Ethan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.Olivia and Alicia were wearing exquisite silver gowns. In addition to the silver chains, they appeared oddly beautiful.Alicia's face wasn't covered, so her innocent face was shown on the huge screen.Everyone was mesmerized by her angelic beauty.She wasn't fed any drugs, so her beady eyes were crystal clear.Her hair accessory came with diamonds and feathers, turning her into a princess of an exotic country.Her innocent eyes indicated that she didn't know what was going on. She didn't cry. Instead, the curious girl scanned the surroundings like a lamb intruding on a lion's den by mistake.Her rosy lips parted, and Ethan read her lips. "Mom. Uncle Logan."Ethan's fingers were already touching his weapon. He wished he could fire his gun at Flora at this moment.Alicia's beauty surged the crowd into a commotion.A lot of them were even planning to renew their collection.Some of the twisted people planned to take her
Flora wanted to see Ethan getting anxious. He naturally didn't want Olivia's mask to be taken off as other men would see her face.If he didn't give the money, there would be others willing to fork it out. Thus, he had to give the one million dollars first.That figure was only the minimum. It was also Flora's chance to test Ethan.If he could pay so much money for a kiss, the following figure wouldn't be as little as this time. What could he use to bid later?If he were to save up the money for later to buy Olivia, someone else would kiss her.Flora had set her mind on disgusting Ethan. This was a hard choice for him to make.However, she underestimated something about Ethan. Although he yearned for love, he hadn't lacked money since his birth.The Millers had been running their businesses for decades, and he was a prodigy in the field. The Miller family was a prestigious family.It was not that Ethan looked down on the others, but they wouldn't be able to overthrow him
Dale was known to be a playboy. His strong background gave him more reason to be one.Ethan didn't want to cross the Kingstons. Once things got out of control, Old Mr. Kingston would be a pain in the ass for him.Dale was the only person competing against Ethan. The price to remove Olivia's mask had reached up to four million dollars.Even Dale himself found it ridiculous. Frustrated, he asked, "Who's that fool competing against me?""We've looked into it, Mr. Dale. But we don't know who he is. He's mysterious. See how he bids a price as soon as you raise the bid? I think he's determined to win this round. Why don't we leave it at that and focus on the next round?"Dale snorted coldly. "Fine. Seems like I got a great deal for nothing. Let's see if that woman is worth four million dollars. If not, I bet he'll be infuriated."The bid ended with four million dollars. Everyone wished to know who spent so much money for a mere kiss.Some of them even doubted if the bidder could pay t
The light shone upon Olivia's face, adding luster to her exquisite makeup.She looked like she had stepped right out of a comic book. Even Ethan, who had always known how gorgeous she was, held his breath.She was wearing silver contact lenses, so she looked different.Her exposed skin was shimmering because of the glitter, conjuring images in his head.Her beauty was surreal like that of a beached mermaid, fallen angel, or a fairy."Fuck! I should've raised the bid earlier," Dale huffed.The person next to him hurriedly said, "Mr. Dale, she's beautiful, but she's not that young. Can't you see how old her daughter is already? So what if you can get a kiss from her? As long as you can buy her off, you can play with her however you fancy."Dale caressed his chin. "You're right. She can settle down at Pearl Mansion. We mustn't let those conventional geezers know about this.""That's for sure.""But don't you think she looks familiar? I think I've seen her somewhere before.""I
Following that was a whole new round of bidding. Flora's spur definitely stimulated the guests.The starting price of one million dollars soon increased by multiple folds. The figure increased faster than Usain Bolt.The huge screen was displaying Olivia. Her face was perfect no matter from which angle one looked.The high-resolution screen showed her forehead covered in beads of sweat. Her eyes were glazed over. The drugs were kicking in.Some of the men were willing to splurge money to have her without a care in the world.Dale wasn't one of the bidders. The bid went up to seven million dollars even before he raised his placard.The businessmen knew what they were doing. Once they were sick of Olivia, they could hand her over to someone else.A beauty like her could be sold around like hotcakes. It wouldn't be long before they could earn their capital back.Hence, the bids were raised higher and higher. It was going to exceed nine million dollars soon."Things are not look
Flora glanced at the scene. "Is there any bidder who'd like to raise the bid?"Dale wanted to raise his placard, but the person next to him pressed his hand down. "Give it a serious thought, Mr. Dale! We can't afford 30 million dollars. He's filthy rich. We should give up on this. It's just a woman. If you want to have her, we can figure out something else.""Fine." Dale had no other choice despite his sense of competitiveness.A man's best asset was his own capability.Ethan remained in his position with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his palm. He sat like a boss.Flora wanted to turn him into a laughingstock, but she became one instead."30 million dollars, once. 30 million dollars, twice. 30 million dollars, thrice … The lot is knocked down at 30 million dollars!" she announced the result reluctantly.She didn't expect that man to be able to pay such a high price.Ethan stood up, looking at Flora as though he was looking at a clown. "Can I take her away now?"Kelv
Although it was embarrassing, Olivia couldn't be bothered about it anymore.She simply wanted to cover her face so that others couldn't see her.Her long dress cascaded downward, making her look like an injured mermaid.While carrying her, Ethan took big strides out of the area. Joshua followed behind while carrying Alicia."Get a doctor. Hurry.""Got it."Ethan wanted to have Olivia, but not in such a situation, hence the annoyance.Besides, he didn't know what kind of drugs Flora gave Olivia and whether they would take a toll on her health.The doctor checked on her while Ethan gave them space. He lit a cigarette in the corridor.A lot of helicopters appeared above the dark sea.Joshua's expression changed. "Mr. Miller, did you hire mercenary soldiers?"He thought that Ethan would call over the army with his official identity, yet Ethan hired mercenary soldiers instead!That way, if things went south, the higher-ups wouldn't have the right to look into the matter.Joshua
The sea breeze blew over, giving Joshua goosebumps on his back.In the past, his job was to simply carry out orders from Ethan. He didn't know the complex story behind this.Just what kind of fray was Ethan in?Other than having a dysfunctional family, he had to face multiple schemes in business."Mr. Miller, what should we do now?" inquired Joshua.Ethan's eyes were dark, and his voice was icy. "Tell Brent to not hold himself back. Make himself at home. Destroy anything that has to be destroyed. I want to tell them that it isn't easy to gain that 34 million dollars."He threw the cigarette butt into the sea. His expression behind the mask turned gloomier. "Since they've taken what's mine, they should pay back with interest."Joshua's eyes brightened at Ethan's brilliant idea.During the past few days, Ethan got to know the number of enemies on the ship. If he took action now, he would have the upper hand.Even if the enemy called for backup, it would take at least six hours
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