After the CEO Divorced Me, He Wants Me Back (Aveline and Lucas)

"Huh?" Maria looked at the text message, finding it almost laughable. Mary? Her mother?

She had grown up in an orphanage and was later handpicked and trained by Lucas. There was a time when she had searched for her biological parents, but the technology back then wasn't advanced enough to find them. After some time, she gave up.

Now, out of nowhere, someone claimed to be her mother?

Maria stared at the message for a moment, deep in thought, before getting up and heading into another room.

The room was soundproof, and the computer equipment was state-of-the-art. She powered up her computer and quickly began tracking the number. Her fingers danced across the keyboard, and soon enough, the screen was filled with the information she had been looking for.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

She clicked through the data, stopping at a photo of a family of three. The man appeared humble, and the woman looked tired and worn out, but her features hinted at a once-beautiful face. It wasn't hard to imagine that she had been quite the beauty in her younger years. Between them stood a boy, glaring at the camera with arrogance. While the parents were dressed modestly, the boy was decked out in designer clothes and expensive sneakers. His hair was neatly styled, and he had the overfed look of a child with more than enough to eat.

"Tsk..."

Maria continued scrolling through the family's records, piecing together their story.

They were a rural family from Arthur Town, living off the land. They had two children, but there was no information about the first one just a record of the woman giving birth at a hospital.

"Tsk..."

As their son grew older, the family's financial situation took a turn for the worse. By the time he was fifteen, the boy had become addicted to online gambling, sinking the family into heavy debt. They sold their house and land to cover some of the losses, but the son continued gambling and amassed more debt.

So, now that they were out of options, they had decided to come looking for their first child? But how had they even found her?

Was this really her family?

Maria shut down the computer, deciding not to bother with it for the time being.

Even if these people were indeed her biological parents, she had no intention of acknowledging them. And they had better stay away from her-because if they didn't, she wouldn't hesitate to deal with them harshly.

on

...

Two days later, Maria finally went to the studio and gave Sidney a call.

By the time she arrived, Sidney was already there, dressed in a crisp white shirt and black trousers. His short hai was neatly styled, and his clean-cut face bore its usual calm expression. When she walked in, his gaze lingered on her briefly before he looked away.

Maria, wearing sunglasses, stepped inside and took them off with a smile. "You're early."

Sidney nodded slightly. "Have you made a decision?"

Maria sat down, thinking for a

moment before replying, "I'll give you thirty percent of the shares, but you'll have full control over the studio's operations. Whatever direction you take it in, the decisions are yours to make."

Sidney frowned at her words. "Maria, are you just looking for an employee?"

He would be handling most of the responsibilities but only receiving thirty percent of the profits, while she would remain the boss-hands-off, but still in charge.

It was a clever move on her part.

Maria nodded. "You could look at it that way. Sidney, I know you're capable, but I'm still taking on a certain amount of risk here, am I not? It may not be entirely fair, but that's my offer."