Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

"It's all my fault. I didn't do my job well as a mother and teach my kids the way I should have. This is why tragedy has struck my brood. No matter what I think, this is what has happened. All I can do now is visit my daughter." Joy's grief and despondency hardly stirred anything up in Jean. Jean stared blankly at the woman who had had no qualms about torturing her for two decades.

But, finally the truth had hit home. It was Joy's fault. She was responsible for Winner and Shirley's tragedies. If she had been a better mother and taught her kids why being good was important, things wouldn't have come to this end. Now Joy's feeling guilty was useless. It was too late to change the truth.

If this weren't the last chance for Joy, she would not have come to Jean asking for help.

"Zed, Moore, please go inside." Not a muscle had twitched on Jean's face despite Joy's pleading. Jean looked in the direction of the two men and again signalled them to go inside.

Zed and Moore had been watching Jean to see whether she would refuse Joy. Her asking them to leave the two women alone was totally unexpected.

It was hardly a good time to leave as both were curious about Jean's reaction.

Zed and Moore exchanged a look and wondered what tricks Jean had up her sleeve.

"Go ahead! I'll be alright." Jean nodded to Zed and assured him.

Hearing Jean's promise, Zed unwillingly nodded and walked inside the house.

Moore didn't have anything more to say so he too followed Zed inside.

That left Jean and Joy alone in front of the door.

Joy got confused when she saw Jean making Zed and Moore leave. She was dazed for a second and wondered what was going on in Jean's mind.

"Joy, do you want to save Shirley?" Jean took two steps to get closer to Joy. This time, Jean asked her with a dead-serious look.

Joy's eyes glimmered at once as Jean's words gave her a feeling that there was some hope for Shirley yet, now that Jean had asked her such a question.

Joy instinctively nodded at the chance of saving her daughter, hardly thinking twice before saying, "Jean, as long as you let Shirley stay alive, no matter what you ask me to do I'll do it. Even if you want my life, I'll give it to you without any hesitation as long as Shirley lives." "You are willing to lose your life?" Jean asked again, looking at Joy.

"Yes, I am." Joy was sensing an opportunity here to bargain for her daughter's life so she nodded in haste.

"I don't want your life. If you do as I say, I'll promise you that Shirley will live."

Jean was secretly relieved to see that finally she was achieving her mission and so close to knowing the truth.

"Really? Jean, what do you want me to do?" Joy's words tumbled out as surprise and a sense of urgency were there at the back of Joy's mind.

Jean couldn't help but take a look at Joy's clueless face. She remained silent for a second.

Joy was terribly nervous. She looked at Jean and only hoped that Jean would not change her mind.

"It seems that you really love Shirley." Jean's voice finally broke the hush between them. But what she said shattered Joy's optimism.

Joy didn't dare to show this on her face so she sported a bitter smile at Jean and said, "You'll understand when you become a mother. No matter what your children do and irrespective of their being outstanding or horrible, they still are your kids. You are the only one who loves them and don't mind what they do."

"Oh, right!" On hearing Joy's fervour, Jean gave her a sarcastic nod.

"Yeah." Joy asked again, looking at Jean,"Jean, please help me out considering I am a mother. I don't need anything. I just want Shirley to live. That fact is all I seek. Of course, I know she is extremely guilty. It'll be a miracle for her to be even alive."

"I'm comforted to hear that you understand. But I sent Shirley into custody. Don't you hate me for it?" Jean asked slowly, looking into Joy's eyes.

"Hate you? Do I go so far as to talk about this now?" Joy looked haggard and said helplessly, "All I want is to see Shirley alive. Now, I don't want anything else."

"Okay, since you have said this, I'll tell you my conditions." An impassive-looking Jean said this in a cold tone.

Noticing Jean's indifference, Joy turned uneasy. She sensed what was coming next could be harsh and wouldn't do her good. But it was all for Shirley...

Joy closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them again, she looked determined and said, "Tell me."

Jean saw Joy's face quickly changed expressions with a hint of mockery in between. A stony-hearted Jean finally said in a quiet, piercing tone, "How did my mother die?"

Joy had never expected this topic to surface again. In a flash, she turned to stone petrified of uttering another word.

Jean was now looking at Joy with blazing eyes.

Seeing Joy grow numb only stoked Jean's anger towards her.

When Joy had tried to kill Jean, she spat out words that had led Jean to dig up the truth. Ever since, the mystery surrounding her mother's death haunted Jean.

Joy's words then meant that she knew the truth. It was time to get it out of her.

Now that Joy had become pale and rigid, she was confirming Jean's worst fears. Jean knew she was on the right path and all she had to do was charge forward to get the truth out of Joy.

'The guilt is written all over Joy's face. And the growing fear in Joy's eyes...

Did my mother...'

Jean thought silently. She couldn't believe the coincidence of getting this idea at this moment of all times. Jean grilled Joy with a hard stare and said, "You can remain silent. But remember, I can do nothing about Shirley." "I..." Joy inhaled deeply and summoned all the courage to look Jean straight into her eyes and say, "I don't know."

"Do you really don't know or you just don't dare tell me the truth? Think carefully. Do you really want to save Shirley or not? I'll give you three minutes to think about it. You have only one chance."

Jean turned around showing her back to Joy after she finished her words.

Jean had been nervous all along actually. She was betting all on this.

If Joy wasn't determined to save Shirley, then Jean's risk would fail.

But Jean didn't have another choice.

She could only threaten Joy to tell her the truth by taking advantage of Joy's intention to save Shirley's life.

When Jean acquired the Wen Group with Henry's help, she didn't drive the mother-daughter away. Instead, Jean gave Shirley a position in the Wen Group to allow her to start afresh.

Jean was not that type. She just wanted Shirley to stay in front of her so that she could bully Shirley and even worse. Then Joy would have shown concern for Shirley and asked Jean for mercy.

As long as she would have given Joy hope, Jean had believed Joy would have told her the truth eventually.

But to Jean's surprise, before she put her plan into action, Shirley dug up her grave and gifted Jean a brilliant opportunity.

Now Shirley was in police custody and nobody was allowed to visit her.

As the case was not presented in court yet, there was no way for a powerless Joy to visit Shirley.

Being cornered, Joy had come to ask Jean for help in the hope that the influential Zed could help her visit Shirley.

But, in all this, Jean had been smart to take complete advantage of this. Realizing that Joy hadn't totally given up on Shirley, Jean made Joy face the moment of truth. 00☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