"Hey, Adrian," Vincent greeted Adrian, avoiding his question.However, Adrian wasn't fooled so easily. He looked at Vincent curiously. "You still haven't answered my question, Vincent. What are you doing here?"Vincent had no way of avoiding the topic now. If he didn't answer his question, his cover would be blown. But if he didn't…Right now, everyone's eyes were on him.Cheryl then noticed Vincent's hesitant expressions and said, "Didn't you know, Mr. Sorkin? Mr. Vincent is Moira's boyfriend. He came here to meet our family, I guess.""You're dating Ms. Moira?" Adrian frowned. "But I remember that the girl who came to our place for dinner wasn't a Hackett."Vincent and Moira's faces darkened. Vincent said, "Adrian, you must have remembered it wrongly. Ms. Moira was the one who came over to our place that day."Adrian was sure that Moira wasn't the one who came to their house last time. Although he couldn't remember the woman's name, he vaguely remembered what'd she loo
Vincent and Moira heeded Aiden's words and stood still."Tell me, Moira. What's going on?" Aiden asked.Moira glanced at Vincent's phone unhappily. To stop their private dealings from being revealed, she had to admit the truth. She started, "H-he isn't my boyfriend. I-I like him and want him to be my boyfriend, b-but I was embarrassed to bring it up. So, I asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend, hoping to take this chance to get closer to him. "I swear I didn't mean to do anything else."Cheryl would've believed Moira if she hadn't said her last sentence. But now, she was sure that Moira did this on purpose. She asked Vincent to be her boyfriend to undermine Jack."Since you were trying to get closer to him, why did he still buy so many gifts on your behalf?" Cheryl asked, pretending to be confused.Moira was tongue-tied when Cheryl discovered a loophole in her story.Everyone's eyes then landed on Vincent and Moira. When Vincent felt everyone's eyes on him, especially
Since Moira remained silent, Aiden had no choice but to look at Vincent for an explanation.However, Vincent didn't know anything about the gifts. When he saw that it was all a pile of junk, he panicked and quickly explained, "I don't know anything. I didn't buy them. Moira did. I don't know anything. Moira just told me to follow her here. Don't look at me like that. I really don't know anything…"He backed away as he spoke, "I don't want that one million dollars anymore!" Then, he dashed out of the Hackett residence.Moira wanted to follow him, but Aiden stopped her. "Moira, you should be giving us an explanation. Don't you think so?"Moira wanted to dig a hole in the ground and hide in it. "Uncle Aiden, Aunt Selena. I-I…""Since you can't explain yourself…" Cheryl walked up to Moira and sneered. "I'll do it for you."After a pause, Cheryl continued, "After knowing I had a boyfriend and that he was a driver, you asked Vincent to act as your boyfriend. "He couldn't have bou
Cheryl's life with the Hacketts seemed pretty interesting. "Shall we… go upstairs to chat?" Aiden asked while pointing toward the second floor. Caroline glanced at Adrian. After he nodded, she replied, "Sure."With that, the three of them headed upstairs. After the servants set down the coffee and left, Aiden asked, "Ms. Evans, why did you think of involving Mr. Adrian to investigate the matter of the game data leakage for Cheryl?""It's a long story," answered Caroline.She thought about the weekend she returned to the office after seeing Corinne and Sarah together. Kirk had told her about the competition with Quentin to see who could obtain Corinne's information first. Sunday passed, and Caroline didn't see Kirk. She instinctively knew that he was investigating Corinne.She couldn't help but feel nervous knowing that Kirk was being serious, but she couldn't understand why she was anxious either. It wasn't entirely true if she said she wanted Kirk to win. However,
"It's a deal, then. We'll leave this matter to Mr. Sorkin's friend to investigate," Caroline said as she stood up. Then, she added, "Adrian, you may discuss the specific details with Mr. Hackett Senior. I need to go back to the office to handle some work." "I'll walk you out." Adrian also rose to his feet."There's no need for that."Saying so, Caroline turned to leave. As he looked at her retreating figure and swift movements, Adrian knew what she meant. Yet, he refused to come to terms with it. "Mr. Adrian?"Upon hearing Aiden's voice, Adrian snapped back to reality. Then, he smiled and said, "Let's talk."At that moment, Caroline, who was already downstairs, took the initiative to bid Cheryl and Selena goodbye. Selena was surprised after learning that Caroline was leaving. "Leaving so soon?" Caroline responded, "Yes, Mr. Adrian and Mr. Hackett Senior will discuss the specific details. Even if I stayed, I'm of no help. So, I'll take my leave now.""I'll walk you out,
The day before, Caroline had received information from Adrian and Kirk both online and in person.During that time, she had been overwhelmed and didn't know which one to read first. So, she ended up not opening either file. Now, it was time for her to decide. Should it be Kirk or Adrian? Caroline stared at the phone on top of the file, still unsure which to choose.Suddenly, she thought of the famous coin flip theory. It was said that when one did not know how to make a decision, one could choose to flip a coin.However, the ultimate purpose wasn't to let the coin decide. Instead, one would know what they truly wanted in that second. Caroline had no coins. So, she went to the convenience store to exchange one.After trying several stores, she finally got a ten cent coin.Back in the car, Caroline took a deep breath before tossing the coin."Pop!" The coin dropped to the ground at the moment her mind went blank. Caroline was at a loss for words. She had no idea what
How… did she end up opening Corinne's information, which Kirk had sent her?For a moment, Caroline couldn't find the words to speak. "What's wrong?" Kirk's worried voice sounded when he didn't hear Caroline's response.But now, Caroline's attention was drawn to Corinne's information. "It's nothing. I'm going through Corinne's details now. I'll call you back after I finish reading it."With that, Caroline hung up and started seriously going through the file.The document was similar to the resume Corinne provided. A fire happened when she was five years old, and she was sent abroad. But the document Kirk sent was more detailed.Back then, at just five years old, Corinne was sent abroad overnight. Furthermore, after she arrived at the hospital, the patients there were gradually removed.After that, during the period of her treatment, Sarah and Dan returned to the country at different times. But what was more interesting was that they would go to orphanages upon their arriva
Caroline was puzzled. "Why didn't you send Corrine's information to me when you got it?" This time, Kirk remained silent for a long while.Then, he said, "When I got the information, I was outside a restaurant. I saw you meeting with Adrian."Caroline asked, "You were just outside the restaurant?"That seemed too coincidental, right? So, it also meant that both parties had gotten the information at about the same time.No, this wasn't right…Caroline looked at Kirk, speechless. After a minute, she unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the car. Kirk looked at Caroline in confusion. He only understood what she was doing when she sat in the passenger seat."So, I won?" he asked cautiously.Caroline pursed her lips. "I just calculated the time when you started your investigation and found that you started investigating a day later than Quentin. After the calculation, you did win after all."She had been troubled for half a day over nothing. "So…" Kirk asked carefully. "For th
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