problem with her design?" Ines, for some reason, felt uneasy. Her intuition told her things weren’t simple.

Ethan paused. He had no reason to hide this from his wife, and succinctly explained, "She was a top student in architecture, graduated at a young age of 20, and was recommended to major companies by several professors. I also made an exception to recruit her into the Meyer Group. She didn’t let me down. Although she was inexperienced at first, she quickly grew under the guidance of some experienced colleagues. Her designs were flawless and could incorporate the latest trends. We didn’t have to worry about the construction department, as they were basically approved at once. The Meyer Group’s real estate business was very successful those years, but she couldn’t resist the temptation and became a corporate spy. She secretly switched the design submitted to the engineering department, changing several key parameters that had been repeatedly verified, which directly led to the accident."

Ines only knew a rough idea about that accident, and was not aware of the corporate espionage, let alone that Joy was the spy. Ines could feel the hatred in Ethan's heart and didn't know what to say. She just gently hugged Ethan, "Ethan, it’s all in the past."

Ethan hugged Ines back, "Izzy, I’m okay. It’s been so long, and I’ve let go of a lot of things. Plus, I have you now, I’m more than satisfied. I won’t dwell on the past."

Ines pulled a face at him, "If you’ve let it go, then don’t frown so much. Smile more. I like to see you smile."

At this, Ethan really did crack a smile. Ines laughed, "Mr. Meyer, you’re so obedient. You smile when I tell you to."

"If my smile can make you happy, then I'm more than willing," Ethan said earnestly.

What Ines couldn’t stand the most was when Ethan was serious. He had said this many times, but every time it would make her heart beat faster. It was really strange.

"Ethan, do you think this move is very effective on me, so you do it on purpose?" Ines was a bit annoyed. She knew he was doing it on purpose, but every time she would be moved by his words.

"Izzy, her mother is still alive, just suffering from dementia and living in a nursing home. And she's been in jail for three years. You guys probably don't know all this. I guess the reason she is scared is that she’s afraid I will tell you about her past." Since some things weren't clear yet, Ethan had people keeping an eye on Joy from time to time.

Ines stared at Ethan in disbelief, unable to accept that this was true. When she came to, she was a bit scared and looked at Ethan nervously, "What about you? After all, someone died at that time and Joy went to jail. As the person in charge of the company, how could you be okay?"

Originally, Ethan didn't plan to spill the beans to Ines about certain things, especially those related to Leila. But Ines was too sharp-minded; give her an inch, and she would take a mile. Ethan chuckled, "Leila's a real troubleshooting champ. She managed to smooth things over with the family of the deceased and got them to agree to a settlement. And with the Meyer family pulling strings in the background, the whole thing got swept under the rug. Plus, it was obviously an accident, so I didn't end up behind bars."

"She indeed has done a lot for you." Ines said quietly. Despite knowing her health wouldn't allow her to be at the construction site, she still risked her life to be there. She probably only had Ethan on her mind back then.

No wonder the whole Meyer family were so caring towards Silvia. She was blessed with a wonderful sister, who traded her own life for Silvia's luck.

"Izzy." Ethan gently called her name.

"Ethan, I'm fine. What exactly was Joy found guilty of?" Ines shook her head and asked,

"As the chief designer, she definitely couldn't dodge the bullet for the safety accident. But since the family agreed to a settlement, she ended up in jail for a lesser crime of commercial spying, and got a relatively mild sentence of three years."