A Vengeful Ex-Wife
Chapter 227 Too Poor

In the HL Group

James made his decision, paying no heed to Lorenzo's weeping. "Go to the personnel department and submit your resignation."

"Mr. Xi, I promise, this will be the last time. I..." Lorenzo sobbed.

He was interrupted by the vibrating of James' phone. James glanced at the caller ID and swiped to answer. "Hello, Dad."

"James, I heard what happened with Lorenzo. Listen, he's no stranger to us. Can't you give him another chance for my sake? If he commits another mistake in the future, I won't interfere no matter what you decide to do to him." Lorenzo was Judy's nephew after all; Sebastian had to do at least this much.

James frowned after hearing what his father had said. He glanced back at the pathetic man in front of him and thought, 'Judy is rather quick on the uptake, isn't she?"

"Anything else?" he asked in a cold tone.

"No."

"Bye." Then James hung up.

Sebastian pulled back and stared at his phone in disbelief. His son hung up without warning. He seethed silently.

James was not acting like his son at all. How rude!

Alas, the blame lay on him for not disciplining his boy properly.

James pocketed his phone and fished the pen he had discarded earlier. "Tender your resignation or be a manager in the West District branch. The choice is yours."

Lorenzo didn't answer immediately. Manager? This might look like a promotion, but in truth he was being removed from the headquarters.

He didn't want to leave HL Group, so there wasn't much of a choice in the matter.

In another part of the town, Judy walked into the Dawn Cafe.

Alina was practically jumping on her seat before the older woman even had the chance to sit down. "Aunt Judy, what would you like to drink?11

"Nothing. Go ahead and order on your own." Lorenzo's career was in jeopardy, how could anyone expect Judy to leisurely spend some time in a cafe? If Alina hadn't told her that this separate matter was important, she wouldn't have come out of their villa at all.

Alina noticed her foul mood and didn't press any further. "Auntie Judy, I just got intel about the land in South District. Someone is purposely plotting against Mr. Jiang."

"What? Who would dare?" More to the point, who would have the means to do so? Judy couldn't think of a single person.

Alina leaned close and whispered a name.

"What did you say?" Judy exclaimed, gaping at the younger woman.

"That's right, Aunt Judy. Mr. Jiang is hunting her as we speak. Well, not just him, but all of the investors are looking for her right now."

Judy was still in shock. "But how could she be capable of such a thing?"

"I don't know either. Mr. Jiang only told my father that Maria set a trap for him, and he fell for it. It was also Maria who told him of the news regarding the South District property. Even before that, she had already cheated him out of twenty million dollars. I heard she even hit his wife!"

This effectively made Maria the mastermind of the scheme that had made the investors go bankrupt.

Maria again! Judy gritted her teeth as she thought of that dreaded name. "I've terribly underestimated that bitch."

She had always believed that Maria was not the aggressive type. She knew better now, in addition to the knowledge that the woman was a damn good actress.

Alina could tell that her goal today had been achieved when she saw Judy's face twist into a ferocious expression.

She smiled in satisfaction. Judy was not the only one; the plan was to let all the investors know of their common enemy. Everyone would be targeting and hating on Maria before the day ended. She couldn't wait to see just how long that bitch could keep acting arrogant.

Maria soon learned that Lorenzo was being transferred to a branch company, thanks to Summer's information leak.

When she next visited HL Group's building, she found Lorenzo turning over his documents to Summer and two other assistants.

He saw her emerge from the elevator, but he ignored her and carried on with what he was doing.

Summer, on the other hand, walked over to her and ushered her to the CEO's office. "Mr. Xi has just come back," she whispered.

"That's good." That would mean that Maria had not come here in vain, at least.

Summer opened the door for her, and Maria walked inside.

James was in the middle of a phone call. When he saw her come in, he just stared at her.

This went on for two more minutes before he ended the call.

He frowned, his eyes fixed on her bare legs. "Can't you afford any trousers?" he demanded with a frown.

Maria looked down at her outfit. She had on a beige cashmere overcoat over a tight, knee-length skirt. She finished the look with long, black boots. It was fine, wasn't it? Oh, but her knees were exposed. It wasn't like she was cold; she seldom went out on the streets anyway.

She smiled. "As a matter of fact, I can't. I'm so poor I can't even afford to pay for my meals."

James instantly took out his checkbook from one of his desk drawers. He scribbled on it and signed his name before tossing it over to her. "Go get some proper clothes. Don't let me see you like this again." "Copy that!" Maria picked up the slip of paper bearing a seven-figure amount and planted a solid kiss on it before disappearing through the door.

In Xi family's villa

Augustine and Charlotte were in the living room, listening to John's report with rapt attention. "Mr. Jiang of the YL Group will soon be apprehended and put to jail. Meanwhile, Tang Group has lost a huge amount of money. Ms. Lan lost about one hundred million..."

"Where is Maria staying now?" Charlotte asked, interrupting the butler.

"Mr. Xi transferred the deed of Golden Mansion over to Ms. Song. She currently resides there." "And James?"

"His schedule remains irregular, but he would occasionally retire to Golden Mansion."

"Occasionally?" Charlotte pried stubbornly.

"Yes," John answered honestly.

Augustine glanced at his wife. "Well? What are you planning to do?"

Charlotte paused for a while before calmly giving out her orders. "Buy some Vitamin C pills and replace Maria's birth control pills-the pills both in Golden Mansion and Fairview Villa." Augustine gaped at her with wide eyes.

"Understood," John replied, unflappable as ever.

On the day before the Chinese New Year's Eve, Maria returned to the hospital for a reexamination. Thankfully, her wounds seemed to be having a smooth recovery.

Still, she made an appointment for a scar removal session scheduled after the spring festival.

On New Year's Eve, the usually bustling H City fell into quiet, and very few people could be seen in the streets.

Maria closed the coffee shop. Her employees had already left for the holidays.

A gust of cold wind swept past her, and she took a good look at the quiet surroundings. Only then did she fully realize that a new year was indeed about to begin.

She left her things inside her car and proceeded to walk down the street.

She wasn't aware how long she had been walking.

Snow began to fall. She reached up to catch some of the frosted flakes in her hands, only for them to melt at her fingertips.

She spotted a convenience store nearby and headed inside, buying two cans of beer. It was only a few steps to the square, and she found a place to sit and enjoy her drink.

It was past six in the evening. Everyone should be gathered with their family at this hour, sharing their New Year's Eve dinner at home.

Despite herself, Maria could not help wondering about James. Perhaps he was having dinner at this time, too.

In the past, Sebastian would take Judy and James to have dinner with Augustine and Charlotte. They had always celebrated Chinese New Year together. She guessed they must still be keeping this tradition to this day.

Just then, her phone rang from inside her pocket. It was a call from Ethan.

Maria had to stifle the disappointment that came unbidden, and swiped on the screen to answer. "Happy New Year, Ethan!"

"Maria! Happy New Year! Where are you right now? Let's meet up."

"Why do you want to meet up now of all times?"

"Well, I happen to be celebrating the New Year all by myself. I feel so cold and lonely. You should be the same as me, right?"