At this moment, Zoey followed the instructions and arrived at the front desk of Golden Club, where she retrieved the room key. She took the elevator to the ninth floor and arrived at Room 915. After swiping the card, the door clicked open with a soft beep.Zoey entered, and the door closed automatically behind her. She looked around and found the room completely empty.Suddenly, a strong, pungent scent assaulted her senses. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized it—it was a type of aphrodisiac with a powerful sedative effect. Within about a minute, it would make her lose control.She walked quickly toward the door, but no matter how hard she twisted the handle, it wouldn’t budge. The scent grew stronger. She tugged at her clothes and started to shift her body, leaning against the wall for support.At that moment, the door swung open, and a man stepped inside.He chuckled maliciously, “Zoey, you’ve finally fallen into my hands!”Zoey stood her ground, leaning against the wall, and said col
Zoey asked, “When you entered the room, did you smell a fragrance?”Russell gave a soft hum, sensing something was wrong with his body and understanding her implication. “So, I’ve been affected?”Zoey nodded.Russell closed his eyes briefly, trying to control the agitation in his body. “Then why aren’t you or Nelson affected?”Zoey explained, “The fragrance has a strong effect, and you’re usually affected within a minute or so. I’m fine because I took an antidote beforehand. As for Nelson, he must have taken the antidote too. Otherwise, he’d have been completely disoriented by now and couldn’t control me. I forgot to warn you, sorry about that.”Russell took a deep breath. “Do you have any antidotes left?”Zoey glanced at him and said apologetically, “I only have one left in my bag. But I can give you a shot.”Russell looked around at the buildings on either side of the street. “We’re almost at our destination. I can hold out until we rescue Leanna.”Zoey asked, “Can you really hold it
Zoey knew that Russell’s patience had reached its limit. She said, "I have an apartment nearby. I'll take you there and administer the shot." Russell gave a low hum in acknowledgment, his fists clenched as the veins on the back of his hands bulged. Zoey started the car and hit the accelerator, heading straight for the apartment. Leanna watched as their car merged into the traffic, holding her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Such a carefree person, to laugh after just going through all that." Hearing a familiar male voice, Leanna whipped around, "Toby, I told you not to speak! I really suspect you have an incurable case of male chauvinism!" Toby, his hands tucked casually into his pockets, looked every bit the nobleman, a stark contrast to the bloodthirsty image he had earlier. "I saved you last night, and again today. Is this how you treat someone who saved your life?" Leanna pursed her lips. Toby was telling the truth, but that didn’t mean she wanted to hear it! "Well, t
At this moment, Nelson, lying in his hospital bed, had no idea that his parents were already plotting to save him.He requested the police to contact Russell, claiming he had important information about Zoey that needed to be discussed with him. The police reported it to the Chief, who didn’t immediately dismiss the request but instead contacted Russell for his opinion.Upon hearing it involved Zoey, Russell agreed.Soon, he received a call from Nelson.“Russell, given our blood relationship, can you let me off the hook?” Nelson asked.Russell replied coldly, “No.”Nelson had expected this response but was not ready to give up. He pressed on.Russell, losing patience, said, “If you hadn’t mentioned something about Zoey, I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now.”Nelson sneered, “Russell, you’re really heartless.”He complained for a moment, but worried that Russell might hang up, quickly added, “I have a video from eight years ago, from a bar, where Ariana set Zoey up with some thug
The crimson fire illuminated the night sky as windows shattered with a crisp sound, and thick black smoke billowed upwards. The air around Woodmerrow Hospital was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with the sharp, suffocating stench of smoke. People fled in every direction, their cries, screams, and coughing blending into one overwhelming cacophony.Medical staff tried to maintain order, guiding everyone toward the stairwells. The stairwells, which had been empty just moments before, now became overcrowded. The hospital had 17 floors, and the fire had broken out simultaneously on the 15th, 14th, and 13th floors. Nelson’s room was on the 13th floor, and it was severely affected.Just then, the entire building’s power system was cut off, and the backup generators failed. The building was plunged into darkness, and the fierce flames seemed to lash out like a beast in the night, threatening to consume everything in its path. Panic set in, and a stampede ensued in the stair
Upon hearing Zoey’s question, Russell nodded as well. “So, you’ve been thinking about that too?” Zoey gave a light hum in agreement. “This car accident left no trace at all, making it extremely difficult to investigate. It’s very unnatural.” Russell tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. “I’ve already handed the footage to the police, they’re looking into it.” “But if we can't confirm whether that body was Nelson's, I can’t relax. He’s like a ticking time bomb for us.” Russell gently lifted her in his arms and carried her to the large bed. “You didn’t sleep at all last night. Rest now.” Zoey, lost in thought, softly agreed. Russell lay down beside her. “Can’t sleep? Maybe we could do something else we enjoy?” Zoey remembered their first time, how Russell had teased her for an entire afternoon, leaving her legs weak even now. She whispered, “I’m a little tired.” Russell wasn’t serious—he was just teasing her. “Then close your eyes and don’t think about anyth
