At three in the afternoon, Catherine arrived at the agreed location on time. The other party, however, notified her of the address at two thirty. Upon receiving the address, Catherine promptly set off and arrived punctually. Just as she finished parking, a boy appeared beside her."Are you Catherine?" he asked. Catherine nodded, and the boy handed her a note. "Someone asked me to give this to you," he said."Thank you," Catherine replied, taking the note and opening it.It was a Sudoku puzzle, not too difficult. Catherine quickly solved it, revealing a simple set of coordinates. Following the coordinates, she soon reached her destination—a stylish restaurant that stood out amidst the surrounding skyscrapers with its industrial decor, exuding a distinct charm.Upon entering, a waiter guided her inside, leading her through a corridor to the basement. It was there that she discovered a totally different place."Miss Swann, your reserved private room is right here. Your guest is alrea
Cloude was momentarily taken aback by her response, then chuckled. "Well, I didn't expect you to be so patriotic, Miss Swann. It seems I really didn't do my job well and almost misunderstood you."Catherine glanced at the time. It was almost four o'clock, and if she didn't act quickly, it could disrupt the schedule for the press conference. "Mr. Cloude, if there's nothing else to discuss, let's get straight to the point.""Agreed." Cloude immediately consented to Catherine's proposal. His terms remained unchanged—he still demanded a fifty percent stake, with the rest open for negotiation.Catherine agreed, but also presented her conditions. "First, help me find Professor Warner and bring him back. Second, remove all online impacts on me. Third, regardless of how the lab operates, you must not intervene. You need to understand. I don't need anyone meddling in my affairs."Upon hearing Catherine's conditions, Cloude showed no surprise as if he had anticipated her requests. After asse
As the scheduled start time of the press conference approached, there was no sign of activity from the Duncan Corporation. This made the journalists present anxious, sparking a stream of discussions about what was going on. Some even started causing trouble.Someone asked, "By now, the lights should be dimmed, and we should be getting ready for the start. Could it be that the Duncan Corporation's press conference is just a sham, a ploy to drive up their stock prices?"Though these thoughts were not openly expressed, they all thought it made sense, especially since the announcement of the press conference had indeed caused a spike in the Duncan Corporation's stock prices.Paxton wanted to address these rumors but found that any explanation seemed to only make things worse. He looked turned towards Branden for guidance, but Branden remained unfazed, checking his phone briefly without finding any updates before returning to his previous calm demeanor.Meanwhile, Catherine rushed to th
The atmosphere at the press conference became increasingly tense. Paxton, unable to calm the reporters down, approached Branden for advice. "Should we ask some reporters to leave first?" he suggested. They had identified several troublemakers, and removing them might calm things down."No need!" Branden rejected Paxton's proposal. He knew that trying to cover it up would only make things worse.Looking at Catherine, he noticed a stain on her neck and gently wiped it off with a handkerchief. "What did you have for lunch? How did it end up on your neck?" he asked.Catherine, unsure of what to do, was surprised when he reached out toward her chest in public only to help her remove the stain.Catherine smiled helplessly. "I bumped into a waitress in a rush, and the food spilled on me," she explained."Why didn't you change your clothes after getting stained?" Branden frowned, knowing Catherine well. Though she was unconventional, she had a sense of propriety and wouldn't act recklessl
Branden held Catherine's hand high and displayed the image of them holding hands. He held a microphone and looked firmly at everyone, finally fixing his gaze on the female journalist who had just asked a question."Murder is a serious crime, and whoever commits it will naturally face legal consequences. If you have evidence or clues, please submit them to the relevant authorities as soon as possible. I believe you will get a satisfactory answer. Spreading rumors carries legal responsibility. My fiancée and I reserve the right to hold you accountable," he added.The warned journalist turned pale with fear. She had only wanted to pressure Branden to answer the question while everyone was present. It was a potential breaking story, not only increasing newspaper sales but also potentially propelling her career to new heights. Otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the risk.However, she never expected Branden not only to boldly respond to her question but also to issue a warning.The journ
In the lounge, Catherine sat bored on the sofa, undisturbed by the commotion outside.Paxton found the journalist's information. Although she wasn't a spy, her reputation was bad, known for exploiting others. She had even driven a poor student to suicide for the sake of publicity.After reviewing the information, Branden ordered, "Send this to the public relations department and release it all."Upon hearing the command, Paxton hesitated. "Shouldn't we just leak the information to some other journalists?" The female journalist was insignificant, yet involving the public relations department would make it a big deal. Paxton worried about the public perception of bullying a journalist.Despite Paxton's persuasion, Branden insisted, "Do as I say."Paxton, obedient to Branden's unwavering attitude, promptly carried out the order. Catherine was Branden's Achilles's heel, and anyone who messed with her would face dire consequences."Alright, I'll see to it," Paxton said after arranging
