They drove to the lake in the western suburban area. The gorgeous scenery was visible from quite some distance away.The gentle breeze blew on the fields as birds flew overhead in a flock. There were also lotuses on the lake.The sky was clear, and the water was rippling gently. Some petals scattered by the lakeside added a touch of elegance to the view."This place is so pretty.""Yeah. Mom's very sickly, so she can only stay in quiet places to rest. This is a nice place, which helps improve her mood."Before they got out of the car, there was already a group of housekeepers in uniform waiting for them. When the car came to a stop, a middle-aged butler opened the door. He said politely, "You're finally home, Mr. Sean."This palace wasn't actually his home. The Fordham residence was in the middle of the city. It wasn't the best place for his mother to stay. The Fordham siblings weren't that attached to this place, but that wasn't important. Their home was where their parents
Olivia looked at the woman before her. Shana was wearing a plain cotton dress, and her hair was in a ponytail.She didn't have any makeup on, but she looked very young. She didn't seem like a woman her age at all. Instead, she looked like she was in her mid-30s.Her eyes were clouded, like pearls that had been covered in dust. "Madam Fordham worries about you and your siblings every day. She shed many tears for you all, and eventually, her eyes became like this. Fortunately, you were able to overcome your depression, Mr. Sean. That's good news for Madam Fordham.""Sean, let me take a look at you.""Mom, I'm here." Sean tugged at her dress.Shana bent down and caressed his face like she did when he was a child."My dear Sean is all grown up now. It's a pity that I can't see you clearly anymore."She could only see the outline of his face. Everything else looked like a blur to her."Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Sean asked emotionally as he grabbed her hand."Madam Fordham k
After a while, Olivia started to frown."How is she?" Sean came forward and asked.Olivia withdrew her hand and said softly, "Madam Fordham is a little frail. It's probably because she sustained some injuries during childbirth in the past. Her condition can be improved over time.""I know my condition won't get any better. I'll be content with however many days I have left.""Mom, please don't say that!" Sean didn't want his mother to be so pessimistic."Alright. Let's not talk about that anymore. I'm sure you're all hungry. Let's stop chatting here."Olivia held her hand. "Madam Fordham, this is such a beautiful place, but isn't it a little lonely if you're here by yourself all year long?""I've always preferred peace and quiet. I've never been fond of hustle and bustle. Our family is very united. The younger ones visit me frequently, so I'm never lonely."Oliva nodded. "That's true. Sean has already recovered from his depression. He'll be able to stay by your side from now on
Shana was still very frail. She would sleep a lot every day. After she went to bed, Sean took Olivia somewhere safe and asked, "Olivia, please tell me straight up. Did you find anything when you examined my mom just now?"Olivia nodded. "There are signs that indicate she's been poisoned. The damage to her eyes doesn't seem to be from excessive crying. My current diagnosis is that the poison damaged her retinas."Sean was furious. "Who would dare to do such a thing! How dare they harm my mother?""Sean, the truth might be ugly. Think about it. The health examination reports for you and Madam Fordham were faked. This person has a lot of power in the family.""What are you trying to say, Olivia?""I suspect that the culprit is…"Before Olivia could finish her sentence, Nina rushed over and said, "Bad news, Mr. Sean! I received a call just now. Mr. Troy got in a traffic accident while on his way home. Ms. Jacqueline has been hospitalized.""What?" Sean was about to stand up reflex
A man was walking toward Olivia and Willow. He was wearing a white suit, looking very elegant and dignified. Olivia figured that he was probably Garrett Fordham."If you feed them too much, it'll give them upset stomachs. The fish food will also affect the water's quality. Everything is better in moderation. Doing too much would just cause more trouble."He seemed like he was talking about the fish, but he was actually warning Olivia to mind her own business.Olivia pulled Willow behind her and gave Garrett a polite smile. "Thanks for the reminder. She's too playful and didn't know about that. You are…""I'm Garrett Fordham. I heard that Sean brought a doctor friend home today. So, you must be Dr. Fordham. You're so young, but you were able to cure Sean. You're such a skilled doctor.""You're too kind, Mr. Fordham. Sean's condition was caused by troubles of the heart. He was naturally able to fall asleep after those issues were resolved. It's not because I'm a skilled doctor."Ga
Shana patted Garrett's arm. "Garrett, I know you're concerned about me. You've gotten so many renowned doctors to look at me in the past six months. None of them were able to help much. My eyes are probably…""Don't be so pessimistic, Aunt Shana. You'll definitely recover. Take a seat and drink some water."Shana took the glass of water. "Garrett, thanks for visiting me so often. I don't know what I'd do to pass the time without you.""Aunt Shana, I'm honored to be able to do that. You don't have to say that. I'm not worthy of such words."Olivia stood at the side as she observed their interaction. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things. While Garrett's words were a little suspicious, the emotions he displayed looked genuine. If he was pretending, then he was a great actor. After finishing her glass of water, Shana noticed the silhouettes of Olivia and Willow.She waved at Olivia and said, "Come here, Dr. Fordham.""Madam Fordham." Olivia stood next to her politely. "Take