Zoey hugged Leanna and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Although both of them were wearing masks, their affection was still evident. Leanna blinked her big eyes. “W-What’s going on?” Zoey shared her thoughts. “If the truck was transporting a car, it would have been easy for Nelson to be moved. We could track the vehicles that appeared right before or after the truck disappeared from the surveillance footage.” Leanna was still a bit confused, but she could tell that Zoey had figured something out. She foolishly said, “Oh…” Zoey asked Leanna to keep looking for things while she made a call to Russell. Leanna nodded, relieved by Zoey’s happy and relaxed expression. Zoey called Russell and explained her theory. Russell agreed that it made a lot of sense and immediately called the police station to inform them. The police chief instructed officers to review the surveillance footage based on the new lead. Once Russell hung up, a smile crept across his lips. His girl was re
Zoey noticed the jealous look on Russell’s face and couldn't help but find it a bit amusing. "Jealous? Leanna is a girl!"Russell furrowed his brows, his tone deepening. "Just because she’s a girl, she can kiss her?""Of course! We often…"Russell pressed his thumb to her lips, interrupting her. "No, you can only kiss me, and only I can kiss you."Zoey felt his possessiveness, and it made her smile. She grabbed his wrist. "You're being unreasonable! It was just a kiss on the cheek, and with a mask on, too."Before she could finish, his kiss landed on her lips. This time, unlike the usual playful kisses, it was urgent and intense, with a hint of punishment in it.Zoey immediately understood that Russell was genuinely jealous. It dawned on her just how strong his possessiveness was, even over something as simple as a friendly gesture between girls.She responded gently, allowing him to deepen the kiss until it gradually softened.Russell's forehead rested against hers, his breath coming
Russell couldn't explain it this time, he raised his hand and pressed his forehead.To avoid suspicion, Troy directly transferred to Dalton's hospital when he arrived.When Dalton entered the ward and saw Layne, his heart was deeply shaken.This child looks exactly like Zoey, identical in every way.No wonder Russell recognized this ghostly-looking Zoey at first sight.The little one blinked his big eyes and sucked on a lollipop, "Uncle, you looked so handsome!"Dalton approached and asked Russell, "Is this your son?"Russell nodded and asked, "Are you handsome?"Yasmine was speechless."Looking handsome!" Dalton wanted to say, the male version of Zoey looks really good, even better than Russell, but he remembered Russell's advice not to mention Zoey's name in front of Yasmine. He wanted her to remember on her own, so he held back the rest of his words.He raised his hand and rubbed the little guy's head, "Does it
Yasmine glanced sideways and caught sight of Russell rushing towards her, momentarily stunned.She stood up from her seat and said, "How did you come?"When Russell passed by her, he raised his hand and gave the woman's shoulder a squeeze, "There won't be any problem."She said to the nurse, "I have the same blood type as my child, draw mine."The nurse asked, "Are you the child's father?"Yasmine exclaimed!The nurse looked surprised when she saw Yasmine and asked, "Is he the father of the child?"Yasmine was about to say no when she heard Russell say very confidently, "Yes!"The nurse pointed at Yasmine and asked, "And what about her?"Russell remained calm and composed as he uttered, "My mother-in-law has some opinions about me because I had an argument with her daughter."Yasmine was speechless.Russell raised an eyebrow and said, "Right, Mom? Layne needed a blood transfusion now, saving the child is th
Yasmine was initially startled, and then she began to struggle, but it was in vain.Russell was very skilled at using tricks to immobilize her."What did you want to do?"Russell smiled in his eyes and said, "I just wanted to ask you why you didn't take my pulse before giving me an injection."Yasmine did indeed forget about this matter, "It was my mistake, I apologize.""Do you have something on your mind?"Yasmine pursed her lips and denied, "No!""Are you still reminiscing about last night?" Russell had been thinking about keeping his distance from her after last night, but his body and mind couldn't help but want to get closer.He couldn't keep his distance!"I didn't!" Yasmine's voice involuntarily raised a few decibels.Russell saw that she was getting a little impatient, so he said, "Don't be angry, I let go."He slowly let go, and Yasmine pricked the needle.The needle was just about to stop
The next morning.Yasmine woke up and realized that Layne was not by her side.She heard the laughter of children outside the window, so she got out of bed and went to the window.Russell was watering the roses with Layne.Layne held the water hose with both hands, while Russell bent down and held his little hand to help him control the direction. They watched as the water splashed around, and Layne laughed heartily.Yasmine's lips curled slightly, and this scene was quite heartwarming.But the smile on her face gradually disappeared, none of these belonged to her, what was she expecting and longing for?She wanted to find out as soon as possible if the Huffman family's tragedy was related to Russell.After she finished washing up, she reapplied her previous makeup and went outside the villa to call Layne back.Children are easily dependent on and attached to people, so she wanted to keep Layne away from Russell in order
Russell's eyes were deep and dangerous as he stared at the man. "Who sent you?"The gaze was filled with a strong sense of danger, making the man's scalp tingle. He had no doubt that if he didn't tell the truth, Russell would kill him in the cruelest way possible.He confessed, "Derrick! Maddox is your Maddox, Derrick."Derrick?Russell had never heard this name before, but the surname Maddox was somewhat intriguing.He looked at the other four people and said, "Is that right?"The other four people also nodded repeatedly in agreement.Russell stood up and turned around to look at the two people still talking on the sofa, "I'm leaving, Derrick."Troy furrowed his brows, "This name sounds familiar to me. I think I've heard it somewhere before."Braeden rubbed his chin, "I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."Russell took off his white gloves and said, "The rest is up to you guys, I'm going back first."