Zobber has been repeatedly watching the video from that evening. Catherine's cruelty was truly impressive, even for someone like Zobber, who was accustomed to dealing with tough situations. Just thinking about Catherine's gaze in the video made her feel uneasy. Back then, Catherine was just a child, and if she was that formidable then, it was hard to imagine her strength now.Zobber wasn't watching the video to marvel at Catherine's capabilities, but to uncover the mastermind behind it and help Catherine resolve the situation. Seeing Withal casually scrolling through his phone, Zobber became annoyed and kicked him in frustration. "Can't you do something useful? Why are you acting like it's no big deal?"Withal slowly raised his head, as if moving in slow motion. "Even Catherine can't figure it out. Why do you think I can? You're overestimating me."Zobber retorted, "Just because you can't find anything doesn't mean you won't do anything! When did you become so useless?"Withal,
The next day, a clarifying video appeared online, causing a stir. The person who posted it claimed that the video circulating on major websites was a fake, created using AI face-swapping technology to frame Catherine. He admitted to his wrongdoing and voluntarily surrendered to the authorities.Local law enforcement reposted the video and issued a statement to clarify the situation. Catherine, tired of being repeatedly woken up by phone calls, reluctantly answered, throwing the phone aside after putting it on speaker."Hello?" she said in a hoarse voice, instantly calming down Ronin's excited mood.Carefully, he asked, "Catherine, were you sleeping?" Catherine, irritated by the sudden disturbance, replied, "Do you really want me to tell you?"Ronin could sense the underlying anger in her words, and he became extremely cautious. "Catherine, it's really important. I've sent you the news. You can check your phone. If you're tired, you can check it later."Ronin quickly hung up, see
In the end, Branden couldn't stand it anymore. He took the initiative to snatch Catherine back, only then did the scene come under control.Now, no one dared to continue touching Catherine's belly.Once he snatched Catherine back, he held her tightly in his arms and prevented anyone from touching her. He thought in his mind, "Since these people like this brat so much, I'll just give the brat to them when Catherine gives birth. Saves one more person from sharing my wife with me."Triston smiled and watched the crowd as the birthday party began exactly as it should.The big screen began to show all the images of Audrey from her debut until now that were outstanding or worthy of recording. Some of the images weren't even in Audrey's possession, but Triston had found them and made a video of them.As the images flashed by, Audrey's tears couldn't help but fall from her face. She cried not only because she remembered the hardships she had endured in showbiz for many years, but also bec
Since Triston brought Audrey to meet his family, he had worked non-stop to put their marriage on the agenda.Audrey was a popular actress, and to not affect her career, Triston chose to propose in a low-key manner.Triston arranged a party on Audrey's birthday and invited many of Audrey's friends.Audrey originally thought Triston was too high-profile, but Triston insisted. "I didn't participate in so many of your past birthdays. I finally have a chance to participate this time."He persuaded Audrey repeatedly. Audrey couldn't resist him and could only agree to let him arrange the party.Luckily, he only invited Audrey's close friends and did not send out invitations widely, so she could take this opportunity to have a gathering of friends.Audrey was surprised to see Catherine when she arrived.Catherine was now eight months pregnant. Normally, she would be rejected by Branden if she wanted to visit Catherine.Branden was now very careful with Catherine every day, and Audrey w
Sure enough, only after Audrey said those words, Willa's face completely darkened.Seeing that Willa was about to explode, suddenly...Triston applauded happily, which instantly attracted the crowd's attention.Triston calmly met everyone's gaze and looked at Audrey gently. "Good. You're worthy of being the woman I love. I'm most annoyed with those women who stay at home day in and day out and like to gossip when they have nothing else to do. You have your own career and I'm very supportive of that."Triston said this with a proud look on his face and raised his eyebrows at Audrey, full of smugness.Willa's face instantly turned gloomy.Her son had demeaned her by calling her a gossipy woman just to please another woman, and it made her furious.Egbert kind of realized that his son was totally in love with Audrey. He thought it was good because Triston used to be a playboy and was always surrounded by messy women. At that time, he was really worried that Triston would marry an u
