“Larson? Has Michael finally come to his senses?” Matthew was shocked. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter who’s behind all this. I’ll help anyone who would get rid of Sophia! Send someone to the Larson family and tell Heather everything Sophia did back then. Tell her every dirty bit and let’s see how she reacts.”“On it!”The rich women of upper-class society always knew one another. Although they did not talk much most of the time, they would definitely keep in touch from time to time. Fred found a rich lady who had conflicts with Sophia and asked her to pay Heather a visit.On the other hand, Heather had always loved Serena and that adoration was completely overcome with disgust after her tricks were exposed. Heather did not even know how to feel anymore.Michael got home only to see Heather sitting on the couch with annoyance all over her face.He did not have the energy to entertain his mother and headed for the stairs instead. Seeing how depressed her son looked, Heather’s mood w
Everyone knew about Hoover Alley. It was a messy neighborhood with all kinds of thugs. Whenever one thought of that place, one would be reminded of a certain kind of vocabulary. It was a dirty, evil, and chaotic place.Sophia always looked so elegant and had a picture-perfect reputation. Who would ever expect her to come from a place like that? She even had an indecent nickname that made her sound like a prostitute. Heather’s heart was consumed with discomfort. She had no idea about all of this, but today’s incidents really changed the way she thought about Sophia.After all, Heather and Sophia were rather close in the past. As Madam Parker went on to talk badly about Sophia, Heather felt her face burning in embarrassment as if she had been struck across the face.“I gotta admit that Sophia is beautiful. She must’ve been way prettier during her youth, which is how she got that kind of nickname, I suppose.”Madam Parker disagreed with what she said. “That doesn’t mean she can be a
Now that Madam Parker had verified what happened back then, the truth was finally out. Christina was the daughter of the wife who had been driven to her death and was even chased out of her home!Heather sat on the sofa, baffled by what she had just learned. Her chest felt so tight that she found it hard to breathe.Back then, Heather’s father had an affair with another woman and this caused her mother to die out of sadness. Heather’s fate was better than her mother’s as she married into the Larson family and had a husband who loved her deeply.She went through so much because of that mistress and now that she thought about it, Christina was actually going through the same thing. They were both victims of a ruined family. Christina was even more pitiful than she was. She was in love with her son, yet Heather was such an evil mother-in-law who tore both of them apart.Moreover, she was also prepared to let Christina’s sworn enemy, Serena, be wedded into the Larson family. At this
“You also said that Wendy has a bad reputation. Perhaps she was just defaming Serena on purpose in return for money?”“What’s wrong with you today, Heather? Why do you keep siding with the mistress?” Madam Parker wondered. “What’s Serena’s identity? She’s the mayor’s daughter! Even if Wendy had balls of steel, she would never defame a mayor’s daughter! This means that it’s true!“I’m pretty sure you don’t know about the clip that has been circulating online since yesterday. In the short video, Serena could be seen screaming at a nurse in the hospital. Her language was filled with vulgarities and she didn’t even care about her reputation!”Heather felt her heart sink. She had seen the clip, and if Madam Parker knew about it, that meant a lot more people must have already seen it as well.However much she wanted to believe otherwise, she knew that flies were only attracted to rotten meat. Serena was not as simple-minded as she looked.Heather thought about how nice and trusting she
Wendy was not happy about the fact that she had been abandoned, so she stalked Serena every day. Eventually, having had enough of it, Serena started to threaten Wendy and her family members. She was determined to get Wendy off her back.Wendy felt very uncomfortable as she thought of all the things she had done and troubles she had gotten into for Serena over the years, and the idea of revenge popped up in her head.Just when she was at the lowest point of her life, a beautiful lady found her and paid her a handsome sum in return for her to expose what Serena had done. Wendy was initially afraid that Serena might take her revenge back on her and hence did not have the guts to do so. However, when she saw how much money she was offered, she changed her mind.Without Serena, Wendy could always find another rich family and leech off their riches. She could still be as respectable as she had been in the past.After Wendy had accepted the money, she followed this missus around and att
John let out a snort. “What menopause? You must’ve done something to offend her. Didn’t I tell you to watch what you’re saying when you socialize with the wives? Director Hitchcock is getting a promotion soon and we can’t afford to offend people like them now.”Sophia felt wronged when John reproached her but she did not dare to stand up for herself either. Sophia held in her anger until they got home, trying to find out why the wives had been ignoring her but she could not come up with an explanation.Heather felt like she was losing her mind at home for the past few days. Had she been living her life in nothing but lies and deception?Truth be told, she did not have a good first impression of Serena but changed her mind when her friend Winona praised how kind and beautiful Serena was. As the praises increased, Heather was soon indoctrinated by it and started to have a liking towards Serena.Although she liked Serena, Heather had never wanted her to end up with her son. That was u