After a short stroll, Olivia gave an excuse to go to the toilet and called Sean."What's the situation, Sean?"Sean's voice sounded anxious. "It's bad. When I got here, I heard that Troy's arms are seriously injured. As for Jacqueline, she's unconscious and covered in blood.Olivia frowned. "His arm? But he's a designer. He'll lose his mind if his arms are disabled."Sean knew how it felt. His legs were crippled in the past, after all."I've already asked someone to investigate the driver. It's the same story as before. The driver was driving under the influence of drugs. He's a single man who's also an addict. "He overdosed before he started to drive, and he died at the police station after he was captured. There are no other leads. It's a dead end."Olivia could feel the rage Sean was trying to suppress. "Calm down, Sean. Why don't I go over and take a look? I might be able to save Troy's arms.""That's right. You're a great doctor. But my mother…" Sean's brows remained fu
"Madam Fordham, something went wrong at Mr. Troy's art gallery. He called Ms. Jacqueline and Mr. Sean over for help."Shana was confused. "I'd understand if he called Jacqueline for help, but why would Sean go?""Madam Fordham, it's because Mr. Troy designed a set of premium jewelry for Sean. He wants Sean to show off the jewelry while sitting in his wheelchair. "He wants to prove to the world that even a cripple person can have a good life. He's also trying to encourage Sean.""He's so considerate. I know this is his dream. He wants all of us to go to one of his shows while wearing the jewelry he designed. It's a pity that our family is currently in this broken state…""Things will get better." Olivia patted Shana's hand."In that case, let's wait for a while longer."Nina was troubled. They were still at the hospital, and she didn't know what condition they were in. Olivia said gently, "Madam Fordham, let's not wait for them. Mr. Troy has high standards for his work. He mig
Warren's pale face showed a hint of pleading. "Olivia, we've gotten to know each other better in the past two years. Have you ever loved me?"Hatred was evident in Olivia's cold eyes. "Never. I pray for your death every single second of my life.""I knew it." He smiled at that embittering answer. Karma had always been there. Another sound of a gunshot surprised the birds. A pool of blood splashed over the flowers. Warren stared at the picture on the gravestone. "Mona, I've returned everything that I owe you…"Olivia's gaze alternated between the two bodies. Her heart ached as she began crying. "It's finally over, Mona. Please rest in peace."She had been waiting for this day to come for too long. When the revenge was finally over, she felt hollow on the inside. …Yarrows reached their peak of beauty during the season, dancing along the wind. Willow was chasing after Zack, her bells ringing briskly. He teased, "You can't catch me!"After weaving a garland, Alicia bec
Warren was so blinded by love that he didn't realize that Olivia had spent the last two years setting this up.The moment he saw Olivia nestling in Ethan's arms, he knew that his identity had been exposed since the beginning.It was time to end all of this.Although the Fordham family had won the fight, they sustained heavy casualties. Brandon and Deborah, together with Jacqueline, had hurt and killed countless people. Quinn became a sacrifice, never waking up again despite her young age. Olivia placed a bouquet before Quinn's gravestone. "Rest in peace, Quinn. I'll take good care of the family. Don't worry."The breeze carried a leave before it landed on Olivia's shoulder, as though trying to respond to Olivia.Douglas reunited with the family, and Natalie was finally buried in peace. It was a private funeral, but Mason paid a visit. Mason and Douglas looked at each other. They were both important to Natalie, and they finally met each other after her death. With reddene
"Avery, what happened?" Olivia inquired.She had no clue what was happening and didn't dare to go anywhere close to Louis. The only person who she got close to was Avery."Stay away, Olivia! It's too dangerous!" Avery yelled worriedly. Louis shifted his gaze to Olivia. "My experiment is going to be successful soon. That's Natalie's descendant. She has Natalie's genes in her…"Olivia's eyes widened as she finally realized why Louis had been taking special care of her. Back then, she simply assumed that it was due to her health and talent, but it turned out that he had known her identity all along!The purpose of the human modification project was to resurrect Natalie! The thought of it gave her goosebumps.To think that he had made so many preparations just to resurrect Natalie…Even Olivia was deceived. She took the human modification project at face value; she didn't think much about it! "Let Natalie go, Louis. She's been gone for years. She could be watching us from up
