Chapter 18 Collaborating with JJ was their key to entering the international markets. JJ was not just a household name, it was the largest company in the whole world and it carried the economic fate of many developed and developing countries. The remaining directors cheered. They never imagined that their boss would have achieved something they had all deemed impossible. When he first approached them with the idea, they had all thought that their boss was having an impossible dream. Who would have thought that not a year has passed and they already have a slice of JJ on their table? “We should release the news. With this, we should not worry about our stock price not making a comeback.” Simon said as a rare smile appeared on his aged face. “I think we should wait,” Ethan said after thinking about something. “But boss, you just…” “Trust me. If we wait, it will be even more spectacular and the impact would be even greater.” Ethan said as he revealed a mysterious smile. The direc
Chapter 19 “Mr. Reid, are sure about everything you just said right now? Are you trying to tarnish your brother’s reputation because he fired you?” “I know my brother more than anyone and I know what he is capable of,” Nathan said arrogantly. The reporters almost laughed out loud when they heard him. They had been talking to him with respect a moment ago but now, they could not hide the disgust they felt towards him. For them, they did not care whether a piece of news was true or false. As long as they got something to write about, they would always choose the winning side. And now, it was apparent who the winner was. “If you know your brother as much as you claim, why didn’t you know that he already signed the contract with JJ Corp, and now the two companies are working together?” A reporter asked. He wanted to end this interview so that he could rush to camp at Reid Corp. He did not want to miss an exclusive with Ethan in case he showed up. “Ha ha ha, you must be out of your
Chapter 20 “Do you like the flowers?” Ethan repeated his question. Her cute expression made him almost laugh out loud. Her stunned countenance made her look extremely adorable. Olivia blushed after realizing that she had been caught red-handed ogling someone’s flowers. They were very beautiful and too many that she lost track of time the moment she started to count them. She had not even noticed that Ethan was done showering. “Sorry I…” she apologized as she lowered her head in embarrassment. How she wished the ground could just open up and swallow her whole. “They are yours. I was planning on giving them to you but when I entered the bedroom, I thought that you had already slept. I did not want to disturb your sweet dreams… I am glad that you like them.” Ethan explained. A smile was hanging on his thin lips and he looked very tempting. “They are for me?” Olivia was stunned. She widened her eyes as she looked at the man who was only having a towel wrapped around his waist. She f
Chapter 21 Olivia excitedly finished her breakfast. If she could leave this fucking house and busk in the sun like any other normal person, then she would not feel sick. Alice smiled discreetly when she saw Olivia’s delighted smile. Only if she knew what was awaiting her, she would not have been too excited. Olivia quickly finished her breakfast and rushed to have a change of clothes. She could not believe that Ethan was letting her go out. If she had said what she spoke yesterday, during her first few days here, would she be enjoying even more freedom? Since her mood had brightened, Olivia chose an orange knee-length dress and splashed a little make up on her face. She did not like a lot of foreign things on her face, as she termed them, because they made her feel fake. She took a small Chanel handbag and draped huge sunglasses on her face. She looked like a celebrity who had just landed at the airport and was about to have a one on one with her fans. After she was satisfied wi
Chapter 22 “May… no way. How could it be her?” Jenny was stunned. The coffee cup in her hand fell on the ground with a thud and her lips trembled when she finally saw the person being guarded all around by the bodyguards. “Do you know her?” Nathan asked. He has never seen Olivia so, he could not recognize her. “It is that good-for-nothing bitch that we were just talking about.” Jenny spat. She was so angry that the veins on her forehead were already popping out. “What!” Nathan was stunned when he saw the woman dressed in an orange dress. Although she was very beautiful, she did not look like someone who had turned eighteen. Why would his brother find such a young girl to be his surrogate? Nathan pondered as he stared at Olivia. The more he stared at her, the more he became attracted to her. He wanted to know what this woman was made of that made his brother want to against everyone just for her sake. “She is beautiful, completely my brother’s type,” Nathan said with a smirk. “
Chapter 23 “Stop playing dumb. How could you not know the person you are supposed to get married to in a month?” “Oh, so you are the woman who got dumped in front of everyone? I think that you are starting to make an impression. I honestly didn’t remember you at first.” Olivia said with an innocent expression. Alice, who was standing beside her, almost laughed out loud when she heard her. She has never thought that Olivia would have this cheeky side of her. She could tell that she remembered but for some reason, she just wanted to rile up the other woman. When people heard that Jenny was dumped, they were shocked, especially the sales personnel. They have always been envious of her, especially when she spoke of her relationship with Ethan. The news must have been kept under wraps for them not to have heard about it. “You, what are you talking about?”Jenny was stunned. She never imagined that Olivia would say something like that out loud. “You don’t know what I am talking about?