Of course, Heather did not know the woman’s part in this incident. Treating Winona as her best friend, Heather was under the impression that they were both deceived by Serena, so she showed Winona the video she had just received“Look, I even received this before Madam Parker told me all this stuff.”Winona was taken aback by the video as she thought who on earth would plan to trick Serena? Despite feeling surprised, she did not betray it. Instead, she tried to explain the matter to Heather to keep her from doubting it.“Serena’s been feeling down after Christina hit her. According to the doctor, she might have been traumatized. Sophia also said that Serena has been acting out of character these days, often throwing a tantrum like a maniac. When Serena returned to normal, Sophia asked her what happened and Serena’s answer seemed like she was having hallucinations which are likely to happen only when she feels out of control.” ‘Hallucination and mania? Aren’t these characteristics
“Someone must have exposed it. Think of a solution to this issue now. If Heather finds out about other stuff, we’ll be in danger.”Sophia’s expression was frighteningly grim.Since someone had secretly exposed the dirt on Serena and even other affairs associated with her this time, immediate action was needed to solve this issue. “What’s the matter, Mom?” Serena was shocked to discover Sophia’s grim look.“Madam Parker visited Heather and said a lot of unpleasant remarks about us,” Sophia briefly explained the matter.Serena did not step out of the house all this while. She simply stayed at home to take care of the baby in her belly. All she hoped for was to gain power through her son so that she could successfully turn from a peasant into a princess.Upon receiving such news out of the blue, Serena panicked. “Mom, what should I do? You told me that everything would be alright as long as I please Heather, but she’s starting to hate me now. What should I do?” “Don’t panic. You’
In fact, Matthew was the one who planned this entire thing. He had been keeping a close eye on Rachel since she returned.He could let bygones be bygones if she was willing to settle down. However, the woman did not learn from past mistakes and once again partnered up with Serena to plot against Christina.Matthew went along with their plan. He even found someone to set this up to lure them into the trap.Christina’s due date was approaching after Rachel and Serena were taken care of. Michael began making preparations for Travis’ transplant operation.He hired the best hematologist and gynecologist before arranging for both Christina and Travis’ operation to take place in the same hospital.The delivery went smoothly. Christina gave birth to a baby girl, and Heather was over the moon.Everything had gone well, and it was about time to start on Travis’ operation. Christina was accompanied by Matthew and Rachel whereas Heather stayed close by the baby’s side. Michael comforted Chri
Besides, even if the plan failed, intentionally causing a pregnant woman to miscarry was not considered homicide by the country’s criminal law. The punishment was less serious as the behavior would be categorized as an assault occasioning bodily harm.Assault and criminal homicide were two completely different crimes.Rachel agreed to the suggestion. Scarface was indeed a ruthless man. He came up with this vicious revenge that would put Christina in pain forever.Upon agreeing on the details of the plan, Scarface and his friends from the streets proceeded to kidnap Christina. Rachel and Serena were told to sit tight and wait for the good news.Scarface had a well-thought-out plan and got his hands on Christina before long. Her head was covered with a black cloth as they forcefully pushed her into the van.Serena and Rachel were already at the agreed-upon location when Scarface instructed Christina to step out of the vehicle. The latter’s belly was round, and both of her hands were
Serena lost everything. She had no choice but to work as a bargirl to survive.Scarface was the person in charge of the bar she worked at. The ruthless man had pretty much slept with every woman who worked at his place. Naturally, Serena could not escape from that fate either.Serena was different from other bargirls. She came from a prestigious family and was highly educated. Even in dire straits, she still maintained a certain grace that made her stand out from the crowd.Scarface spotted her on her first day at the bar. He ordered his men to drag her into the private room and tortured her the entire night.She resisted in the beginning. However, without anyone to depend on, she had no choice but to give into Scarface’s tyrannical abuse.Several times later, he found himself attracted to her. Every night, he would ask for her instead of other women.Serena, who could not escape from him, gave in eventually. She even ended up becoming his lover.By doing so, she found someone t
