No Way Back by Anna Mac

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Jane Got Slapped

“What did you say?” Jack couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

Even Peter was taken aback.

“I said, why do I have to kneel? Are you a mob boss or something? Are you seriously considering physically harming your daughter?” Jane retorted, remaining as composed as ever.

Her expression was calm, like that of a peaceful pond, but beneath the surface, a flame was burning.

Jane wasn’t being angry at the Fowler family.

Since she no longer cared about them, she could no longer hate them; instead, she only felt apathy.

For some reason, this made Jane remember the time in her previous life when she had obeyed Jack’s command and knelt in fear.

She had tried desperately to defend herself against baseless accusations and demands, but no one had listened.

When Peter saw Madelyn sobbing, he lost his temper and severely smacked Jane.

Jane had to apologize, fearing that her family would be angry. She had no choice but to put up with all the false accusations and carry the weight of things she had never done.

Now she wondered why she had been such an idiot and had lived a life devoid of dignity in her previous life.

Jane was now mad at her old self.

“Great. I see you’ve grown some backbone to disobey me,” said Jack, who was genuinely furious this time. He was about to slap Jane and raise his hand.

At that moment, “Dad, don’t!” Madelyn suddenly shouted.

Her words abruptly halted Jack’s hand in mid–air.

Anna looked at Madelyn with a shocked expression and asked, “Sweetheart, what are you…?”

Madelyn was sobbing and yelling at the same time, her voice becoming hoarse as she appeared to be on the verge of passing out from a lack of oxygen. “Don’t hit Janie, Dad, please don’t… She’s your biological daughter anyway!”

Jack was momentarily brought back to his senses when he heard the words “biological daughter.

He cast a profound and thoughtful look in Jane’s direction.

Whether Jack wanted to admit it or not, the woman in front of him was of his own blood.

However, when he took Jane home, Jack had no idea Jane would turn out to be such a crafty brat.

Eventually, Anna spoke up and said, “Jack, let’s talk this out, don’t let this get physical.”

Jane was still Anna’s biological daughter, even though it tore at Anna’s heart to see Madelyn in so much discomfort

“Maddie is just too kind to her,” Peter muttered to himself.

Peter couldn’t figure out why Madelyn was still trying to protect Jane when she was so upset.

As he watched Madelyn endure pain without complaint, his heart felt like it was being ripped in two.

Now Peter was really hoping Madelyn was their real sister instead of Jane, which was so unfair.

Jack took a few deep breaths and tried to calm the raging fire that was in his chest.

“Jane, do you know what you did wrong?” Asked Jack, trying to make himself sound as calm as possible. “No, I don’t,” Jane replied without hesitation, her answer simple and direct.

All of the people in the room were taken aback by her response.

They couldn’t believe how drastically different Jane’s behavior was compared to how it had been before. She used to be timid and always tried to please them, but now she seems confident and unafraid.

“No, you don’t? You didn’t just say that,” Jack exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide open.

“No, I don’t,” Jane repeated her answer deliberately, now that Jack wasn’t sure what he had heard.

No matter how many times Jack asked her, she would always say “no.”

Her eyes were as dark and icy as they possibly could be as she continued to fix them on Jack. Jack suddenly felt a chill running down his spine.

Jack had never before witnessed that look in Jane’s eyes, it was one he had never seen before.

Now he realized that Jane had changed into a totally different person.

As the former Emeritus Chairman of the Fowler Corporation, he has had the opportunity to interact with a diverse range of people throughout his career.

Jack had now retired and handed over the family business to his grown children because they were finally of age to take it over.

Despite his advanced age, his business sense and keen eye remained intact.

“Please, Daddy and Mommy, stop! That’s enough!” Madelyn cried as she came to Jane’s side.

“Don’t come any closer to her, Maddie!” Jack yelled as he looked at Madelyn anxiously.

He was worried that Jane would hurt Madelyn again.

Jane’s chest tightened for an instant, but she quickly forced the discomfort out of her mind.

She had finally come to terms with the reality of her family situation and resolved that she would no longer struggle to win their approval. As a result, the pain no longer caused her any discomfort, and she was confident that the wound on her heart would close up quickly.

Madelyn cried out, “Janie, I know who you really are now. You are the real Fowler family daughter. I understand that you pretended to be a distant relative in order to spare my feelings, and I apologize for that.

“In any case, I’d like to have the position returned to you because I no longer care about it. If you think I am making things more difficult for you here, I am more than willing to leave and not return.”

Madelyn sobbed uncontrollably as she spoke, her tears falling like shattered beads.

Everyone else, except maybe Jane, felt sorry for Madelyn.

Tears were also falling from the eyes of Anna, who was standing behind Madelyn.

“No one gets to make you leave!” Anna said firmly, “I know Jane is my real daughter, but she can never do that!”

Jack then added, “Blood ties will never change how we feel about each other. Regardless of what happens, my daughter, you will always be the heiress of the Fowler family.”

“Daddy…” Madelyn sobbed.

Madelyn couldn’t hold back her tears and sobbed into Jack’s arms.

“Daddy, I’m so scared, Daddy…” She muttered.

Jack reassured her. “It’s okay, I’m here. No one can hurt you!”

When he finished, Jack gave Jane a stern look.

One tear from Madelyn was all it took to fan Jack’s suspicions about Jane into a raging inferno of fury.

Jane, on the other hand, stood there, quiet and unconcerned, as if the whole thing had nothing to do with her

She even smiled as if she were just a bystander in this family drama.

“Jane, does your heart even work? Do you not feel even the slightest need to apologize to Madelyn after seeing this?” Unable to take it any longer, Peter intervened while staring angrily at Jane.

Jane almost burst into laughter.

Her gaze was ironic as it landed on Peter.

She didn’t say anything, but Peter understood that she was judging him condescendingly.

Peter felt ashamed because his sister, whom he had never acknowledged and secretly hoped was dead, had embarrassed him in front of everyone.

With a burst of rage, he reached for his phone and immediately opened the day’s most popular trend.

Then he gave the phone to Jane while shouting, “Look at what you’ve done! Don’t blame us if you feel wronged!”

When Jane looked down at the phone, she saw that the first trending topic was “The True Fowler Heiress Exposed.”

While Peter clicked in, Jane took in more information about the current trending topic..

There were rumors that someone abducted Jane from the hospital soon after her birth, and she didn’t

resurface for another nineteen years. The Fowler Company had recently acknowledged her.

There were also pictures of Jane going in and out of the Fowler residence, going to college, and taking part in Fowler family events.

The second trending topic is about Madelyn: “Madelyn Fowler’s Future Life.”

The comments made in response to these topics were a complete and utter mess.

People couldn’t stop tweeting about what they thought about it.

“Real heiress vs. fake heiress? This is going to be a good show.”

“The saga of a wealthy family playing out.”

“Unbelievable! Fowler Corporation’s stock even went up because of this. Can you believe it?”

“Madelyn is like a little princess to the Fowlers and is always at their parties, so it’s no surprise she’s a family favorite.”

“But looking at the photos, the real heiress they found isn’t so bad either. She’s pretty, too.”

“But her demeanor is far worse than Madelyn’s. After all, she’s been out there for many years, and her upbringing can’t be fixed.”

Jane looked at the phone and remained expressionless, asking Peter, “What’s your point?”