Shining Bright After Rebirth

Chapter 969 Your Reputation Is. Ruined

“Jenny,” Diana said, her voice low, “I’ll give you the address in ten days. Be careful, okay? I’m hanging up now, but I’ll send you some gifts later.”

“Jenny…” Diana wanted to ask more, but Jenny had already ended the call.

Diana’s mind raced, and a question she hadn’t considered before began to gnaw at her.

Andrew wasn’t Steven’s biological father–so where was Steven’s real dad?

Jenny had sounded in a surprisingly good mood on the phone, so had she always known the truth?

Had she kept quiet because of how easily Steven was manipulated by Queenie back then?

But no, that didn’t make sense.

Diana, having been a mother herself, knew all too well the lengths a mother would go for her child.

Just like in her past life, when Steven found out she was pregnant, he tried to imprison her, threatening to take the child

In’t obey.

She hadn’t fought back, staying locked in that mansion for three months, all for the sake of giving birth to her child–and ultimately, meeting her death.

She stood up, her thoughts spinning as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

With every new truth she uncovered this past year, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Leopold was hiding something from her

too.

Diana let out a heavy sigh, expelling the tension from her chest.

She gazed out the window at the swirling snow, her long lashes fluttering as she smiled softly. Her perfect eyebrows arched slightly, and she spoke to herself in a whisper, “Steven, who are we really to each other? Am I your pawn, or are you mine?”

The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like Jenny was the hidden mastermind, the one pulling the strings from the

shadows.

But who had sent her away all those years ago?

All Diana knew for sure was that Jenny had always been the kind of mother who would do anything for Steven.

In her past life, Jenny had been committed to a mental institution under the guise of being mentally ill, and from that point on, Diana had never seen her again.

Diana stood there for a moment longer,

on the bed, lost in thought.

The closer she got to the truth, the more she realized how far–reaching this web of lies stretched.

It was like peeling an onion–every layer revealed something new, and none of it made the situation any clearer.

*****

The next morning, George woke up to find Queenie sitting beside him, her face a mask of concern and worry. His eyes burned with anger.

Even though he was awake, every time he closed his eyes, he was pulled back into the nightmare.

In it, he was beaten mercilessly, blood pouring from his wounds, his entire body aching in pain.

He couldn’t understand it–how had his Christmas ended like

this?

A night that should have been full of joy had turned into one of the most humiliating experiences of his life.

“George, you’re awake,” Queenie said, her voice trembling with relief. Her eyes were red from crying, and she clutched his hand tightly.

Chapter 969 Your Reputation Is Ruined George looked at her, his voice soft. “Don’t cry. I’m fine. Just a little headache.”

Queenie let out a deep sigh of relief and explained, “The doctor said you have a mild concussion. They’ll need to keep you under observation for another week before you can leave the hospital. I’ll call the doctor to come check on you.”

“Alright,” George replied, his voice hoarse.

His

gaze shifted to Queenie sitting in a wheelchair, and he froze for a moment, staring at her. He quickly moved his legs and arms, testing his mobility.

When he found he could move them without trouble, he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“Queenie, what happened to your legs? Why are you in a wheelchair?” he asked, his voice tinged with surprise.

Queenie lowered her eyes, glancing at her legs. The people who’d done this to her had at least spared her other leg, but one was broken beyond repair.

“George, I think it was Diana. She must’ve planned this as revenge. She’s in a wheelchair now, so she wants us to suffer with her,” Queenie said, her voice bitter.

That entire night, while fireworks echoed outside, she had been stuck in the hospital, her dreams of a perfect Christmas shattered.

apter 969 Your Reputation Is Ruined

5/8 “Damn Diana, how dare she? How could she send someone after us on Christmas?” Queenie’s frustration was palpable, but there was little she could do right now. She, too, needed treatment and hadn’t had the time to track Diana down.

But there was something else nagging at her-she didn’t even know where Diana lived. Even if she wanted to make her pay, she had no way of finding her.

“George,” Queenie said, her voice softer now, “you need to focus on getting better. Don’t think about anything else. After this Christmas is over, we’ve got a lot of things to take care of.” Queenie’s thoughts drifted to the plot of land she had bought. from the Farleys, and an uneasy feeling settled in her chest. Her dreams were fragmented, and she couldn’t recall anything about that land, not a single memory.

George’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Hand me my phone. I’m not just gonna lie here doing nothing. Diana has to pay for what she did.”

“She’s been playing it low–key, fooling you, fooling Steven, fooling Paula,” he continued. “She’s good, but she’s hiding too much. I never took her seriously before, but now… now I have to see her as an enemy.”

Queenie hesitated but handed him his phone.

Her worry was clear. “George, I feel like we’re losing control of this whole situation. Maybe we should come up with a different plan.”

Reputation Is Ruined

George’s rage simmered beneath the surface. “What Diana’s doing is pure revenge. She’s playing the game so well, that I never saw her for what she is. But now, I have no choice but to treat her like a threat.”

George had just woken up, and his mood was like a storm. The anger inside him was thick and choking, and no one could talk

him down. noveldrama

“It’s fine. Let her think she’s in control for now,” he muttered, his lips curling into a bitter smile. “She’s still in that wheelchair. I don’t mind making her suffer more.”

Queenie didn’t try to stop him. She was just as eager to see Diana pay.

George dialed his assistant’s number. “Edison, find out where Diana’s staying. I want one of her legs broken.”

Queenie smiled sweetly, her eyes almost glowing. Was George doing this for her revenge?

Edison’s voice came through the phone. “Mr. George Gellar, I don’t know where Diana lives. It’s Christmas, so she hasn’t been at the office. Since she left the villa, I haven’t been able to track her down. I’ll wait at the office for her and find a chance to act.”

George’s fury was palpable. “What the hell, Edison? You can’t even find a woman’s address? Get it done now. Find where she is, and once you’ve got it, call me. I want to see her legs broken, and I want to see it with my own eyes.”

Diana, that damned bitch, had the nerve to cross him,” he thought. She wouldn’t be walking much longer. Not if he had anything to say about it.

The murderous intent in George’s eyes was terrifying.

The humiliation he’d suffered, Diana was going to pay for it tenfold, a hundred fold.

There was no way he’d let someone like her ruin his life, especially his glorious rise.

The day he’d been beaten, he’d been completely unprepared.

He ended the call and turned to Queenie, his gaze dark and cold. “Queenie, how long until you can stand again?“.

His eyes burned with a deadly intensity. Queenie was beautiful, his warmth in this cold world. No matter what she did, no matter how difficult she was, she had always been the one person who truly mattered to him.

Queenie felt the weight of her situation. Being stuck in a wheelchair was a constant reminder of her helplessness. Under the harsh white lights, her face looked even paler, and there was a flash of pain and fury in her eyes.

“George, the doctor said it’ll be three months before I can walk again. After that, I can’t do any heavy work. For the upcoming shoots, I’ll have to use a stunt double.”

George’s face twisted with fury. “That’s not gonna work. If the

Chapter 969 Your Reputation Is Ruined

whole show has to use a double, and that gets out… your reputation is ruined.”