“Just a little while ago.” Sean came closer. “Christina, we need to talk.”She nodded and followed him to the garden. He helped her to get comfortable on the bench. “Do you believe in fate?”She shook her head, unsure where this was leading. “I didn’t either as I’m a firm believer that hard work always pays off. But now I do.”He looked her in the eye. “I’ve been lost and struggled a lot since that incident, unsure how to face you. After considering this seriously for the past few days, I’ve finally mustered enough courage to meet you again.”A sigh escaped her lips. “Sorry, Sean. It’s all my fault.”“No! It has nothing to do with you, Christina. It’s my fault that my love is not strong enough. I discovered that Suzy is really great after spending the past few months with her. She’s just like you. She’s gentle, kind, pure, and adorable. I realized I’ve fallen in love with her.”This was not what he really thought.He loved Christina since the beginning of time and believed he
“That’s old history. We think Michael is actually pretty good.”“We? Who do you mean?” Christina teased.Ariel and Matthew had been spending a lot of time together lately. Christina went through that herself and understood the passion in her friend’s eyes. This silly girl was actually in love. She could not be happier for her.“Who else? Matthew, of course!” Ariel glared at Christina.“I say whatever’s on my mind, unlike you, who always keep everything to yourself and get stuck in dilemmas. Every good opportunity slips past you because of your indecisiveness!” “How can I not be? I promised to marry him but I’m now trying to convince him to marry someone else. Is this really the best thing for him? Will he be happy?”Ariel questioned after a brief silence, “Christina, let me ask you this. Who do you care for more? Michael or Sean?”Christina asked herself the same question too. She naturally cared more about Michael in the past, but she also started to develop a strong feeling f
The following morning, Serena hurried to the police station to file a report.The police treated this with high importance and warned her to be careful of Darren Cain as he was a vicious gang member who had served over a decade in prison.She became more frightened after hearing that. Immediately, she moved out of that house and rented a place somewhere quiet. As she was terrified, she stayed indoors for the next few days.Much of Christina’s stress was relieved without having to deal with Serena’s pestering.“Christina, John was at the last stage of cancer. It was lucky enough that he lasted until he did. This is his fate, so try not to get too upset.” Francis comforted the dispirited woman. It did not make any difference even though he was not the real Francis. He had long adapted to the identity after assuming it for so many years. Most importantly, Christina was still willing to treat him like a real uncle even after finding out the truth.“Don’t worry, Uncle, I’m fine.”
The harassment continued after the funeral. Serena went around spreading accusations and threatened Christina to give her money. Otherwise, she would report John to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for private corruption.If reported, the antique art collection would be seized and no one could get it!Christina became more frustrated after hearing that.She never expected John’s leniency toward Serena would cause her such a big problem. Matthew was infuriated by Serena’s unreasonable behavior. He suggested they could shut the woman up by teaching her a lesson. Sean shook his head. “That’s not going to solve the problem. Serena must’ve come prepared if she dares to stir up trouble. This is a lawful society. We can’t do as we wish.”“Are we actually going to pay her off then?” Ariel asked, “I think giving her money isn’t going to put an end to this. She’s certainly going to keep threatening for more!”Michael scoffed. “Why should we give her money? She can go
“I will, Dad, don’t worry. I’ll listen to Sister,” Suzy replied.“Christina.” John grabbed Christina’s hand in his own. “My greatest regret in this life is failing to take good care of you and your mother. I’m going to meet your mother soon. I hope she’ll forgive me!”Tears rolled down Christina’s cheeks. Men would speak kindly in the presence of death. She was unsure if Molly would forgive him, but she had long forgiven her father.He strained to pull Suzy and Christina’s hands closer together as he looked at them with pleading eyes. “The both of you must live peacefully together. Suzy, listen to your sister, and Christina, you must take good care of her on my behalf.”Christina looked at Suzy before nodding quietly. Then, John shifted his glance to Michael.“I’ve done many wrongs in this life. I betrayed my wife and disappointed my daughter. I hope you’ll do better than me. I’ll hand over Christina to you now. I’ll come back to haunt you as a stubborn ghost if you dare to wr
Suzy felt guilt-ridden and knew she was not in the position to demand anything from Christina. However, her mother had gone mad. She did not wish to see Christina continuing the fight with her mother.At a loss for what to do, she cried her heart out while in Christina’s arms.Sean felt a heavy feeling in his chest. He knew Christina too well after all the years they spent together. She was a soft-hearted person behind her stubborn facade. Seeing others in sorrow was her greatest weakness.There was no doubt she would choose to forgive Suzy and accept her as her sister.If that was the case, then the marriage between them was destined to fail. Christina would reject him for the sake of the child in her sister’s belly.At this moment, he was thinking of how everything was falling apart at this moment even after he had consistently pursued her all these years. He stood there in a daze for a long time before finally heaving a sigh.Perhaps this was their destiny. Suzy cried for a