At the Buchan Group Headquarters, Theda stood in front of a large shipping container, her hand resting on her chin. "What's inside?""We're not sure. The airline just delivered it this morning. They said it was shipped from Orkgate," the assistant replied."Orkgate?" Theda hesitated. "Open it."The assistant stepped forward and opened the container.As soon as the content was revealed, she freaked out, "Ma'am, it's Robert."Theda rushed over to check on him. Inside the container, Robert lay unconscious, his eyes tightly shut. His face was pale, drained of color."Robert!" Theda called out, patting his face.Then she noticed the blood starting to seep through the wound on his abdomen.She cried out, "Call a doctor."The assistant rushed out to fetch help. Meanwhile, Theda contacted the front desk."Find out who sent this.""It's Debra Houston."The news brought Theda a sense of foreboding. For the past few days, no one knew where Robert had been. She had searched everywhere
Debra hung up the phone, determined to make Theda pay for hurting Marion."What are you doing sneaking around in the kitchen?"Drake's voice suddenly came from behind her. Startled, Debra turned around and sulked, "Do you always sneak up on people like that?""I just came to the kitchen to find something to eat. I didn't know you'd be here making calls," he replied, walking past her to grab some instant noodles from the fridge.Debra was puzzled. "Don't you have a chef?""At this hour? The chef is long gone," Drake snorted, tearing open the packet.Then he noticed a white clay pot simmering on the stove, giving off a delicious aroma."What's that?""What else? Soup for Marion.""There are servants in this house. You don't have to do it by yourself.""Marion doesn't like soup made by others."She lifted the lid to reveal a creamy soup. Drake wrinkled his nose."Isn't fish soup for nursing mothers? Is Marion on maternity leave or something?""Who told you that? It's savory a
"What nursing?" Marion asked.Debra blinked at him. "You don't know?""Not really.""It means stimulating milk production for women after they've had a baby."Marion pondered. "Is it for men too?""Only for women.""Got it. If you ever want kids in the future...""You'll make soup for me?""I won't let you drink it.""Why not?""I've heard it's painful for mothers to breastfeed. I don't want you to go through that."Debra couldn't hold back her giggles. "So, if I don't breastfeed, what would our baby drink?""Formula," Marion replied matter-of-factly.Debra smirked, "Dummy, if the milk isn't expressed, it'll still hurt."Marion fell into thought. "Then let's not have kids. Just you and me, together for life. That sounds perfect. If you ever feel lonely, we can move to that house in the mountains and keep cats and dogs. Either way, I'll always be by your side. You'll never have to feel pain or loneliness."Debra's heart softened. "Okay."After they finished eating, Debra
Kale explained, "The only place open for delivery at this hour was a small joint, and the soup has gone cold in the chilly weather. Cold fish soup always turns fishy."Drake's face twisted in disgust. "Toss it. File a complaint.""Yes, boss." Kale picked up the fish soup and dumped it back into the bag.Drake stared at the documents on his desk, muttering, "A pampered lady knows how to make soup. What a surprise!"Then he suddenly remembered that Debra not only knew how to make soup but was also good at playing the piano, dancing, and manipulating people. It had been almost a year since they first met. He had kidnapped Debra multiple times but had never gained any advantage. Instead, he had lost a lot."She's my nemesis," he declared seriously.If Debra wasn't his nemesis, she couldn't have played him like a fool. Ever since she appeared in his life, he had been nothing but unlucky.His estate in Seamar City was burned down. One of his fiancées was dead, and the other publicly b
Chapter 1"Get the defibrillator! Increase the voltage!""Doctor! The patient is experiencing massive bleeding, and the A-type blood from the blood bank was just urgently taken away."The intern nurse's hands were covered in blood, and she trembled.The operating room reeked of blood.She had never seen so much blood before.At that moment, a thought flashed through her mind.'Who would suddenly take away A-type blood from the blood bank?'The woman lying on the bed was pale. Her lips were dry, and her eyes started to lose focus. "Juan...""What?""Juan Nichols..."The intern nurse made out the name murmured by Debra Frazier.Juan Nichols was the most influential businessman in Seamar City.The doctor was on the verge of collapse. He dialed the wrong number three times before finally getting it right. He quickly pleaded with the person on the other end of the phone, "Mr. Nichols, your wife is experiencing massive bleeding, but the blood from the blood bank has been taken a
Chapter 2Juan also looked over.A red figure stood out in the crowd.Debra, clad in a burgundy dress, seemed to captivate hearts with every gesture. Cameras flashed at her like she was a reigning superstar walking the red carpet.'Debra?'Juan took a moment to recognize her.In the past, Debra preferred light makeup and plain dresses. This was the first time Juan had seen her like this.Seeing Debra for the first time, Shelia was filled with jealousy.Compared to the alluring Debra, she seemed too plain."Debra looks stunning."Shelia's tone carried a subtle envy.Debra spotted them and walked over.Shelia thought Debra, unaware of her relationship with Juan, would be surprised or awkward, but Debra was poised and smiling."Mrs. Nichols is here. Who's the lady beside Mr. Nichols?" whispered a reporter.Debra approached, linking her arm with Juan's, and extended a hand towards Shelia. "You must be Shelia mentioned by Juan. Nice to meet you! I'm Debra. You can call me Mrs.
