“Bribed him? He came to me, ready to betray your father for his gain."

Nicole's world crumbled. Brett, the man she trusted, had deceived them.

In a frenzy, she ripped the documents to shreds, letting the pieces fall to the ground.

Jarrod leaned against the car, lighting a cigarette nonchalantly.

“Tear them up all you want. I can easily piece them together again."

Hearing this, Nicole acted irrationally. She began stuffing the torn pieces into her mouth, swallowing them desperately.

Nicole continued to push more paper into her mouth, her actions becoming increasingly frantic.

Initially, Jarrod watched with a sense of detached amusement. However, as she persisted, his amusement turned to concern.

Was she really intending to swallow all those pieces?

Dropping his cigarette, Jarrod stepped forward to stop her. Anger flared in his expression as he demanded, “Have you lost your mind?

Spit them out!"

But Nicole seemed oblivious, her mouth tightly shut as she swallowed the dry, sharp fragments.

The paper scraped her throat painfully, like a blade cutting through her.

Jarrod, now furious, grasped her chin firmly.

“Spit them out!"

Nicole, ignoring him, struggled to continue, her throat emitting a pained rasp.

Using his fingers, Jarrod pried open her mouth, scolding, “Are you insane? Swallowing these won't change anything. They're just backups!"

Backups... Realization dawned on Nicole. Of course, Jarrod wouldn't have given her the originals. How hilarious! These were all backups!

She allowed Jarrod to remove the paper from her mouth, her throat raw and painful. The bloodied paper remnants looked like diseased cells, a gruesome sight.

Jarrod dragged her out and began to rinse her mouth with mineral water.