Chapter 24 Olivia stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the man standing not too far away from her. “Are you talking to me?” she questioned as she pointed at herself. “Who else is here beside you?” Nathan said with a chuckle and walked closer. But before he could reach Olivia, the few bodyguards surrounded her and stood on her sides, making a human wall around her. “Don’t worry, I am only here to say hi to my sister-in-law,” Nathan said when he noticed the unfriendly glares from the bodyguards. Alice, who had already sat in the car and was waiting for Olivia, came down when she realized that something was not right. When she saw Nathan, her gaze turned chilly and she immediately pushed Olivia behind her and protected her. “Second young master, what do you think you are doing?” Alice inquired in an unfriendly tone. “Alice, I can see that you are still as vibrant as ever,” Nathan said as he smiled brightly. “Get as far away from her as you can. I think you understand how y
Chapter 25 Olivia looked at the number that Nathan had left her with a blank expression. She held the piece of paper tightly in her hands, holding it as if her life depended on it. After sitting for a while, she left the private booth, only to find Alice standing outside the door with a worried expression on her aged face. “Let us go home. I think today was not the best day for shopping.” Olivia said. “Are you alright?” Alice asked in a worried voice. “I am fine. I am getting used to this life so, I think that I will only get better.” “Don’t listen to the second young master. Ever since they were young, he and our master have never gotten along. Don’t listen to anything he says.” Alice warned. She was worried that Olivia might listen to the lies of that man she might end up being hurt in the process. What she was most worried about was her master’s reaction and if he will end up doing something he will regret later. “Don’t worry, I am not easily fooled.” Days went by after th
Chapter 80 On the day of the trial, Olivia, Ethan, Tom, and other important board members gathered in the court. They had already recovered the funds so; it was time for Nathan and his minions to face judgment for their actions. Almost a month had passed. Zari appeared haggard and older than her age. Her eyes were puffed and she seemed as if she had been crying a good one in jail. Luke appeared as thin as a stick and he could be easily carried away by the wind. But no one was feeling mercy for them. They were just paying for their actions. Yusuf had his head lowered. He did not dare look at Tom or Olivia. No one knew what was going on in his mind. He had requested to see Tom and Olivia a few times over the past month, but they had refused his request. Especially Tom. He was still recovering from the fact that someone he saw as a son had actually betrayed him, and almost caused him to lose his only granddaughter. The only person who appeared at ease was probably Nathan. He was no
Chapter 79 Although Olivia had been kidnapped and Nathan had said all kinds of confusing words to her, Olivia was not afraid. She was confident that Ethan will be finding her as soon as possible. Her earring had a GPS tracker but only Ethan, her grandfather, and herself knew about it. Also, Ethan taught her to always carry something that she can use to protect herself, after the snake accident. She has always carried a Swiss knife in her clothes, and not even her security knew about it. After knowing that the man would not come back any time soon, Olivia used all her wits and finally managed to get the Swiss knife in her hands. Her grandfather had given it to her. He said that it was made of special material and it could cut through anything. And true to his words, the ropes that were used to tie her up were now in pieces as Olivia looked at them with cold eyes. Olivia’s eyes had already adjusted to the darkness and after freeing herself, she looked around, trying to find a way o
Chapter 78 “Nathan!” Olivia slowly called out the man’s name. “Huh, you still remember me?” Nathan asked as he chuckled devilishly. The scars on his face cracked when he laughed, leaving him with a scary look. Olivia looked at the man she had almost forgotten that he existed and her heart sank. Was he back to exert revenge on what happened back then? Why now? Where had he been all these years? “What happened to you?” Olivia asked as she looked at the man’s face which was full of scars. “Ha ha, what happened to me? Don’t you know what happened to me when you abandoned me and left with my brother? I thought that you were a damsel in distress and I was willing to cross my brother, just so that I could help you. Who would have thought that you will be such an unappreciative bitch?” “I also never knew that you had such a strong background. If I had known, I would not have let you go back then.” “What do you want from me? Money, sure, I can give it to you no matter how much you want