Although Audrey was born into a wealthy family, Triston's mother, Willa Lambert, had always been prejudiced against showbiz and therefore did not approve of Triston's pursuit of Audrey.In Willa's opinion, female celebrities in the showbiz industry had always appeared in public, which was not like the demeanor of a lady from a wealthy family.It was only after learning that Audrey and Triston might be together that she eagerly introduced Triston to girls in the first place. She didn't realize that after all this time, her son still hadn't given up on Audrey, and this was the first time she'd seen her son so attached to a girl.If it weren't for that, she wouldn't agree to appear at today's dinner party now.Triston led Audrey into the door, and everyone from the Lamberts had already arrived.The scene of everyone sitting in the private room made Audrey feel a bit guilty. She looked guiltily at the crowd and whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm late."Triston's father, Egbert Lambert, had a
Audrey never expected to be so suddenly arranged to meet Triston's family.She couldn't react when Triston talked to her about it. Looking at Triston with disbelief in her eyes, she said, "Pardon me?"Triston's handsome face carried a gentle smile. "I've inquired with Kim. You don't have any work arrangements since this afternoon, and you can also take a day off tomorrow. It's just right for us to have dinner together in the evening."Audrey frowned and asked inwardly, "Is that what I care about?"What she cared about was who Triston had just said she would have dinner with tonight. "Why are you suddenly asking your family to have dinner with me?"The Swanns and the Lamberts were both in Casier and they were also considered to be friends. For Triston's family, although Audrey was not familiar with them, she had seen them at major parties.But in the past, they used to meet as ordinary friends.Now that she and Triston were in a relationship, his sudden proposal to take her to di
Audrey hesitated for a moment but still answered the phone with a nervous heart.She believed that Catherine definitely had a way to get her to answer the phone, but things would be troublesome if she made Catherine take her actions.She put her phone to her ear and inquired in a low voice, "Morning, Kathy. What's the matter?"Catherine's voice remained as cold as ever, without any emotion. "Tell me, what is it that you haven't told me?"Audrey had already figured out a strategy to deal with it and how to excuse herself, but as soon as she answered the phone, Catherine asked her so directly, which made her suddenly unable to react.Audrey had no choice but to tell Catherine the truth.After listening to her trembling narration, Catherine only asked coldly, "Are you sure you want him to be your boyfriend?"Audrey was a bit hesitant. Everyone blessed her and Triston after they found out they were together again, but Catherine was the only one who asked her to calm down and think i
Faced with Triston's questioning, Ronin looked arrogant. "Catherine and Audrey are sisters, so Audrey is my sister. You can bully anyone, but you can't bully her. Or else, we can't even be friends."Ronin's words sounded childish, but there was seriousness inside his eyes when he said those words. He grew up with Catherine and regarded Catherine as his most important family member. To him, Catherine's sister was his sister.After listening to Ronin's words, Triston faintly laughed out. "I see."Ronin thought that Triston didn't take his words to heart, and immediately felt a burning anger. "What do you mean? You don't understand my warning, do you?""Easy!" Triston gestured for him to calm down, then said calmly, "Even death row inmates have a chance to explain, right? You should at least hear me out.""Hmph!" Ronin snorted disdainfully. He secretly thought in his heart, "If Triston says any more asshole words, I'll definitely not show him any respect."Triston put away that cyni
They had an appointment at a recreational manor, a new property Zobber had just bought. Zobber had invited them to come along for the experience.Since Catherine's pregnancy, the entire Hacker Alliance had had much leisure time. Even though there was less to do, they had earned no less money and were basically in a dominant position.Zobber enjoyed the current situation too much becasue there was still money to be made easily. They might only have one business per year, but the profit from this business was already enough for them to spend for a year.After wandering around with her friends, Zobber excitedly looked at everyone. "How about this place? It's not bad, right? I bought it at a high price!"This was Casier, and Triston was aware of any changes in the real estate industry.He had indeed received the news when Zobber auctioned off the manor, and he also knew that Zobber had given an above-market price to take the land. But he knew that Zobber had plenty of money. It was fi
Since that dinner, Audrey had been in a special kind of relationship with Triston.Although they didn't make it clear, Triston could feel that Audrey had slowly accepted him.The number of times they met increased, and most of Audrey's work this year was in Casier.Whenever Triston had free time, he would stay alongside Audrey.Whether on set or during recording sessions, one could always catch a glimpse of Triston.Everyone kind of knew deep down that Triston was the man behind Audrey.But nobody ever exposed this whole thing, mainly because of Triston's identity.Neither he nor Audrey wanted too much attention paid to their relationship right now. If he didn't spill the beans, who else would dare to report on it?Besides, the reason Audrey and Triston's dating didn't cause much jealousy was they were a good match.Among the Four Noble Families in Casier, the Lamberts and the Swanns each held a seat, and the Swanns' power was not weaker than the Lamberts.Plus, now that Cath