A Lesson At The Mall

A flicker of confusion appeared on Henry’s face. He muttered my name under his breath, repeating it slowly.

“You said your name is Joni Jennings? Do you even know who Joni Jennings is? She’s the eldest daughter of the Jennings family! Who are you to impersonate the Jennings family’s young heiress?”

Seeing his reaction, Linda covered her mouth and laughed. “So she’s not some country bumpkin; she’s just crazy, running around pretending to be some rich young lady. Everyone knows the real Miss Joni has been living in Milan for the past few years. Henry, if you ask me, this woman’s probably done this before. Who knows how many times she’s pretended to be Miss Joni to scam people out of their money?”

Henry let out a cold laugh. “Linda’s right. For the sake of the Jennings family’s reputation, we can’t let her walk away today. Otherwise, it would be a disgrace to the Old Mr. Jennings after all the care he’s shown me.”

Holding my sister in my arms, I stepped forward, and my gaze drifted to the watch on his wrist. It was a gift from Grandpa.

“Henry,” I said, “the watch you’re wearing is one I bought in Milan. Grandpa said you had just secured a major project for the Jennings family in the Southeast Region, so he wanted to give it to you as a reward. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

Henry’s expression shifted. For a moment, he hesitated. Perhaps, deep down, he didn’t want to believe that he might have offended the real daughter of the Jennings family.

After steadying himself, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“Sonny, has Miss Joni returned yet?”

My heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t told anyone about my return home yet.

I was just about to call out to Sonny, but before I could speak, Linda suddenly covered my mouth from behind. With my sister still in my arms, I couldn’t break free.

All I could do was watch as Henry’s face darkened while he hung up the phone. When he looked at me again, his gaze was the same one he’d give a lunatic.

“Hah. I must be too kind to believe the nonsense from a lowlife like you. Miss Joni is currently in Milan attending an exhibition. It looks like you just got lucky with your guess. What magazine did you read that interview in—the one where Grandpa mentioned giving me this watch? And you thought you could use that to pretend to be the young heiress?”

I stared at Henry’s arrogant face. The last bit of hesitation in my heart, held back only because of Grandpa, vanished. Instead, disappointment washed over me.

Just as I was about to signal for the mall staff and have them contact Jennings Group’s legal department, the sister in my arms suddenly began coughing violently. Her little face turned bright red, and her breathing grew rapid and shallow.

“Susie?”

All the blood in my body seemed to freeze. Those were the signs of her asthma attack!