It was tense in Ultan's office. Professors were called here to discuss the withdrawal of investment.Ultan listed all the possible situations for them and sat aside. A professor looked at the contract and frowned unpleasantly. "Five of our sponsors have decided to withdraw their investments. We'll be in big trouble if they all leave. People would think Styre is doomed."He had a point. It would be catastrophic if a chain reaction were set into motion. Styre would be in trouble if sponsors followed each other and withdrew investment. Who would have thought it was all because they expelled Catherine?As the principal of Styre, Ultan had thought about this, of course. He looked up at that professor. "What's your advice then?"That professor paused and then bitterly said, " Should we consider enrolling Catherine again? She definitely didn't want to be expelled. We can say she apologizes for the mistake and has a great attitude."Someone objected immediately. "Styre is a century-old un
Although the university didn't officially release the announcement about expelling Catherine, someone put it on the internet and caused a great clamor. Netizens made various conjectures about what she did that got her expelled.One user left a comment, saying, [Isn't she a badass? I heard Styre fancies her a lot. How come she got expelled?]Another user replied, reading, [The truth is she lived off Styre while secretly selling data to others. She deserves it.]This comment caused a lot of attention.People entered her homepage and found she was also from Styre University, like Catherine. And then, many Styre students liked her comment as if verifying her words. Everyone believed what she said.Soon, Catherine became a target. Some even commented on Audrey's account, cursing Catherine.It became a hot topic on the internet and lasted for a long time, which Catherine found confusing cause she was not a celebrity. But she became a hot topic on the internet now and then.Branden cal
The Duncan Corporation's big day arrived. Branden had sent out invites well in advance, including to notable figures like Marshall, Thomas, and Aaron.Though Karl and Thomas were meant to depart together, their ongoing rivalry meant Thomas opted to wait for Scott, instead.Karl, respecting their wishes, left for the venue alone.As Karl left, the observers in the shadows quickly relayed the change to their superiors. "Change of plans. Mr. Theo is alone, and Mr. Duncan is not with him. Shall we proceed?"After a brief pause, the command was clear. "Proceed. Target Thomas.""Got it!" came the immediate response.*****Half an hour later, Thomas and Scott finally left, bickering playfully."Dressed to the nines for what? It's not even your big day," Thomas chided."Well, you wouldn't go with Karl, and now you're giving me grief for being slow. I have to look sharp. I'm representing our side at my future brother-in-law's event." Scott shot back.Their banter continued until they
Catherine arrived at the agreed location, an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Loxton.She scoffed internally at the cliché setting. 'Really? An abandoned factory? Feels like someone's playing too much into the movie tropes.'"Got guts, coming alone," a mechanical voice echoed, gender indiscernible.Catherine looked up, her gaze sharp and intimidating. "I've got the guts to come alone. Do you have the guts to show yourself?"The mysterious person, watching her every move from behind a computer screen, aimed to negotiate. "No need to provoke me, Catherine. Just hand over the list, and I'll let your person go."'If I can secure that list, I'd be in the boss's good graces. Then taking down Black Robe would be a piece of cake,' the captor thought.Catherine remained silent, her chilling stare felt through the monitor, putting the captor on edge."Want the ledger? Show me the hostage first," Catherine demanded coldly, uninterested in playing games.The captor attempted a threat,
"You've seen them. Now, what about my end of the deal?" the captor urged, their worry about Catherine's potential backup increasing the tension.But Catherine didn't budge or utter a word, her silence and powerful aura ensuring no one dared to lay a finger on Thomas and Sccot under her watchful eyes.Time ticked away, and with Catherine still making no move, the captor, driven by impatience, activated the timers on Thomas and Scott's chests."You have five minutes, Catherine. Give me the list, and I'll let them go," the captor declared with a smug look, watching Catherine intently.But Thomas and Scott, far from pleading, seemed prepared to face death rather than compromise Catherine's safety.In a dramatic turn, Thomas feigned a seizure, spitting blood, causing immediate chaos among the guards who quickly removed his gag, desperate not to let him die before the list was secured.Once free to speak, Scott pleaded with urgency, "Release my grandfather! He has a heart condition. Yo
The chaos enveloped the entire venue, leaving everyone clueless about the unfolding events.Onstage, amidst the confusion, Paxton noticed Branden was out cold and didn't waste a moment to call for medical help. "Let's get him to the hospital, now," he ordered.Meanwhile, the Duncan Corporation's PR team swiftly took over the situation, ensuring order amidst the chaos.Zobber, in her haste to escape, kept dialing Black Robe, anxiety lacing her voice. "Did it work? Is Branden dead?"Black Robe responded at a leisurely pace, "Seems like you're quite concerned about whether Branden lives or dies.""Isn't that obvious?" Zobber snapped back, her patience worn thin. "I'm the one who did it, in front of everyone. If Branden survives, what is left for me?" "No one is more concerned about his fate than I am right now," she fumed, her anger not drawing any rebuke from Black Robe, who found her frustration more genuine and fitting to her character.Easing his tone, Black Robe informed, "Ca
Just as Selene was about to turn and leave, she felt the cold press of a gun against the back of her head. A shiver of danger ran down her spine."Who's there? Can't we talk it out?" she said, her tone sharp but cautious.An aged yet firm voice commanded from behind, "Hands up and turn around."Realizing this was no laughing matter, Selene complied, her hands rising slowly as she turned to face the source of the command.Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when Selene saw who it was. "Si-Simon? What are you doing here?" she stuttered.Simon looked at her with cold eyes, his voice stern. "After all the Duncans have done for you, you repay them by harming Miss Catherine. How could you?"Selene, caught in the act, found herself without a defense. Desperately, she argued, "But Simon, with Branden being such a catch, the Duncans have plenty of better matches. Why settle on Catherine? She's not right for Branden; she'll only drag him down."Hearing her stubbornness, Simon couldn'
In less than half a day, news that Branden collapsed at a press conference and was fighting for his life had spread like wildfire, causing the company's stock to plummet and sending waves of panic throughout the organization.At this moment, the VIP treatment area at Casier Hospital was crowded with high-profile figures, rendering it nearly inaccessible.Upon seeing Will Brown, the hospital director, emerge from the consultation room, Karl immediately asked, "How's the situation?"Will, usually assertive, became cautious under Karl's imposing inquiry. He carefully replied, "Mr. Duncan, the situation is dire. We still can't pinpoint the cause of Branden's coma, and we're only able to slow the decline of his bodily functions with machines. As for Miss Swann..."Seeing Will hesitate, Karl impatiently snapped, "Spit it out! You're not holding up the sky. What's there to be afraid of?"Will, who had once treated a younger Karl and held a deep respect for him, replied, "Mr. Duncan, Miss
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