Chapter 20 Sure enough , the moment Aria sat down , Willow got straight to the point . " The Whitmore Group recently ran into some trouble . Luckily , thanks to the support of the Rhodes family in Kiolria , we landed several major projects that helped us weather the storm . Tessa is really lucky to have such a powerful backer . " " Aria listened quietly . The Rhodes family in Kiolria ? Only one person came to mind : Bennett . So they'd already made their alliance this early . The last bit of goodwill Aria had toward Bennett vanished instantly . Now , all she felt was a tingling scalp ; some things just couldn't be avoided , no matter how much you ran . " Oh , well , that's great then . So you called me just to tell me this ? " She picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip . Bitter , just like her fate . Willow slid a document across to her . " Tessa has been a good girl since childhood , never causing trouble . But because she's adopted , she wasn't entitled to any of the Whitmore family's Chapter 20 assets . " " This time , she contributed greatly to the Whitmore Group . She deserves some compensation . Her backer is the Rhodes family , with such a strong tree to lean on , the Whitmore Group is sure to thrive , " she added . As she spoke , Willow handed Aria a pen . " Aria , why don't you give a third of your stores to Tessa ? When she succeeds in the future , she definitely won't forget you as her sister ." Aria set down her coffee , showing no intention of taking the pen . " Grandma , you're really joking . Since Tessa is backed by the Rhodes family , why would she care about these small favors in my hands ? Don't you think so ? " Aria said . " If she doesn't want them , I'll keep them myself . I'm not greedy , as long as I don't starve , it's fine , " she added . Tessa's ambitions kept growing . She wanted her parents , brothers , and fiance , but nobody was allowed to touch her interests . As long as she didn't cross Aria's bottom line , she could all get along . But if Aria chose to stir up trouble and step over that line , she Chapter 20 wouldn't hesitate to slap her down . She'd already grabbed onto Bennett's big , strong arm , yet still wanted a third of Aria's stores ? In her dreams . Did she think she was a pushover ? Willow's hand holding the pen hesitated ; honestly , Aria had a point . But something still felt off . Recalling what Tessa had said before , Willow pushed the store transfer agreement closer . " Aria , you've got so many stores . Giving Tessa a slice won't hurt you . Just sign it . " Aria glanced at the agreement , bitterly laughing at what ' family ' meant . Since soft words didn't work , she might as well be blunt and lay her cards on the table . " Tessa has the Rhodes family backing her . The biggest beneficiary is the Whitmore Group , not me . Why should I hand over what's mine ? " Chapter 20 " If you want to compensate her , why not just give her a stake in the company ? Why fixate on my worthless little stores ? " Aria knew Tessa wouldn't get shares in the Whitmore Group ; this was just to annoy her . Who wouldn't get annoyed ? Grandpa arranged the inheritance legally before he died ; shares only go to the boys . Every girl in the Whitmore family got plenty of stores , enough for a lifetime of comfort . But because Tessa wasn't a blood daughter , she was excluded . She'd been heartbroken over this for a long time . And she wasn't stupid ; she wanted more than this . If she got a third this time , next time she'd want all the stores . The appetite only grows bigger . After all , a dog can't be taught not to eat crap . In the previous life , Tessa used her connection with Bennett to snatch everything from Aria's hands . Only now the timeline was different . Chapter 20 Willow was so angry she struggled to breathe . " Aria , what are you talking about ? All this was given to you by the Whitmore family . This is just a partial transfer , not asking for everything . Why take it so seriously ? " " You think if you don't sign , I can't do anything ? Taking back your entire estate would be a matter of minutes . "