Sophia was relieved to have dealt with Benedict and Yvonne. She was planning to hide somewhere outside with Davis for some time and snoop on the situation for fear that things would be exposed. Michael had been keeping a watchful eye on all their movements. If he found out that they were going to run off, he would immediately order Logan to take action.Mary’s beauty salon was forced to close down that day because someone reported that groups of people were engaged in prostitution in the store. The money kept in the store and bank had all been seized as the outcome of the investigation had yet to be determined.Ever since Davis and his sister’s investment failed, the beauty salon became their only source of income. Without money, they could not survive either.Sophia swiftly left the place, but Davis could not leave at this point as his sister had been sent to jail. He needed to save his sister from jail.These days, the slogan for the well-known project in the city had been so
Christina was anxious deep down. Nevertheless, she had no choice but to wait for the outcome of the emergency treatment. Christina comforted Miss Laura while holding her hand. “John will be fine!” Even so, how could Christina feel relieved? The person undergoing emergency treatment right now was her father. After all, she could not erase her relationship with him as blood was thicker than water.The door of the emergency room was finally open. When the doctor came out, Christina immediately approached him. “How’s his condition?”“He has terminal stomach cancer,” the doctor answered.“How’s that possible?” Christina stared at the doctor, thinking that she heard it wrong. “Could it be a mistake?”“No. Mayor John has long since known about his stomach cancer, but he has been hiding it from his family. He refused to undergo surgery and kept going through conservative therapy instead. Now…”The doctor sighed. “It’s high time he had surgery. Considering Mayor John’s old age, the surge
Upon gesturing for Michael to sit down, John turned his gaze to Christina. “Christina, please go out with Miss Laura first. I have something to tell Michael.”Christina stood up and walked out with Miss Laura. After the door was closed, John let out a long sigh. “I don’t have much time left.”“Just focus on getting well. You’ll recover with the treatment offered by the doctor.” Michael comforted him. “I’m well aware of my health. I called you over today to tell you something.” John sighed heavily. “I’ll soon be held in detention!”“What are you saying?” Michael was shocked. “When is this going to happen?” “I haven’t been officially informed about it, but it’s probably going to happen soon. I called you over to make arrangements for my affairs later on.” John had mixed feelings when he looked at Michael. “I’m counting on you to look after Christina. I hope you’ll treat her well.”“You can rest assured that I’ll treat her well,” Michael promised. “I don’t think your matter is tha
As Winona did not believe him, Tommy brought over two of his previous cellmates who had gotten out of jail a few months earlier than him to Winona’s house.Seeing these people who had been in jail, Winona was even more intimidated as they had committed crimes. She was worried that they would actually call the police once something happened to Tommy. In that case, she would be in big trouble.Having learned his mistakes, Tommy had become clever.He was currently more alert after knowing that it was his cousin, Sophia, and Winona who plotted against him back then. This time, he came back to take revenge. He could not let those b*tchy women trick him again. Dissatisfied, Winona could not resign herself to this situation by allowing Tommy, that villain, to boss her around. Therefore, she began to secretly contact some people who were connected to the underground scene in an attempt to make Tommy disappear without anyone knowing it.As long as she was careful enough not to leave any t
Christina’s heart sank when she realized what was going on. Did John really run into serious trouble? She stood frozen to the spot, her thoughts in a whirl. John, who then caught sight of Christina, felt that having his daughter see him getting arrested by the police was a total humiliation. He would rather die than let his daughter watch this scene.However, he could not escape from the situation at all. Deep down, he was depressed by Christina’s shocked gaze. He forced open his dry lips and uttered, “Christina”.“Dad!” Christina said while sobbing.“Christina!” John’s voice was filled with guilt and remorse. He looked at Christina, saying, “Christina, I’m sorry for embarrassing you like this!”He stumbled past Christina upon saying that. The sight of his slightly hunched body made Christina’s hot tears trickle down.Amid her tears, John’s figure was getting blurry. It took Christina a while before she came back to her senses. The moment she regained her senses, she quickly sta
Serena glanced sideways at Tommy who was of medium height with tanned skin. He was a pretty scrawny man whose creepy face made him look like an evil person.Considering that Winona had always mingled with people of high status, Serena wondered when she became acquainted with such a creepy-looking tramp. Showing no interest in Tommy, she snorted. “Uncle? Sir, don’t randomly acknowledge yourself as my relative.” “Really, I’m your uncle. Your mom is my cousin,” Tommy explained his relationship with Sophia to Serena. Having spent quite a considerable amount of time in Hoover Alley, Serena could instantly see what kind of a person Tommy was. He had to be a hooligan in Hoover Alley. She then impatiently interrupted his words, “But I’ve never heard this from my mom.”She raised her voice to call Winona. “I’m hungry, Aunty Winona. Can you hurry up?”“It’s ready.” Winona cheerfully brought the food out. As it was her first time preparing a meal for her daughter, Winona was both happy and
After having a plan in mind, Serena began to approach Tommy with an ulterior motive.“Uncle Tommy, I didn’t recognize you as I was too young to remember what happened back then. I’m sorry about that. Let me treat you to a meal, okay?”Of course, Tommy was more than happy to accept the offer as Serena sounded sincere. Moreover, she was going to bring him to a large and high-end restaurant.Having been tricked by Sophia previously, Tommy was aware of Sophia’s cruelty. Little did he realize that the innocent-looking woman in front of him was actually a cruel person as well.Very soon, Tommy had forgotten how Serena initially treated him with indifference and disdain. He began to see her as a kind woman now.Upon noticing this, Serena treated Tommy more pleasantly to make him feel flattered.Up until now, Tommy had completely dropped his guard in front of Serena. On this day, Serena deliberately took him to the place near Christina’s house and ambled around the area. Coincidentally
Christina glanced at Tommy. “Who are you? Does it have anything to do with you?”“I’m her uncle. Since you bullied my niece, it certainly has something to do with me.”“Birds of a feather, huh?” Christina snickered. She then pulled Travis and turned around without bothering Tommy.“You slapped someone, but you’re planning to leave just like that? Is there no justice?” Tommy boiled with rage as he watched Christina turn around and leave. “Stop right there!”Deep down, Serena was delighted to see Tommy grab hold of Christina. Just as she was thinking about pushing Christina forward, a powerful voice rang out all of a sudden. “Get your dirty hands off of her!”The bodyguard whom Michael assigned to protect Christina appeared. He twisted Tommy’s hand behind his back and punched him twice in the face. During Tommy’s dizzy spells, the bodyguard even fiercely asked, “What are you planning to do? You’re tired of living, aren’t you?”Serena was shocked to see Tommy get beaten. There was a
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