His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus) novel Chapter 797

Jareth's brooding gaze was obscured by his lowered eyelashes as his firm fingertips spun the executive pen that had signed off on the empire’s destiny.

The assembled company directors cast sidelong glances at the disruptive woman, shaking their heads with a glint of scorn in their eyes.

"Edith went missing on her way to the hospital, and she still hasn't been found! It must have been you who took her!"

She stormed up to Jareth, pounding her fists on the table with a force that left the directors unacknowledged, "Jareth! Give me back my daughter! If you don't return her to me, I'll call a shareholders' meeting and have you ousted from Fairhaven Group! Give me back Edith!"

Jareth's pen paused mid-twirl, but he did not lift his eyes to face the “amiable” mother.

"Mrs. Fairhaven, what on earth are you doing?"

A director, unable to watch in silence any longer, interjected, "Ms. Fairhaven's disappearance could very well be her own doing; maybe she fled when the police were distracted. You should be taking this up with the authorities, not here."

"Exactly, we’re in the middle of a board meeting. It's really not appropriate to bring personal matters to the table; it damages the reputation of the Fairhaven Group."

"Personal matters?"

The woman’s eyes bulged with incredulity, as if she was on the verge of launching herself into a frenzied attack, "Are those even human words you're speaking?! Did you crawl out from under a rock? Would you be spouting such nonsense if it were your child missing?!"

The directors fell silent, their tongues tied. They thought of her, the person who had never been this unhinged even when Mr. Fairhaven was alive; widowhood at a young age must have driven her half-mad.

Jareth, the subject of the drama, finally spoke with a calm air, "That will be all for today. Meeting adjourned."

"Yes, Mr. Fairhaven!"

The attendees rose, eager to escape the drama.

And like a nail hammered into place, the uniform address of "Mr. Fairhaven" served to highlight the woman's earlier outburst, painting her as nothing more than a powerless, raging buffoon.

The boardroom emptied, leaving behind a cold silence.

"Jareth, did you have Edith kidnapped? Where did you take her?!" She demanded, nearly bursting with fury.

"Filth belongs in the trash," Jareth replied with a chilling indifference, his eyes deep as the abyss.

"Give me back Edith! She's my flesh and blood!"

The woman was hysterical, "You've cast me aside as your mom, but Edith is all I have left. Give her back to me!"

Jareth silently watched her unravel.

This mother, who knew only how to indulge her daughter and not how to discipline, had lived a life of meekness and vulnerability. But now, she reared up, bristling with all the spines she could muster to protect a viper as dangerous as they come.

She claimed Edith was her flesh and blood. She seemed to forget that he, too, was her flesh and blood.

She forgot that when her husband passed away prematurely, it was he who at a tender age, shouldered the burdens of family, ensuring that she and her daughter were not trampled upon, that they lived with dignity within the Fairhaven family.