After ending the call, Yasmin turned to look at Imogen.In truth, she had only pretended to send Imogen away earlier. Imogen had, in fact, stayed in the room. Upon hearing Yasmin say her goodbyes to Blake, she asked, "Was that really your ex-husband? Trist's father?"Yasmin looked at Imogen while holding her phone. She finally admitted, "Yes."Imogen was somewhat surprised. "So, you two have reconnected?""Yes." Yasmin nodded again.Imogen was pleased, as it meant Tristan would have a father. However, Yasmin's next words caused her heart to ache.Yasmin explained the deep-seated enmity between their families and everything that had happened over the years.Imogen was deeply saddened to learn of such a long-standing feud. She gently stroked Yasmin's head and asked, "Yasmin, what are you thinking?"Yasmin's expression became sorrowful. "Grandma, we have irreconcilable differences. We can no longer be together."Over the years, Yasmin's hired private investigator had uncovered no
In a way, Stuart's death relieved Ivan greatly.Earlier that morning, Ivan had gone to the nursing home to confirm that Stuart's heart monitor had indeed flatlined before heading to the Sander residence to inform Yasmin.Still, Ivan felt uneasy because Stuart had died so suddenly. He was a little skeptical, so he closely observed Yasmin's expressions throughout the journey.Yasmin's face was pale to the extreme. Tears streamed down her face, and her body shook uncontrollably. It seemed too raw of a reaction for her to be pretending. Ivan thought that perhaps he was just overthinking things.When they arrived at the nursing home, Yasmin was supported into the ICU. She did not have the strength in her legs to walk on her own. Seeing that Stuart's heart monitor had flatlined, she broke down crying. "Dad!"Her voice trembled, evidently filled with panic, and her eyes were red.Seeing her collapse over Stuart's body, sobbing hysterically, Ivan's doubts began to fade.He approached an
Blake was reviewing some files when he heard the news. He looked up, his gaze deep and thoughtful. "Stuart passed away?"Malcolm nodded. "Yes, it happened yesterday morning. I heard Ms. Starr was so devastated that she fainted twice."Blake's heart sank, his focus on work dissipating all at once. He immediately picked up his phone and called Yasmin.It was afternoon in Stanton City and morning in Merania.Yasmin answered the call, her voice barely above a whisper. "Hello.""I heard about Dad's passing," Blake said, his voice on the hoarser side.Yasmin acknowledged the fact with a quiet hum. She didn't say much else.Blake found himself at a loss of words. Over the past few years of dealing with crises at Windmere Group and Yasmin's betrayal, he had distanced himself from anything related to Stuart.During those years, he had seriously considered moving on from her and starting new.But now, Stuart was gone, and the grudges of the previous generation seemed to fade away with h
Yasmin's heart raced in her chest as she grappled with what to do next.Ivan glanced out the window at that moment.Blake was standing across the road, presenting an imposing figure in his black suit. He had watched the funeral from a distance, yet he felt like an outsider who couldn't be further removed from the whole procession.Stuart had passed away, and the person who held a funeral in his memory was Ivan. He had stayed by Yasmin's side throughout the ordeal, holding her and comforting her. She hadn't pushed him away, either.Blake couldn't help the sour feeling coursing through him. Although Yasmin had assured him that she hated Ivan, her reliance on the latter said otherwise. Blake had no idea of knowing if she was lying to him.He shouldn't have come today. Things had been busy at Windmere Group lately, but he figured Yasmin would be lost in her grief following Stuart's passing. And so, he came, only to watch gravely on from afar.Ivan merely cut Blake an icy look. He wou
"But you got off easy with such a peaceful death. That won't do," Blake continued menacingly as he raised the gun in his hand and fired into the decomposition box.A loud bang echoed through the morgue.Hiding behind a column by the door, Wendy was gaping. Her eyes were wide with disbelief. She hadn't expected Blake to be so cruel as to come to the morgue and fire at Stuart's dead body.While Wendy was in a daze, Blake fished out his phone and dialed a number. "Malcolm, Ivan is on his way to the hospital. You only have a couple of guys with you, right? Sneak into the hospital and take care of the bastard for me."Upon hearing that Ivan was in danger, Wendy panicked. Horrified, she quickly called Ivan, but none of her calls went through. She grew anxious and decided to abandon her task at the morgue and head to the hospital right away.Blake smirked when he heard Wendy's footsteps fading away.The decomposition box before him was empty. His display had been an act to fool Wendy an
Ivan frowned as he asked gravely, "Are our bodyguards stationed here?""Yes," Wendy replied."Good." Ivan set his worries aside. The worst thing that could happen was a crossfire, though it wouldn't be the first time. He had slowly gotten used to such violent confrontations.Wendy added, "There's more, Mr. Burke. When we arrived at the morgue, we saw Blake opening the decomposition box and firing a bullet at Mr. Starr's corpse. From the looks of it, Blake hated him."Ivan froze before barking a short laugh. He shouldn't be surprised that Blake hated Stuart who pushed James to his death, nor would he allow Stuart a peaceful death.The information from Wendy reassured Ivan of Stuart's death. Even if Stuart had been faking his death, he was certainly dead now that Blake had shot him.Ivan walked over to Yasmin and said grimly, "Yasmin, I have news, and I need you to stay calm after hearing it, all right?""What is it?" Yasmin asked, her face pale as she stared at Ivan. She was worr
Ivan turned to give Wendy a sharp look. He asked in a low voice, "Do you want Yasmin to die?"His words echoed Wendy's true thoughts, to some extent. In truth, she didn't want him to be with Yasmin. With Blake targeting him these days, she didn't want him to strain himself by having to protect Yasmin while watching his own back.If it weren't for Sander International, Wendy wished Yasmin would die on the spot so that Ivan wouldn't have anyone using her as leverage against him."I suggest you keep those thoughts at bay, Wendy. Yasmin is my wife, and you are therefore answerable to her. I won't hesitate to punish you the next time I catch you with those conniving thoughts." Ivan shot Wendy a dark, warning look before he turned and walked away.Wendy stood in the corridor and nursed her bitterness. She had dedicated her life to Ivan, only for him to cherish some other woman.Gritting her teeth, she trudged down the corridor and stopped in front of the hospital room. She glowered at t
Isaac explained, "Andy just informed me that Blake discovered them while they were trying to get Stuart out of the morgue. He thought on his feet and told Blake it was your idea to drug Stuart into an asystolic state."He said you intended to fake Stuart's death so you could save him from Ivan. Andy also mentioned that you planned to put Stuart up in a nursing home for recovery."Yasmin knew Isaac was telling her all this so that her version of the story would align with what Andy Wuntch told Blake.Andy was the bodyguard with whom Blake had spoken at the morgue earlier. He had been working for Isaac for years and was a loyal confidante to him. She asked, "Does Blake know about your involvement in this?""No, Andy's smart enough to keep me out of it. Unfortunately, things wouldn't have gotten so complicated if I'd been able to go to Merania myself."Blake would never have discovered their covert operation if Isaac had been there to oversee things. But as things were, their missi