Chapter 3Due to this episode, Juan's attention was solely on Debra. Shelia's performance was completely ignored.When the auction ended, Debra was about to leave when she bumped into Juan and Shelia."Debra, if you don't understand real estate, don't mess around," Juan said bluntly.Shelia chimed in, "Yeah, Debra. Your actions have cost Mr. Nichols ten billion dollars."Debra chuckled, "Miss Miles, you misunderstand. This piece of land is mine to buy. What does it have to do with Juan?"Shelia blurted out, "But that's ten billion dollars.""It's just pocket change for me, not to mention for her."From not far away, Randy's voice came. "Isn't that right, Ms. Frazier?"Debra caught sight of Marion and said, "It's just a plaything for purchase."Shelia blushed with embarrassment.Ten billion dollars meant nothing to Juan and Debra.In front of these people, Shelia felt inferior."Heard Mr. Nichols got married. Is the lady beside him Mrs. Nichols?" Marion chimed in.Shelia b
Chapter 4The room fell silent for a moment. Marion smirked and said, "Mrs. Nichols, you can't wrongly accuse good people.""Yeah, we're all legitimate businessmen," Randy chimed in."In the realm of legitimate business, it's not up to me to judge. But I think Juan might be interested," Debra said. "I'm just a clueless rich girl, while Juan isn't. If I tell him what happened, I wonder if he'll take notice.""You're sneaky!" Randy couldn't contain his frustration.Debra looked at Marion seriously. "Lend me eight billion, and I'll pay you back with interest in three years."Randy's eyes widened. "Are you kidding? Do you know how much interest that'll be? If you can't pay it back, we'll lose eight billion dollars. You're Juan's wife. Who can hold you accountable?""I know the interest. I'll sign a contract with you. If I can't repay, I'll give you my family's properties and stocks, and I'll work for you for the rest of my life." Randy paused and continued, "And besides, my marriage
Kale explained, "The only place open for delivery at this hour was a small joint, and the soup has gone cold in the chilly weather. Cold fish soup always turns fishy."Drake's face twisted in disgust. "Toss it. File a complaint.""Yes, boss." Kale picked up the fish soup and dumped it back into the bag.Drake stared at the documents on his desk, muttering, "A pampered lady knows how to make soup. What a surprise!"Then he suddenly remembered that Debra not only knew how to make soup but was also good at playing the piano, dancing, and manipulating people. It had been almost a year since they first met. He had kidnapped Debra multiple times but had never gained any advantage. Instead, he had lost a lot."She's my nemesis," he declared seriously.If Debra wasn't his nemesis, she couldn't have played him like a fool. Ever since she appeared in his life, he had been nothing but unlucky.His estate in Seamar City was burned down. One of his fiancées was dead, and the other publicly b
"What nursing?" Marion asked.Debra blinked at him. "You don't know?""Not really.""It means stimulating milk production for women after they've had a baby."Marion pondered. "Is it for men too?""Only for women.""Got it. If you ever want kids in the future...""You'll make soup for me?""I won't let you drink it.""Why not?""I've heard it's painful for mothers to breastfeed. I don't want you to go through that."Debra couldn't hold back her giggles. "So, if I don't breastfeed, what would our baby drink?""Formula," Marion replied matter-of-factly.Debra smirked, "Dummy, if the milk isn't expressed, it'll still hurt."Marion fell into thought. "Then let's not have kids. Just you and me, together for life. That sounds perfect. If you ever feel lonely, we can move to that house in the mountains and keep cats and dogs. Either way, I'll always be by your side. You'll never have to feel pain or loneliness."Debra's heart softened. "Okay."After they finished eating, Debra
Debra hung up the phone, determined to make Theda pay for hurting Marion."What are you doing sneaking around in the kitchen?"Drake's voice suddenly came from behind her. Startled, Debra turned around and sulked, "Do you always sneak up on people like that?""I just came to the kitchen to find something to eat. I didn't know you'd be here making calls," he replied, walking past her to grab some instant noodles from the fridge.Debra was puzzled. "Don't you have a chef?""At this hour? The chef is long gone," Drake snorted, tearing open the packet.Then he noticed a white clay pot simmering on the stove, giving off a delicious aroma."What's that?""What else? Soup for Marion.""There are servants in this house. You don't have to do it by yourself.""Marion doesn't like soup made by others."She lifted the lid to reveal a creamy soup. Drake wrinkled his nose."Isn't fish soup for nursing mothers? Is Marion on maternity leave or something?""Who told you that? It's savory a
At the Buchan Group Headquarters, Theda stood in front of a large shipping container, her hand resting on her chin. "What's inside?""We're not sure. The airline just delivered it this morning. They said it was shipped from Orkgate," the assistant replied."Orkgate?" Theda hesitated. "Open it."The assistant stepped forward and opened the container.As soon as the content was revealed, she freaked out, "Ma'am, it's Robert."Theda rushed over to check on him. Inside the container, Robert lay unconscious, his eyes tightly shut. His face was pale, drained of color."Robert!" Theda called out, patting his face.Then she noticed the blood starting to seep through the wound on his abdomen.She cried out, "Call a doctor."The assistant rushed out to fetch help. Meanwhile, Theda contacted the front desk."Find out who sent this.""It's Debra Houston."The news brought Theda a sense of foreboding. For the past few days, no one knew where Robert had been. She had searched everywhere
