At first, Emily found Evelyn’s chatter pleasant, but as time went on, she began to feel it was a bit much. She glanced at Helen with a look that clearly signaled for help.Helen picked up on Emily's silent plea for help and quickly stepped in, grabbing Evelyn’s arm. “Mom, my sister needs rest right now, not your endless questions.”Emily, being older than Helen, didn’t mind being called “sister.” She assumed Helen was simply behaving herself in front of her parent and refraining from her usual antics.Evelyn shot a disapproving glance at Helen and scolded her. “And you, running away from home at your age without so much as a phone call? Do you know how worried I was?”“Yes, yes, I was wrong,” Helen admitted quickly, nodding as if to pacify her mother. “But see? I’m fine now, and I even brought you a surprise.”Finally finding a chance to speak, Emily looked at Richard and said, “Thank you, Richard. I’ve heard from Helen what you did.”“Thank me for what?” Richard grinned cheerful
Harry recounted his grievances in a tearful, dramatic tone, while Stella chimed in to support him. “Heidi, don’t you think Justin went too far this time?” she said.Heidi picked up her teacup but didn’t drink, instead turning to Justin with a frown. “Justin, what’s going on here?” she asked.Justin, sitting with his legs crossed and his fingers lightly tapping on his knee, kept his expression cold and indifferent. “Jack has indeed contributed to the company,” he began, “but that doesn’t excuse him from breaking the law. If he had made a mistake within the company, I could have overlooked it out of respect for his past contributions. But he violated the law, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”Harry’s chest tightened with frustration. He was furious, knowing that the police chief had confirmed that Justin had personally filed the report and delivered Jack to the station himself.“Justin, isn’t this all just over a woman? There are plenty of women in the world! Why send Jack
Back at his office, Zac sent Helen a message and immersed himself in work, quietly waiting for her arrival. After finally seeing Evelyn and Wilfred off, Helen sneaked toward the hospital director’s office like a spy, glancing around nervously and turning back every few steps to ensure no one was watching. She knocked, then pushed the door open to find Zac sitting behind his desk, staring at her with a pitiful and resentful expression. “Oh, come on!” Helen jumped at the sight, clutching her chest. “What’s with that look? You scared me!” she grumbled. “You’ve been ignoring me for days,” Zac said as he stood up, walking over to pull her into his arms. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he inhaled her scent deeply. “If I hadn’t messaged you today, would you have even come to see me?” he muttered, his voice low. “Stop it, don’t mess around,” Helen protested, squirming as she tried to push his head away, her neck ticklish from his touch. “I’m here now, aren’t I? Can’
Justin took off his suit jacket and sat nearby, watching them play cards for a while. Occasionally, when Emily hesitated over which card to play, he reached out and helped her choose, much to Richard’s frustration. “That’s not fair! You’ve got backup!” Richard protested. “You can get help too,” Justin replied calmly, sitting behind Emily with an air of composure. With Justin’s assistance, Emily grew more confident, her gameplay becoming increasingly bold. During the game, Justin realized none of them had eaten dinner yet. He hadn’t eaten at Heidi’s villa earlier, as he had rushed back to the hospital, and now he was feeling hungry as well. Taking charge, he volunteered to handle dinner arrangements. Justin, who typically relied on Sam to order food, naturally picked up Emily’s phone since he didn’t have the necessary apps on his own. When the food arrived, the three of them set their cards aside to eat. After dinner, Helen tried to stay the night, but Justin promptly
Richard returned to his room, hacking into Jack’s accounts on his custom-built computer. After gathering the information, he forwarded it to Wilfred. Stretching lazily, he pulled the curtains closed and sprawled out on the bed for a nap.*After losing the argument with Justin over who would stay to keep Emily company, Helen decided not to head straight home. Instead, recalling Zac’s earlier complaints, she changed direction and made her way to the director’s office.“If Zac’s still working, that’s his luck. If he’s not, it’s not my fault I didn’t catch him,” she thought with a smirk.To her surprise, the ever-dedicated Zac was still working overtime.When she walked in, Zac looked up, genuinely surprised. “What happened to babysitting your inseparable twins? What brings you here? Feeling guilty for ignoring me?” he teased, feigning a resentful tone.“I wanted to, but your good buddy kicked me out,” Helen said, collapsing dramatically onto the couch.“So, it’s my friend’s fault,
Biological father? Emily had lived as an orphan for the past three years, and she had never heard anything about her biological parents looking for her. Where did this ‘biological father’ suddenly come from? *“What’s all the noise about? Can’t I get a nap around here?” Richard, a night owl who often stayed up late and caught up on sleep during the day, groggily emerged from his room, running a hand through his disheveled hair, irritation clear on his face. One of the men spotted him and immediately said, “Young man, you’re just in time! Help me out here. The patient in this room is my daughter. I want to take her home, but these two thugs won’t let me. Where’s the justice in that?”He glared angrily at the black-suited bodyguards. “What you’re doing is illegal! If you don’t let me take my daughter, I’ll call the cops!”Richard, already grumpy from being woken up, scoffed. “Just because you say she's your daughter doesn't make it true. Stop making up nonsense and get los
