It wasn't until Cheryl disappeared upstairs that Selena started crying. "Why is her life so miserable? It would be nice if she had zero connection to Evans Group."Cheryl still didn't know that although Aiden was the head of the Hackett family and was in charge of all their family affairs, the family elders usually made the major decisions within the family.In other words, if the old man really brought this issue up with the family elders, they would only consider their family's interests. They wouldn't consider Cheryl's blood connections at all. Besides, she was also a woman.Aiden hugged Selena gently. "Don't worry. I won't let Cheryl leave us again!"Selena sobbed.However, Cheryl, who was upstairs, was still unaware of her dangerous situation....At this moment, Caroline looked at the scenery outside the car window while Kirk held her hand tightly. Neither of them said anything.Caroline felt like she could hear Kirk's heartbeat in the silence.After another five minut
Kirk finally put down his phone after Charles hung up. Then, he squinted slightly and gazed at the distant, bright moon. He would only be relieved after seeing Eddy's lifeless body. The night passed in silence after that. …The next day, Caroline woke up to have breakfast with Kirk. After eating, she left for work.Now that Eddy wasn't stirring up trouble, every day was a good day for her. Caroline felt that she had fallen in love with going to work. However, when she heard people spouting nonsense during meetings, Caroline thought leaving this job to Kirk was better.She didn't even know what he did exactly. But she was still sure of one thing. Kirk's identity wasn't as simple as he had claimed. At that thought, she felt a mild pain in her forehead again. Caroline pressed her temples firmly. The pain felt like needles piercing through her skin and into her veins. "Ms. Evans!"Right then, Caroline's newly appointed assistant, Stephanie Watson, walked in. Seeing Caro
Caroline cast a scornful glance at Joshua. She thought he was much more intelligent than Willow. As a university student, he was more insightful than Willow, who had spent her whole life in the countryside. Moreover, Joshua emanated this energy, as if he were bold and fearless. With the right guidance, a person like him could become remarkable. Unfortunately, he had strayed from the proper course. Otherwise, Caroline would have given him the same resources she had given Cheryl. "I heard you're close with Cheryl. Besides, I also heard that she even used her return to the Hackett family as a condition to save you. "I know my silly sister well. She would risk her life for the people she cares about. "And she truly doesn't care about money. Even after learning that she's the daughter of the Hackett family, she didn't want to return. That's because she values her relationships more," said Joshua.Caroline replied, "You do know your sister well. It looks like she must have riske
Joshua rose, saying, "You won't. I'm sure you'll say yes. Alright, it's getting late. I should take my leave now. Ms. Evans—"As he spoke, he took out an A4 paper and handed it to Caroline. "This is my number. I'll give you three days to think about it. I hope to get the answer I want."After saying that, he left confidently.Caroline stared at his retreating figure, pressing her temples. He was truly something.He could see that the Hacketts hadn't sincerely accepted Cheryl. That was why he had the guts to approach her without evidence and make such audacious demands. …At noon, Gwen came to have lunch with Caroline. Noticing that the latter was distracted, she asked curiously, "What's the matter with you? Is the food not to your liking?"Caroline briefly recounted the morning's events. "So, in the end, you can only ask Cheryl to be your spy?"After listening to Caroline's story, Gwen also thought that Joshua was shrewd and clever. Moreover, he had just seen them once, bu
"Mrs. Hackett Senior, everyone has their destiny. If the family elders think I should leave this family, I won't stay."In fact, Cheryl was more than willing to leave the Hackett family immediately. She was Aiden and Selena's biological daughter. However, she had moved away from them at a young age. Hence, she knew nothing about them and was not emotionally attached to them. Moreover, the Hackett family wasn't friendly. The chaos at the banquet was enough to show that. Cheryl couldn't help but wonder what other surprises awaited her if she stayed with them."Don't worry, Cheryl. I'll never let you leave the Hacketts. If the family elders insist on you leaving, I'll go with you," said Selena.After that, she looked at Aiden. "Aiden, I'm not kidding. If those people are unreasonable and want to kick my daughter out because of Eddy, I'll divorce you!"Selena's tone was firm. It didn't sound like she was joking at all. Aiden massaged his throbbing temples before replying, "We'v