Olivia arrived on the island. She noticed the change in the atmosphere this time around.It was the same old scenery, but the robots that once filled the island to the brim were gone. She expected to encounter some inspection robots upon arrival, but there weren't any.Ships were docking in lines by the seashore, and most of them belonged to private foreigner organizations and mercenaries. People were coming to the island!What happened?Was Louis in danger?Although Louis wished to transform her into a cyborg, she hoped he could live regardless. No matter what field it was, no one would come before an outstanding scientist like him. It would be a huge loss to lose him.Olivia grew worried. "Calm down, Liv. A lot of people came to the island, but I don't think it's a big issue for now," Ethan reminded her.He bet that the ships were loaded with ammunition. Still, the buildings on the island were intact, and nothing seemed to be destroyed. She disagreed, "No, there should
Mason and David had a long discussion by themselves. No one knew what they talked about.But it didn't matter because it was just an extra member joining the Fordham family anyway. That was it.On the other hand, Tatiana was a little worried. If the whole Fordham family were to be added to the family registry, would her children inherit less from the Heath family?Humans were born selfish. When the event actually came to pass, everyone would be thinking about their own benefit. However, the result of the discussion between David and Mason surprised everyone.Even though David wasn't acknowledged as one of the Fordhams, he wasn't planning to change his surname to Heath.He saw himself as a Fordham because his mother married Douglas.Nevertheless, he didn't mind his family being relatives with the Fordham family.Mason was a little disappointed, but he still respected David's decision because he knew how well Douglas treated David's family.Mason asked the Fordham family to sta
Olivia and the others returned to the Fordham family. Everything was going back on track under Avery's management. Sean's leg was recovering well. He could walk like a normal person, and he didn't have to pretend to be a cripple anymore. Troy would need more time to heal, but he was making progress.David clearly seemed better than he was before Olivia left. Everyone could still hardly believe that Jacqueline almost killed everyone in the family all by herself. When Olivia returned, David asked with concern, "Olivia, Avery said that you were cursed. How are you feeling right now?""Don't worry, Dad. I'm all better now. But we think that Jacqueline's dead in the sea," she assured.He hugged her. "It's alright. Your safety is all I hope for."It broke her heart to see how time had chipped away at his physique. It hadn't actually been that long since the family was in trouble. "Any news about Mom's whereabouts?" asked Olivia. "Avery found something, but he's still trying to
Alan brushed it over, but it was enough to leave Wendell in shock. Wendell imagined what kind of life Wayne had led before this. Growing up in a slum where all kinds of people lived… People like them had never really owned anything anyway, so they wouldn't feel the pain of loss…Ever since his wife passed away, Wendell didn't really care much about Alexander's upbringing. Wendell was merely generous when it came to spending money on Alexander. But once he reunited with his son, he realized how much it could hurt to be a parent. If that marriage arrangement was Wayne's wish, Wendell was hell-bent on making it happen.…Olivia was watching the sunset painting colors to the horizon by the seashore. Although Jacqueline was dead, Olivia didn't feel happy, not even one bit. So what if the mastermind was dead? The Fordham family was still in disarray, and no one knew where Shana was.Olivia sighed softly. "You're too young to be sighing like that." Wayne suddenly appeared next
Wendell felt helpless. He was seriously down on luck.Instead of his son, he thought that he had found himself a bossy superior. It was a heartfelt reunion after 30 years of separation, and yet the first thing Wayne talked about was an announcement about his marriage rather than expressing words of concern for his family. If it were any ordinary woman, Wendell wouldn't have minded it. But the person he insisted on marrying was none other than Olivia! She was a divorced woman with four kids!On top of that, Olivia's ex-husband was Wendell's nephew! The divorced couple was somewhat entangled with each other too.Ethan and Wayne were both dear to him. What should he do? Wendell was at his wit's end. Ignoring Wendell's dilemma, Wayne handed him a cigarette. But Wendell refused, "I quit it."Wayne lit a cigarette and squatted on the ground. Instead of a ruler of a land, he appeared more like a construction worker. Wendell massaged his forehead at that. How had his son grown
Wendell had been frail all his life. He never imagined that his biological son would have been missing for so many years. What surprised him more was that Wayne had grown up well despite hardships. Still, there seemed to be something off about this son of his.They were father and son who had been separated for years. Now that the truth was revealed, shouldn't they be hugging each other in tears of joy? Why did Wayne show no joy in reuniting with his father but seemed interested in his identity as the son of the Procter family—or more precisely, the marriage arrangement between the Procter family and the Fordham family?""Son, things are a bit complicated right now. We need to take our time to discuss this thoroughly—""Am I not your son?" Wayne's restless temperament was exactly the same as his mother's. There was no chance of dissuading him. There was only one thing in his head. He felt fortunate that he had run a background check on the ties between both families. Otherwise