Thinking about the promises they had been given, the men had no choice but to sit and wait.Justin had just finished a team meeting about the collaboration project with Wilfred and was on his way back to his office. As he walked, he felt his phone vibrate—a message from Zac. Glancing at it briefly, his brows furrowed instinctively. Sliding the phone back into his pocket, he handed the file in his hand to Sam.“I need to step out for a while. Reschedule the afternoon team meeting to an online session tonight.”“Understood, Mr. Yates,” Sam responded efficiently.Just then, Emma hurried after Justin with a file in her hands. “Justin, I have a question about something. I need your guidance.”Justin stopped briefly but didn’t take the file from her. Instead, his gaze shifted to Sam. “I’m heading out. If you have any questions, Sam can handle them.”With that, he strode toward the elevator, his pace quickening.“Oh…” Emma watched him disappear down the hallway, her gaze reluctant an
“Come and go as you please? Do you think this is a playground?” Justin’s calm voice carried an unmistakable authority. The three men froze, their bodies stiffening as fear took over, their legs stopping in place on instinct. “W-what do you want?” one of them stammered, his voice trembling. Justin’s commanding presence was overwhelming, making their hearts pound with terror. They braced themselves, convinced Justin would order the bodyguards to deal with them. Their imaginations ran wild, and they were so scared they were nearly shaking. But to their shock, Justin simply let them go. *On a narrow side road outside the hospital, the three men huddled together, their faces filled with frustration. “What now, boss? The plan didn’t work. We couldn’t take the woman, and now we won’t get paid,” one of them muttered bitterly. “Damn it!” the leader of the group sighed heavily. They had been hired to pose as Emily’s biological father and abduct her. The plan was to a
“Being the boss sure comes with a lot of responsibilities and stress,” Mrs. Zimmer said with a warm smile.Since Justin hadn’t come back yet, Emily decided to pass the time by turning on the TV. She connected her phone to the screen and started streaming a drama. Sitting on the couch with Mrs. Zimmer, they shared some fruit while waiting.Seven turned into eight, then eight-thirty. By the time it was almost nine, Justin still hadn’t shown up.Mrs. Zimmer yawned repeatedly and stretched her legs, shaking off the numbness from sitting too long. “Do you think he’s caught up in a last-minute meeting and can’t make it back? He’s done that before.”Justin occasionally had meetings that ran late, but he usually arranged for Sam to call ahead and let them know. He would never leave them waiting like this without a word.Emily pulled out her phone. “Let me call him and check.”The dial tone rang endlessly, but no one picked up. Frowning, she walked to the window, looking out at the glowin
If Emily found out about this, what would happen? Justin couldn’t bear to imagine it. A sudden wave of fear washed over him at the thought of her learning the truth. That night, Justin had been drunk at the gala. He had no memory of how he ended up in the room or how anything happened with Emma. The only thing he remembered was waking up the next morning to find Emma lying naked beside him, the sheets messy and stained with blood. “Justin, it’s not your fault, it’s mine,” Emma had said tearfully the next day, her beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I took the morning-after pill, but if I had taken it a bit earlier, maybe none of this would have happened.” She wiped her tears as they began to fall, her voice trembling as she blamed herself. Her tone softened, becoming almost pitiful. “I know you’re with Emily now. I don’t want to be the reason she misunderstands you or comes between you two. I’ll…I’ll terminate this pregnancy…” Emma was in tears, sobbing so hard
Not long after Emily replied to Mrs. Zimmer’s message, her phone buzzed again. This time it was Helen.“Hey, remember that little takeout place near my college? They’ve expanded and turned it into a full-fledged restaurant. It’s their grand opening today. After my afternoon classes, I’m grabbing double portions of their signature spicy fish and bringing it over for dinner!” Helen followed up with another message, “I’ll also get your favorite fried snacks and beer, extra spicy with sweet dipping sauce.” They both had similar tastes, especially when it came to bold, flavorful comfort food. Most people wouldn’t think twice about it, but Justin’s refined palate had no appreciation for such “casual” food. He also didn’t let Emily eat it. So whenever Justin was tied up with work or traveling, Emily and Helen would sneak off to enjoy their guilty pleasures. Over time, the two had tried nearly every takeout joint and food truck in Lincourt City. Still, nothing quite compared to