The family elders spoke in hushed tones after hearing that. Ultimately, the elder, who was seated in the middle, spoke up. "We were indeed quick to judge. But since we can't ask the Morrisons, we can only make our own deductions. We know all about what you've done."In fact, this family is in the wrong. You had agreed to work with the Morrisons but went against your words halfway through. That's unreasonable."At that moment, Aiden wanted to reveal that Kirk supported Caroline. However, he remembered Cheryl's repeated warnings against disclosing this information.Hence, he could only say, "It's simple. We didn't gain much benefit from our collaboration with the Morrisons. We're in the business world, so of course we won't work with them when there are no benefits.""Nonsense!" Miles retorted. "We had joined forces to target Evans Group. Once Evans Group fell, we could have split it equally with the Morrisons. "By then, Hackett Group could have surpassed Sorkin Group and become
Cheryl took a step forward, looking at the six family elders seated above. She smiled faintly before saying, "May I say a few words as the accused party?"The six family elders exchanged looks upon hearing that. After a while, they nodded. "Yes, you may," the family elder in the middle answered. Cheryl thanked them and continued, "I know what everyone is thinking. You think the collaboration with the Morrisons ended because of my return to this family. You want to kick me out to show the Morrisons your sincerity towards them, don't you? "Isn't that the case?" Moira snapped, her tone charged with hostility. Cheryl looked at Moira. "Calm down. I haven't finished speaking."She added, "I agree with your suggestion. As long as I leave, the Morrisons will surely forgive you and resume working with you."Everyone present was shocked to hear that. They hadn't expected Cheryl to say she wanted to leave the Hacketts willingly. Meanwhile, tears welled up in Selena's eyes. "Cheryl,
At that moment, Cheryl sat in the car, still somewhat embarrassed by all the praise she had received. She hadn't meant for all that to happen. But somehow, in Selena's eyes, she was as articulate as Winston Churchill. Before Selena could speak again, Cheryl interjected, "Mrs. Hackett Senior, I want to buy something. You can drop me off ahead.""I'll go with you," Selena volunteered enthusiastically. Cheryl cast an awkward glance at her. "I'd like to go alone."Instead of thinking that Cheryl wasn't interested in shopping with her, Selena assumed the latter needed time alone after everything that had happened. "I understand. We'll drop you off at the next intersection. Cheryl, don't think about it too much. We'll definitely protect you," Selena reassured her. Cheryl didn't respond. She thought Selena was overly concerned. The Hacketts' thought process was indeed different from others. Aiden echoed Selena's sentiments. Just as Cheryl was about to get out of the car, he coul
Soon, Kirk and Caroline met up with Thomas. When he saw the two of them, his eyes turned bloodshot from the rage boiling within him. "You won!" He spat with so much force that it seemed like he had used up all his strength for it. "Things didn't have to come to this," Kirk said calmly as he sat down beside Thomas. Thomas snorted derisively. "Oh really? If you hadn't chosen to marry Caroline at such short notice, do you think Eddy would have died? You two were the cause of the tragedy!" Caroline didn't feel like talking anymore after seeing how foolishly adamant Thomas was. She gave Kirk a look, and he hummed in acknowledgment. When he turned to face Thomas again, his eyes were frosty "I'm here to tell you something," he said.Thomas let out a bark of scornful laughter. "Why? What else do you have to tell me, huh? Are you going to tell me that you have a child now?" "It's not about me and Caroline's child. It's about yours," Kirk stated plainly as he stared at Thomas
"Yes, it's true! Why would I lie to you about something so important?" Betty said. "This is wonderful! Marietta's wish has finally come true." Caroline turned to look at Marietta, who had just stopped by the door. Marietta was so shocked by the results that she was too stunned to speak. All she did was stare at Caroline in silence. Caroline opened her lips to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. She and Marietta stood facing each other, tears streaming down their cheeks. The next second, the two of them rushed toward each other and hugged each other as tightly as they could. The words that were at the tip of their tongues turned into tears at this significant moment. The others felt touched as they witnessed the mother-daughter duo's reunion. After some time, Betty broke the silence. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and call her 'Mom'!"Caroline had once used that word to address Marietta, but she hadn't known that Marietta was her biological mother back then.