Drake didn't hear any noise downstairs."Haven't Debra and Marion come in?""They should have.""Then why hasn't anyone come to report me?""Boss, you said you weren't going to welcome them."Lately, Kale found it hard to figure out what Drake was thinking. One moment he was against something, and the next he was going along with it.The wedding was an example. At first, he said he wasn't going, but later, he did. Then it was this recent event. He didn't mean to hurt Marion, but he claimed that it was intentional.Now, he was doing it again, inviting them over but refusing to welcome them."Yeah. I don't care if they stay or leave," Drake said, standing up. "I'm hungry. Tell someone to make dinner."He came downstairs, but Debra was nowhere to be seen.He glanced at Lara, who was still cleaning. "Have they gone to their rooms?""Yes," Lara faltered, "but they went to the same room."Drake frowned. "I told you to prepare two rooms. Why are they sharing?""Mrs. Houston said
"I think it's fine," Debra said. "I don't believe he'd do anything to Marion."It was better to have Drake pay the bills than stay in the hospital.She turned to the bodyguard and said, "Okay. Tell your boss to send a car to pick us up.""The car's already waiting outside," replied the man. "He had prepared it, knowing you'd agree.""How thoughtful he is!""Yeah."Drake had suffered too many losses when dealing with Debra. He had drawn lessons from those failures.Debra helped Marion out of bed. The moment they stepped out of the room, Drake's subordinates hurried over to assist.They smiled flatteringly at Debra and said, "We're here to help."But Marion shot them a cold look before they could come near him. They smiled awkwardly and quickly pulled their hands back.Debra sighed and continued helping Marion out of the room."Why refuse free labor?""I don't like others touching me.""Alright, you don't like others touching you. How about I touch you?""Only you can touch
Erica felt helpless. "As long as you're happy."She just hoped Randy would not regret it later."Erica, I have a question," Debra said. "It's the trick you used on Robert. Did you learn that a long time ago?""Yeah," Erica replied. "It's not just me. Randy learned it too. When we were kids, Caleb liked to train us. You know how it is. People like us get kidnapped all the time, especially when we are younger. We were often targets for rivals or kidnappers who wanted ransom. Caleb always said boys and girls both needed to learn to protect themselves, so he made sure we learned it all.""Backstabbing like that is simple. The hardest part is showing weakness first," Randy chimed in. "It's what Caleb taught us. If you get captured, always show weakness to slacken their vigilance. Then you counterstrike with techniques like joint locks or over-the-shoulder slams. We learned all that, though I'm not as good as Erica. She was always into it and even learned boxing. Robert is stupid, messin
Erica nearly choked on the food when she heard that. "Bro, your left hand is injured. What's that got to do with your right hand?""That hand hurts too," Marion lied without batting an eyelid."Is it injured too? Let me see," Debra said, quickly checking his right hand.Stunned, Randy dropped his fork. "Come on. Can't you see he's faking it?""Faking it?" Debra examined Marion's hand and saw no injuries.Debra dropped his hand and said, "Then feed yourself.""I want you to feed me," Marion whined.Erica got goosebumps all over, unwilling to believe the man in front of her was really Marion.She put down her fork and knife. "Should we give you guys the room?"She winked at Randy, who immediately took the hint. "Right, we've got stuff to do. There's a mess in Seamar City we need to sort out. We should go."While feeding Marion, Debra sighed, "Stop messing with me.""We shouldn't interrupt your quality time," Erica explained.Right now, Marion only had eyes for Debra. She didn
Debra sighed in relief, "The doctor said you need to stay here for observation. During that time, I'll take care of you."She paused and corrected herself, "I mean, we will take care of you.""Huh?" Marion was baffled.Before Debra could explain, a knock came from the door. A group of caregivers shuffled in, looking like they wanted to be anywhere else.The air was thick with awkwardness before one of them finally broke the silence. "Sir, we're caregivers assigned to look after you during your recovery.""Oh, caregivers?" Debra arched a brow. "Funny, though. You all look kind of familiar. Haven't we met before?""No, ma'am. We've never met. We're just ordinary workers here," they insisted.Debra stood up and walked toward them, narrowing her eyes. "You mean to tell me I don't recognize the men who are always hovering around Drake?"The men panicked, their façade crumbling. "Ma'am, we're just following orders. If we mess this up, we'll be punished. Please, don't blow our cover."