The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 169

Chapter 169

Chapter 169

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Charles had barely finished his sentence when he suddenly sensed something strange on his head.

Some crunchy husks dropped right onto his perfectly styled hair.

He snapped his head up, but before he could make out what was happening, a wet, spit-covered walnut shell landed on his face with a splat.

Two chubby squirrels were perched lazily on the branch above, working deftly with their little paws to crack seeds and nuts. Shells and husks pattered down like rainfall onto the Summer family.

Susan and Claire, busy with the wheelchair, got caught in the mess too, scrambling to get out of the way.

Claire’s face instantly turned pale the moment she spotted the squirrels.

Right then, she was jolted back to that traumatizing experience at the Hayes Estate, when a bunch of squirrels and other critters had swarmed all over her.

The surge of panic sent a stabbing pain straight through her lower back.

That kick from Little Alpaca had messed her up pretty good. Even with plenty of rest, injuries like that take ages to heal- standing and walking were possible now, but she was nowhere near fully recovered.

Her back still acted up every now and then, and when it did, Claire was basically grounded-forced to get around with the wheelchair.

Nina shot a glance at the two squirrels backing her up, then looked over at Charles, who was clearly in total chaos.

Her tone was ice-cold, with an unmistakable edge of warning. “You’d better make sure you know whose turf you’re standing on. I suggest you show a little respect-”

She curled her lips in a faint smile, but her eyes were cold as ice. “Here, the animals follow just one rule-protect their boss. They don’t give a damn about your fake polite games.”

Coco and Chubby perked up on that high branch, their tiny paws planted firmly on their round bellies, glaring down with cheeks puffed in indignation.

Clearly, if anyone dared to bully Nina, they’d have a whole squirrel storm to answer to.

Charles’s face darkened, thrown off by the underlying threat in Nina’s words.

Claire bit back her annoyance and flashed her most innocent smile. “Nina, don’t be upset. We specifically came here to bring you back to the Summer residence.”

Nina arched an eyebrow. “Who do you think you are? Don’t try to act all sisterly with me. What an actress. If you’re not starring, I’m not even watching this drama.”

Claire’s cheeks flushed and her eyes grew red. “I mean it! Why do you always think the worst of me?”

“When I left, weren’t you the one who said we’d never talk again?” Nina folded her arms, sweeping her gaze over all three. “Now what, you only come crawling back because you’re desperate?”

Charles clenched his jaw, smoothed down his suit, then tried to act all grown-up and reasonable. “Nina, you’re not a kid anymore. Quit with the childish tantrums and just come home.

“We’ve already discussed it and decided to relaunch your PawGuard Vaccine. You’ll get your cut from the new deal.”

18:43 Tue, Jan 6 J.

Chapter 169

As he spoke, Charles pulled out a contract from his briefcase and shoved it toward Nina.

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Nina took the contract, skimmed it quickly, and masked just the right hint of surprise. “80% of the profits after it hits the

market?”

That was three times the measly 10% they’d tossed her before. Clearly, the Summer family was getting desperate-their stock had tanked because the vaccine couldn’t launch, and now they were scrambling.

Susan shot her a dismissive look, her tone full of that patronizing vibe. “Haven’t you been going on and on about how you need a big chunk of money for your little animal park?

“The royalties from the vaccine launch would be enough for you to start a whole new pet hospital.”

Charles smirked at Nina’s surprise and chimed in, “This share is way better than the usual cut you’d get in this industry for patent licensing.”

Nina closed the contract, looked up at the three of them, and smirked slightly. Her tone was calm and understated, but every word landed with force. “I want 100% of the profits. All of it is mine.”

At Nina’s words, all three from the Summer family went stiff, the atmosphere practically freezing.

Charles reacted like he’d just heard something out of a fairy tale, his voice jumping up a notch. “You can’t be serious! That’s outrageous-you’re asking for way too much!

“Do you expect us to pour in all the money and effort, only to get nothing back?”

He quickly found his footing again, getting snippy. “Don’t forget-only we gave you the backing for research, and the channels to get it out there!

“Without us, who’d help you get that vaccine out? Your precious vaccine would just end up gathering dust!”

Susan’s eyes darkened as she measured Nina’s expression, trying to decide if she’d just thrown out those words in a moment of impulse or if Nina truly meant business.

She eased her tone, feigning concern. “Nina, we saw some things online lately. Did you really accidentally injure a red- crowned crane? You know that’s a nationally protected endangered species, right?”

The police hadn’t released any official statement about the red-crowned crane poisoning yet, since they were still trying to track down the spy’s higher-ups.

For now, only Jelasburg University and the city’s wildlife rescue center had put out a brief explanation, saying the crane was hurt after accidentally eating something it shouldn’t have.

But online, conspiracy theories were everywhere. A lot of netizens didn’t buy the official story, insisting that Jelasburg University was just trying to hype up Nina and cover things up for her./

Susan lifted her chin, oozing superiority. “All that negative gossip online? I can easily call in some favors and hire a crew of internet trolls to scrub your reputation squeaky clean.”

With the Sullivan family connections in showbiz, she really was tight with a whole army of shady marketing companies.

Nina just gave a faint smile, her eyes bright and steady. “The red-crowned crane poisoning has nothing to do with me. I absolutely don’t need that pointless ‘help’ of yours to fix something that’s not even my problem.”

She never bothered with any of the rumors floating around online.

Besides, Simon had let slip yesterday that, thanks to intel from the spy they caught, three more of the spy’s partners had already been arrested.

18:43 Tue, Jan 6 ·

Chapter 169

If she guessed right, they’d probably put out an official statement today about the poisoning incident.

An official statement from the authorities is the best rumor-buster there is.

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