Blushing, Caroline nodded. However, Kirk couldn't lift his head due to his injuries. So, Caroline took the initiative to bend over so that she was closer to him. Their lips touched. Yet before Caroline could get that warm, fuzzy feeling she always had when they kissed, she heard Gwen's voice. "Oh? Did we come at the wrong time?" Gwen grinned.It gave Caroline such a shock that she almost fell to the ground. Cheryl reacted quickly and gave Caroline an arm to hold on to for support. Steadying herself, Caroline stared daggers at Gwen, who giggled and placed the supplements she had brought on a table. Sean and Kirk started discussing what had happened that day, while Caroline led Gwen and Cheryl out of the ward. "Are you two back together?" Gwen asked. There was a sparkle in her eyes, which said enough about how eager she was to gossip. When Caroline nodded, Gwen patted her back gleefully and said, "Great! We all know how much Kirk loves you, even though he kept his ident
As Caroline mentally prepared to face death, there was a sudden, loud commotion. The noise was followed by gusts of wind that were so strong that no one could pry their eyes open to see what was going on. Still, Caroline could make out the silhouette of a helicopter above her. She had no idea what had happened next, though. …When she woke up, she was already lying on a bed in a ward. Beside her were Betty and Marietta, their eyes red and puffy from crying. When they noticed that Caroline was awake, the two of them shot up from their chairs."Carrie? You're finally awake!" Still groggy, Caroline forced herself to hum in response. After getting up, she grabbed Betty's hand and said, "Where's Kirk?" "He's fine," said Betty while wiping the tears off her cheeks. "He's in another ward, but he hasn't woken up yet." "Can I see him?" Caroline asked, tearing up. Betty nodded and asked Sean to push Caroline's wheelchair to the ward next door. Caroline couldn't hold back her
Kirk and Caroline hadn't even caught their breaths yet when they sensed a more intense attack coming their way. It didn't seem like these people were human. They seemed like monsters, bringing destruction wherever they went. Caroline watched the situation outside in concern. "Why hasn't Nightshade come back yet? Did he lie to us?" she asked. Kirk gritted his teeth and replied, "No, he wouldn't. They're all people from the dark web, and they're all honorable. Since he promised to bring the top two assassins, he'll definitely come back."As he spoke, he pushed her into a car. "But before that, you have to leave first," he insisted.Caroline noticed that his words were only directed at her. She grabbed his hand tightly. "What do you mean by that?"What did he mean she had to leave first?He replied, "Finn has sent over all his trump cards. If you don't leave, I have no doubt that he'll come here too. So, you need to leave now!" Caroline grabbed his hand. "We haven't gone to Ci
When she saw his reaction, Caroline couldn't help but smile. "What I mean is, let's head to City Hall to re-register our marriage certificate. The information we used to register our marriage before was all fake. "Can we update it with the real information now?"Kirk brightened up. "No problem."She looked at him and smiled again. However, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "Oh, I forgot about Thomas. Do you think he'll send someone to ambush us when we go to City Hall?"Kirk fell silent. He didn't want to change the plans, but he still said, "Then, let's wait for Nightshade to find the assassins—"Before he could finish his sentence, gunshots rang out from downstairs. His face dropped, and he rushed to the window, where he saw two groups of people engaged in a gunfight. One of the groups was Thomas' men."What's going on?" Caroline asked as she got up from bed."Thomas must have found out that Nightshade left, so he took the chance to ambush us."Kirk led her to a
"If you make up with Kirk, I'll help you find them both."Caroline and Kirk were stunned to hear Nightshade's condition. Kirk had never expected Nightshade to say such a thing. Caroline was also in disbelief. She felt somewhat reluctant to agree to it."You don't agree?" Nightshade asked when Caroline remained silent. "Alright then, if you disagree, I won't look for them. Besides, Thomas is already planning to go all out against you. "When the time comes, I can escape. But what about you two?"Caroline looked at Kirk. "Thomas plans to go all out against us? You're not lying to me?"Kirk met her eyes and gulped. "No."She pondered for a moment, then looked at Nightshade again. "Do you really have a way to help us find the two assassins?""Of course.""Okay." Caroline lowered her head. "As long as you can help us find those two assassins, I'll agree to your condition."On the other side of the room, Betty and Marietta exclaimed excitedly when they heard her words. "Carrie, do
When Betty noticed how confused everyone looked, she said, "Oh, dear. Did you all forget?"Back then, when Marietta did the DNA test with that girl from the Hackett family—no, the fake Ms. Hackett—Caroline was the one who went to the restaurant with her."She continued, "Didn't we look through the footage from that day? Then, we called in the people who were at the restaurant that day to do another DNA test."Although they had unfortunately been unable to find Marietta's daughter, Betty still considered it a great effort. "We had thought that we had tested everyone. But there was someone who we didn't test!" Betty's eyes lit up as she looked at Caroline. Marietta immediately understood what she meant. She looked at Caroline with excitement, but she didn't dare to get her hopes up. "Caroline…"Caroline also looked at Marietta excitedly. "I… Aunt Mary… this… Is it possible?"Betty replied, "Why wouldn't it be possible? We tested so many people back then, and you were the only
Sarah was about to tell Caroline, but Dan stopped her."Don't tell her. Let her live in pain without ever knowing who her real parents are. Besides, do you really think she will get us the best lawyer?"Caroline wasn't upset that they hadn't taken the bait. Instead, a small smile appeared on her face. "You still have some sanity left."Upon realizing her trick, Sarah shouted angrily, "You liar!"However, she was taken away before she could shout more. Caroline watched as Sarah and Dan disappeared in the police cars. The feigned strength on her face finally disappeared. She might never find her parents in this life. But she didn't regret it. She tilted her head and glanced at Kirk, Cheryl, and Jack beside her. She had no regrets anymore.Even though she couldn't get her parents back, she was content that she had so many friends."Let's head back." Caroline's voice was weary. She needed a good rest, but there was still a tough battle waiting for her. The news about Caroline n