The Contracted Stripper

Ryan sat frozen, his eyes locked on Mrs. Jessica as she unraveled the dark and tangled web of his family’s past.

The shock of what she was saying hit him like a tidal wave, leaving him reeling with disbelief and confusion.

“I knew your father had skeletons in his closet,” Ryan muttered, shaking his head slowly, “but I never imagined it would be this bad.”Mrs. Jessica’s eyes were weary, filled with years of pain that she had buried deep inside.

“Ryan,” she said softly, “you were just a child when all of this happened. You couldn’t have known. But the truth is, your family has done unspeakable things.”Ryan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to process it all.

“So, my father… he forced you into a relationship?” He glanced at Luca, who remained silent, watching the conversation unfold with a grim expression.

Mrs. Jessica nodded, her voice filled with a mixture of shame and bitterness. “I didn’t want to do it,” she explained. “I knew it was wrong. I knew being involved with him would only end in disaster, but I didn’t have much choice. He made it clear that if I refused, I’d be out of a job, with no way to support myself.

Back then, it was all I had.”Ryan clenched his fists, his frustration boiling over. “And my mother… she didn’t know?”

“At first, no,” Mrs. Jessica replied, her eyes narrowing. “But she was clever, and she noticed the change in your father’s behavior. He was always with me, always finding reasons to keep me close. Eventually, she caught on and became suspicious.”Ryan lowered his head, his heart sinking.

“I remember bits and pieces of you,” he admitted, glancing up at her. “You were always kind to me. I never understood why you suddenly left, but now it makes sense. My mother framed you.”Mrs. Jessica let out a bitter laugh. “Yes, your mother was ruthless.

She couldn’t stand the idea of another woman being close to your father. She was cunning and always had her way of getting rid of people she didn’t like. So, she framed me for attempting to poison him.”

Ryan’s jaw tightened. “That’s insane. My father didn’t believe her, did he?”

“He didn’t know what to believe,” Mrs. Jessica said, her voice softening. “The evidence was all there-the poisoned food, the planted items in my room. He didn’t want to believe it, but your mother had set it up so well. He couldn’t risk the scandal or the backlash, so he had no choice but to make me leave.”

“And that’s when you told him you were pregnant,” Ryan added, his voice quiet.

Mrs. Jessica’s face twisted with sadness as she nodded. “Yes. I thought it would change things. I thought maybe he would protect me, that he would take responsibility for the child.

But he didn’t want the complication. He told me to get rid of it, gave me some money, and sent me away. That’s when I was ambushed.”

Ryan looked horrified. “Ambushed? By who?”Mrs. Jessica swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly. “On my way out of the city, I was kidnapped. A group of men grabbed me, tied me up, and told me they had orders to kill me.”Ryan felt a cold shiver run down his spine. “Kill you? My father… he wouldn’t have…”Mrs. Jessica shook her head, her expression hardening.

“It wasn’t your father. It was your mother, Rose. She couldn’t stand the thought of me still being alive, knowing what I knew about her and Dr. Parker.”

Ryan exchanged a stunned glance with Luca, who had been listening intently. “So, she was having an affair with Dr. Parker all along?” Luca asked, his voice full of disbelief.”Yes,” Mrs. Jessica confirmed. “I overheard one of their phone conversations.

They were discussing something about a pregnancy, though I didn’t fully understand it at the time. I kept their secret, thinking it was none of my business. But Rose… she must’ve seen me as a threat. She had to get rid of me.”From NôvelDrama.Org.

Ryan felt sick. His mother, who had always seemed so polished, so perfect, was hiding a dark secret all along. “And she sent men to kill you?” he whispered.

Mrs. Jessica nodded. “Yes. They were going to execute me, but I pleaded with one of the men, told him I was pregnant, and that I just wanted to disappear. After hours of begging, he finally agreed to help me escape. He told me it was Mrs. Rose who had ordered my death.”

Ryan sat back in his chair, his mind spinning. Everything he had known about his family, about his mother, was unraveling. He was starting to question everything.”I escaped,” Mrs. Jessica continued, her voice filled with emotion.

“I ran as far as I could, trying to stay off the radar. A few months later, I found out I was pregnant with twins. I was devastated. I could barely feed myself, and now I had two babies on the way.”

Ryan’s heart clenched with guilt. He couldn’t imagine what she must’ve gone through alone, terrified, with no one to turn to.”I did whatever I could to survive,”

Mrs. Jessica said, her voice quiet. “Odd jobs, anything that paid. But it was never enough. When the twins were born, I didn’t know how I was going to take care of both of them.”

Ryan leaned forward, his voice barely a whisper. “And that’s when you had to make the hardest decision of your life.”Mrs. Jessica nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

“Yes. I couldn’t keep both of them. I could barely feed one, let alone two. So, I chose to give Ivy to your father. I thought she would have a better life, that she would be safe with him. But I kept Iris, my sweet Iris. She was all I had left.”

The room was heavy with silence, each word hanging in the air like a weight on Ryan’s chest. He was trying to wrap his mind around everything-his mother’s betrayal, his father’s coldness, and now, the knowledge that Iris was his half-sister. It was too much.

“I never wanted to be part of your world again,” Mrs. Jessica said, her voice filled with sorrow. “But they found us. Bella and Victor-they figured out who Iris was and decided to use her as a pawn in their twisted game for control of the Kendrick empire.”

Ryan’s eyes filled with rage. “They’ll pay for this,” he said through gritted teeth. “Bella and Victor-they won’t get away with it.”Mrs. Jessica shook her head sadly.

“You can’t fight them alone, Ryan. They’re dangerous. They’re willing to do anything to get what they want.”Luca, who had been silent for most of the conversation, finally spoke up.

“Mrs. Jessica’s right. We need to be smart about this. We can’t just charge in without a plan.”Ryan sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I know. But we can’t just sit here and do nothing.

Iris is still out there, and we need to find her.”Luca nodded. “Agreed. But first, we need to gather more information. We need to figure out where they’re holding her and what their next move is.”

Mrs. Jessica’s eyes filled with worry. “Please, just find my daughter,” she whispered. “She’s all I have left.”Ryan stood up, his mind racing with determination.

“We will,” he promised. “I won’t rest until she’s safe.”