That was the only keepsake her mother had left her!
"Melanie, I just wanted to take a look." Rosalyn said as she reached straight for the emerald necklace.
Melanie rushed over to stop her. "Rosalyn, put it down!"
Rosalyn's lips curved into a provocative smile.
The next second came a sharp "crack!"
The necklace fell to the floor and shattered into pieces!
"No!" Melanie shoved her aside. Looking at the fragments on the ground, she could no longer hold back her anger.
"Slap!" She struck Rosalyn hard across the face.
Rosalyn covered her cheek, eyes wide with shock. "Melanie, why did you hit me?"
At that moment Ethan rushed in. "What happened?"
He pulled Rosalyn protectively into his arms with deep concern.
"Ethan, Melanie doesn't like me. I only wanted to look at her necklace, but she pushed me to the floor and slapped me..."
Rosalyn's eyes filled with tears, her expression full of grievance.
Ethan's brows furrowed with anger. "Melanie, Rosalyn is your sister! How could you treat her like this? Apologize!"
Melanie ignored him completely. She carefully began picking up the pieces from the floor.
Seeing this, Ethan grew even more furious. He yanked her to her feet. "Melanie Gilbert, I said apologize! Did you hear me?"
Melanie burned with rage. "Ethan Dawson, she deliberately smashed the necklace my mother left me! You know this was the only thing my mother left behind for me! Don't you understand how important it is?"
Ethan's face showed not a trace of remorse. "It's just a necklace. Did you have to be so aggressive? Besides, Rosalyn didn't do it on purpose! How could you hit her? Apologize!"
Melanie's heart twisted painfully, yet she still refused to give in.
Ethan suddenly grabbed the framed photo of her mother from the bedside table.
"No! Ethan, what are you doing?! I'll apologize! I'm sorry!" Melanie cried out in panic, but it was already too late.
Ethan smashed the photo frame hard onto the floor.
In an instant, shards of glass flew everywhere, tearing through the picture.
It also shattered the last bit of comfort Melanie had clung to.
"Remember this! This is just a small lesson for you! If you ever dare hurt Rosalyn again, I will make you pay!" With that, Ethan scooped Rosalyn up in his arms and carried her out.
Melanie finally broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.
She cried until her whole body shook as she slowly gathered the scattered fragments.
Even as the sharp pieces cut into her fingers and blood flowed freely, she refused to stop.
"I'm sorry, Mom!" She apologized silently in her heart.
Suddenly she noticed one piece of broken jade looked unusual.
She picked it up slowly and discovered a tiny USB drive hidden inside!
Melanie's eyes widened in shock. She stopped crying and carefully inserted the drive into her computer.
After seeing the contents, she felt her breath grow short and her chest heave.
It turned out her mother's death had involved the entire Burgess family!
Including her own biological father!
Rage boiled through Melanie's veins.
Not a single one of them would be spared!
She slowly calmed herself and began to think about her next plan.
At that moment her phone rang.
It was the sales department manager.
"Melanie, come to the company right now! Do you know that the billion-dollar contract you just won? Rosalyn has been appointed as the project leader!"
"What?!"