Emily looked puzzled. “You’re great too.”Unintentionally, she handed Justin a *nice guy* card. Receiving the *nice guy* card left Justin feeling frustrated. He tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, his mind obsessing over her words. The next morning, Emily slept in until 8 a.m. When she woke, Justin was nowhere to be found. He must have gone to work. After washing up, she sat down to have breakfast. *In the special project meeting room, Emma sat discussing key points of the project’s development. Suddenly, a foul odor filled the room, making her feel nauseous. At first, she managed to suppress it, but soon, she couldn’t hold back and gagged audibly. The sound was jarring in the otherwise serious atmosphere. “Mr. Quinn, I need to step out to the restroom,” Emma said, quickly leaving the meeting room. Once she was gone, the team members didn’t hold back their complaints. “How are we supposed to get this project done when she’s like this all the time? It’s
It must have been Justin who orchestrated all this. Only he had the power and motivation in Lincourt City to swiftly bring Jack down. The official announcement of Jack’s termination from RC Corporation was delivered to all employees via email as a warning. Emma scrolled through her mouse, her expression darkening. She hadn’t expected Justin to go this far for Emily. “But what about me?” she thought bitterly. “What did I mean to him three years ago?”The office buzzed with chatter about Jack’s sudden dismissal. First, Jack’s secretary, Tina, was let go, and now Jack. Employees speculated wildly, suggesting it was part of internal power struggles among the upper management. Unbeknownst to them, Justin had already locked down the news of Jack’s involvement in Emily’s kidnapping. As Emma walked through the open office area, she heard fragments of gossip. As someone who knew the truth, their baseless assumptions irritated her. Wearing a sharp business suit and high hee
In the CEO’s office of RC Corporation, William stood respectfully in front of Justin, delivering his report. “Those men are a group of street thugs. They’re unemployed and survive by scamming people and committing petty crimes. After leaving the hospital last night, they used a public payphone to contact someone.“Tracing the number, we found the other party used a disposable phone card. When we looked into the bank account records tied to the payment, we discovered the funds were transferred internationally and then wiped from the records. Even after recovering the data, the identity linked to the account belonged to a local overseas resident.”The office was dimly lit, with Justin sitting behind his desk. He tapped his fingers lightly on the surface. “So, they’re experienced and left no trace behind,” he said in a low voice. William nodded silently. After a brief pause, Justin instructed, “Start by investigating the people around me.”Emily was an orphan with no known ene
“Come and go as you please? Do you think this is a playground?” Justin’s calm voice carried an unmistakable authority. The three men froze, their bodies stiffening as fear took over, their legs stopping in place on instinct. “W-what do you want?” one of them stammered, his voice trembling. Justin’s commanding presence was overwhelming, making their hearts pound with terror. They braced themselves, convinced Justin would order the bodyguards to deal with them. Their imaginations ran wild, and they were so scared they were nearly shaking. But to their shock, Justin simply let them go. *On a narrow side road outside the hospital, the three men huddled together, their faces filled with frustration. “What now, boss? The plan didn’t work. We couldn’t take the woman, and now we won’t get paid,” one of them muttered bitterly. “Damn it!” the leader of the group sighed heavily. They had been hired to pose as Emily’s biological father and abduct her. The plan was to a
Thinking about the promises they had been given, the men had no choice but to sit and wait.Justin had just finished a team meeting about the collaboration project with Wilfred and was on his way back to his office. As he walked, he felt his phone vibrate—a message from Zac. Glancing at it briefly, his brows furrowed instinctively. Sliding the phone back into his pocket, he handed the file in his hand to Sam.“I need to step out for a while. Reschedule the afternoon team meeting to an online session tonight.”“Understood, Mr. Yates,” Sam responded efficiently.Just then, Emma hurried after Justin with a file in her hands. “Justin, I have a question about something. I need your guidance.”Justin stopped briefly but didn’t take the file from her. Instead, his gaze shifted to Sam. “I’m heading out. If you have any questions, Sam can handle them.”With that, he strode toward the elevator, his pace quickening.“Oh…” Emma watched him disappear down the hallway, her gaze reluctant an
Biological father? Emily had lived as an orphan for the past three years, and she had never heard anything about her biological parents looking for her. Where did this ‘biological father’ suddenly come from? *“What’s all the noise about? Can’t I get a nap around here?” Richard, a night owl who often stayed up late and caught up on sleep during the day, groggily emerged from his room, running a hand through his disheveled hair, irritation clear on his face. One of the men spotted him and immediately said, “Young man, you’re just in time! Help me out here. The patient in this room is my daughter. I want to take her home, but these two thugs won’t let me. Where’s the justice in that?”He glared angrily at the black-suited bodyguards. “What you’re doing is illegal! If you don’t let me take my daughter, I’ll call the cops!”Richard, already grumpy from being woken up, scoffed. “Just because you say she's your daughter doesn't make it true. Stop making up nonsense and get los