Chapter 77 Tom looked at Yusuf and furrowed his eyebrows. He did not like the sound of that. “What is it?” “Take a look at this,” Yusuf said as he tossed a pile of documents on top of Tom’s desk. The killing intent in his eyes had not dwindled, and he looked like he could not wait to shoot someone. Tom looked through the documents. After he finished, he slammed it on the desk and looked at Yusuf. Anger was spitting through his eyes, and he almost reached for his gun. “What is the meaning of this?” he angrily questioned. “Master, I have never believed for once that Olivia would do this to you. After we caught Luke, he said a bunch of crap, and just to be sure, I went ahead and raided his house, and these are everything I found. I rushed here immediately because I did not want you to be deceived anymore.” “See, there are DNA reports, stating clearly that Olivia is not your granddaughter. If you look at the dates, it is before you found her and even performed the DNA test. But the
Chapter 76 When Olivia left the office, all the workers were waiting outside the door, looking at her with fear in their eyes. “Boss, is it true that the company accounts have been emptied and we are about to be sent packing?” Olivia frowned when she heard that. “What nonsense are you talking about?” “The accounts manager has already resigned and she told us that there is nothing that can be done about it. Someone stole the company’s money and there is no way of getting it back.” “Oh my God, what am I going to do about my mom’s hospital bill? They just called yesterday and told me that the bill is overdue.” “My son was sent home yesterday because of school fees, and I told him that he will report to school the day after tomorrow. What am I going to do if we are not paid?” “My bills…” “My rent…” “The Shylock will definitely cut my head off.” The workers started to protest that Olivia felt her head almost bursting. Everyone was shouting and they had sandwiched her in the midd
Chapter 75 At Palmer’s Mansion, inside Tom’s study room. There was a stifling feeling in the air as Tom listened to Olivia recount what had happened. When she finished, he flung his fist on the table, making the wooden table almost snap into two. His nose flared up and he was trembling from anger. “Insolent! How dare he steal from me, Thomas Palmer? Who gave him the courage?” “Grandfather, calm down, please. We still don’t know the concrete situation of what really transpired. What we need right now is to find that man as soon as possible.” Olivia went to her grandfather and held him. He had a heart condition and having his emotions worked up was not good for him. He needed to calm done, only then will he think. “I have already ordered the bank to freeze his accounts. The moment he tries to do any transaction, we will know where he is.” Ethan said from the side, as he looked at the old man. Tom took out his phone and sent an orange alert, very soon, a lot of top secret agents
Chapter 74 “How are the plans coming along?” Nathan asked over the phone. No matter how powerful of an army he had, he still needed money, to maintain his people and to carry on with his plans smoothly. He had just made a huge shipment and the buyer was yet to pay. But he could not wait to put his plans in motion. Seeing his brother and Olivia living so happily as if nothing could ever come between him, was getting on his nerves. He wanted to bring them the pain he has felt all these years, and that could only happen if he lured the tiger out of the cave, and made it vulnerable by cutting off its powerful paws. He wanted to remove all the protective gear around Olivia, and when she would be in her most vulnerable state, he would offer his final blow. He wanted them separated, dead or alive. He did not care. As long as they felt the pain. After the presentation went successful, Olivia asked for the end-of-month financial report. Starting this project would require a huge amount of
Chapter 73 Three months went by after the snake incident. Tom fired every person that was supposed to protect Olivia. It caused so much trouble that Yusuf was almost removed from his position. He was just glad that the man who pulled the thing off was very experienced and even with Tom’s resources, they have not been able to find him. Tom had personally rearranged Olivia’s security detail. They were his most trusted subordinates who could not be tempted easily so, it was hard for Yusuf to find an opening again. Ethan had also assigned his great men to watch her in private. She was being protected even more than the president. “I can’t believe that she was actually that lucky and managed to survive.” A man with a long scar on his face said as he looked at Yusuf. “Yeah. It was a one-clean shot but she came out unharmed. Now with all the people hovering around her, even a fly cannot penetrate.” “It doesn’t matter. I have been waiting for so long for this. I know that there will be
Chapter 72 At the hospital… Ethan did not stay unconscious for long. Olivia was by his bedside, holding his hand with a worried expression. Although the doctors had extracted all the poison in his body, she was still worried. Ethan slowly opened his eyes. He felt someone gripping his hand hard and when he turned his head, he saw his wife’s worried expression, and her face was filled with streaks of tears. “Hey.” He softly called out. “You are awake,” Olivia called out excitedly. “What happened?” Ethan inquired after realizing that he was in a hospital. “You were bitten by that python and although your bodyguard helped to suck out the poison, you fainted on the way here.” “How are you feeling?” she asked. She was worried that there were still traces of poison in his body and it might endanger his life. “I am fine. I just feel a little numb on my arm but that’s all.” “I was so worried about you.” Olivia started to cry. When Ethan fainted in the ambulance, she felt as if her w