Russell glanced at him and said, "What's the excitement? Have you been single for too long that you become perverted at the sight of a woman?"Troy chuckled and quickly pursed his lips, lowering his head.Dalton's mind seemed to be working particularly fast. He cleared his throat and said, "Have you improved a bit and started returning to your sarcastic state?"Russell put his arm around the man's shoulder and led him up the steps, heading towards the entrance of the hospital.Yasmine glanced at Troy and asked, "Who is he?"Troy respectfully replied, "He was Mr. Russell's good friend Dalton, and this hospital was opened by him."Yasmine nodded, "So this is the standard for every male protagonist in a romance novel, a doctor friend?"Troy was speechless.Yasmine shrugged her shoulders and quickly followed.As he watched the woman enter the door, Troy burst into laughter, but as he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes.
Yasmine looked over suddenly, and the man stared ahead, gripping the steering wheel with both hands.His hands were slender, and his knuckles were distinct, just like a perfect piece of artwork.His profile was too outstanding, with contours that seemed to be outlined with charcoal, sharp and distinct.The protruding Adam's apple showcased the man's sexual tension, faintly exuding a wild scent.The dim yellow light of the streetlamp shone on his face, casting alternating shadows and highlights on his features, creating a sense of mystery.Russell glanced at her, "Did you really think so?"His voice sounded like it had been rubbed with sandpaper, with a low and magnetic tone, which was very pleasant to listen to.Yasmine stared at him, "Russell, weren't you loyal to your wife? Then why are you flirting with me?"Russell knew that he had upset her, so he stopped teasing her. "My wife wants me to live a good life."Yasmine
Yasmine didn't expect Layne to say such words. She trembled her eyelashes and held the little one's hand back."Layne, marriage between a man and a woman must be built on a foundation of love and affection. It is a sad thing for someone to become a substitute for the person who holds love in their heart, as no one can replace them."Layne nodded, "I understood."He hugged Yasmine and looked at her with blinking eyes. "Mom, actually I think you are also pitiful, not knowing who Layne's dad is. So Layne thinks it's better for you not to look for dad and just stay with uncle."He sighed, "I don't want to think anymore, my brain capacity is not enough, the adult world is really too complicated. Mom, why don't you give me a bath instead! Layne is going to sleep!""Okay."Yasmine took him into the bathroom and gave him a bath.After coming out, the little one climbed onto the dressing table and sat on the chair, swinging his little legs.
"Go back to Serene Manor?" Yasmine furrowed her brow. Derrick is now more dangerous than Russell, so going to Serene Manor is indeed a good idea, but it doesn't feel right.She cleared her throat and said, "Those people were chasing after you, what did Layne and I do?"Russell naturally guessed her thoughts, "Can't you cure me?"Yasmine lightly chuckled, "I saw you were quite normal now, maybe you didn't need any treatment after all.""That was because you were there." Russell and Yasmine's gazes collided in the rearview mirror.Yasmine averted her gaze and said, "I felt like your illness had improved for a month or two, so Layne and I would leave by then."Russell fell silent for a moment and then said, "Okay."Layne's eyes rolled around. One or two months, huh! Uncle better hurry up and become a father!Yasmine said, "Both Layne's and my belongings are at Rivulet Villa, we need to go and get them."Russell saw through