Soon, the whole department heard of Olivia getting slapped. Considering that Ethan had given her total control of the project, this was unexpected.Any smart person would've noticed that something was off. Everyone knew that Brent had gotten Olivia in.By the looks of it, the force behind Olivia wasn't Brent but Ethan instead.When they realized that, the members of Team C were terrified.It was no wonder that Olivia was so arrogant and never respected anyone. It now made sense for Ethan to request for her specifically to deliver the proposal.The company even issued a warning because of the photo incident.There was an explanation for everything now. The force backing Olivia was the almighty Ethan!It didn't matter if she were Ethan's lover; the most Marina could do was slap Olivia.For a moment, everyone was anxious. None of them dared to snatch any projects away from her. They were scrambling to gain her favor instead.Respectfully, Norma placed the strawberry milkshake Oli
As Brent looked at the micro tracker on the desk, his face turned pale."H-How could this be? What is Mrs. Miller trying to do?"Picking up the tracker, Ethan stuffed it back into the clip. "Give it back to William. Don't tell anyone about this.""Understood, Mr. Miller."Ethan fiddled with his tie clip. Ever since Olivia requested to be his assistant, he had been suspecting her.Judging by Olivia's personality, she would try to get as far away from him as possible. It didn't make sense for her to stay by his side.Unless she was trying to get something from him.Was it money?She could donate 500 million dollars without batting an eye. She obviously didn't lack money.The only other reason would be Jeff.He remembered her hesitant behavior the other day. "Did she figure something out?" he wondered.Noticing that Ethan had stayed silent, Brent couldn't see through Ethan's thoughts either. He asked carefully, "So, about Mrs. Miller …""Don't do anything yet, in case she's al
Olivia sighed in relief. It was just Ethan."What is he doing here instead of going home to spend time with Marina?" she wondered.She said, "What a coincidence, Mr. Miller."Ethan studied her from head to toe with a calm expression. "I'm waiting for you."Olivia had a feeling that there was something off about Ethan. The light from the lighter flame bounced off his face. Half of his face was lit, while the other half was covered in darkness. Olivia thought his face looked like a mix of an angel and a demon."Waiting for me?" Olivia swallowed. She was a little wary of the coldness coming from him.He didn't say anything and started walking instead.Olivia didn't know what he was thinking, so she simply followed behind him. They got into the elevator, which brought them up to the top floor.The wind was howling on the rooftop. It was already spring, but the night breeze was still quite cold. It was as cold as Ethan's figure.Olivia couldn't help but shrink back a little. "Is
Surprisingly, Ethan wasn't mad. Instead, he tossed away the cigarette in his hand.Olivia was about to leave, but he didn't stop her. His voice rang coldly in the air. "Olivia, you'd better not be lying."He stared straight at Olivia, who was leaving. He thought that she would come back, but she didn't even turn around.The wind put out the last bits of ember from the cigarette stub. Olivia was already gone from the rooftop.Ethan looked up at the night sky above him. Heavy clouds covered the sky, so only a few stars could be seen."What exactly is Olivia hiding?" he wondered.He thought of her words that day. If Jeff wasn't the one who killed Leia, then who could it be?"Mr. Miller, Mrs. Miller has been gone for a while now." Standing in the dark, Brent looked just like Ethan's shadow.Ethan heaved a long sigh. "Brent, I want to reinvestigate Leia's incident.""Is it for Mrs. Miller's sake?" Brent couldn't understand.The incident was already set in stone, and it was also Et
After getting home, Olivia checked on the trackers again. The one that had gone into the landfill had disappeared from the display. But the others hadn't changed much from before.Jack's phone was still turned off. Olivia sighed.She was getting closer to the truth, but the path ahead was covered in fog. No matter how hard she tried to clear things up, nothing changed.Fortunately, the project was progressing smoothly. Her proposal passed the other company's screening, and they would have a meeting with her soon.Donned in a formal outfit, her palms were sweating a little.Opening the door, she smiled politely. "Hello, I'm Olivia Fordham from Miller Group."A youth in a white suit sat at the table. His features were exquisite, and there was a smile on his face. "We meet again, Olivia."Olivia was stunned. "Colin."She finally realized what this meant. "So you're Mr. Moriarty, the general manager of Peak Group?""Yes. I just took over the business from my father." Colin shrugge
At the mention of Jackson, Norma rolled her eyes. "One word—pervert.""He's a pervert?""Yeah. He'd even give a female fly a second look, not to mention women."Olivia felt even more confused. Could someone like him be the mastermind?"Did he mess with you, Ms. Fordham?" Norma asked, studying Olivia's expression."No, I was just curious."Norma thought quickly, then said, "Thanks to you, we got another partnership in the bag. This means that we've completed the sales mission. He'll be here soon."As she spoke, Norma pointed at a man in a suit and tie, who was standing at a corner. "Look, there he is."Olivia looked in the direction Norma was pointing. Jackson seemed to be around 35 years old. He had a common stature, and his eyes had a cunning shine to them.When their gazes met, Jackson studied Olivia from head to toe."Oh, you're that newcomer, aren't you? The one who bagged a huge project as soon as she joined. You're something." Jackson reached out to pat Olivia on the sh
In the hospital, Jeff was lying on the hospital bed as always. Every day, he survived on nutrient solutions and various equipment.His body had weakened at a noticeable rate. His limbs had begun to shrink.He was like a flower that had lost its vigor and was clinging to the last bits of nutrients in the soil. He was barely hanging on.Olivia hadn't visited him in a while. Every time she saw her father like this, she would feel even worse.Jeff's face was already sunken. Olivia's tears dripped onto the back of his dry hand."Dad …"She wished that a miracle would happen one day, and Jeff would wake up and look at her. She yearned for just a glance from him, and maybe a few words too."Don't be sad, Olivia."Colin patted her gently on the back. Olivia lowered her head, not wanting anyone to see her at her weakest moments.Sobbing, Olivia covered her face. When she looked up again, she saw Colin listening to Jeff's heartbeat with a stethoscope."Colin?"Putting the stethoscope
Colin sent Olivia to her apartment. He had the innocence of a youth, but he also had the gentlemanly air of an older man.He opened the car door for Olivia. Then, he wrapped the scarf he just purchased around Olivia's neck."It's okay, I'm not feeling cold," Olivia said."This is a new scarf. You should keep yourself warm," he explained."Alright. Take care on your way back. Thanks."Colin was still smiling. "The snacks tonight don't count. You still owe me a proper meal, Olivia.""Oh, you." Reaching out, Olivia caressed his head. "You've never changed since you were young."She once promised to give him a present back then. He remembered it and would keep asking her for the present from time to time."Let's meet up sometime.""Sure."Olivia watched as the car drove away. Then, she turned around and got into the elevator.Colin was right. She shouldn't be so pessimistic.She looked at the snacks she was holding. She never thought that Colin still remembered her preferences
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