Juan's gaze turned sharp. Debra couldn't pinpoint which question had triggered his defenses, but from the look in his eyes, she could tell that Juan knew something.Before she could push further, a maid came running up, breathless. "Sir, Miss Vargas just took off with your car."Debra said, "I only wanted her to find Melody for clarification. Now she's all worked up. Let's hope nothing serious happens.""Let's go," Juan said, leading her to leave.He quickly started up his spare car, speeding toward the new home.Meanwhile, Hester was pounding on the front gate. Sophie opened the door with a look of confusion, only to be even more puzzled when she saw Hester, looking wild and almost hysterical. "Miss Vargas?""Where is Mrs. Nichols Sr.? Where is she?""She..."Before Sophie could even finish her sentence, Hester pulled out a knife, the blade catching the light. Sophie's face drained of color, her voice shaking."What are you doing with that?""I need to see Mrs. Nichols Sr.
Debra ripped off the fragile veil of Melody's pretense.Melody fell silent, and Hester was enraged."Is what she said true? You did all of this? You knew from the start that the person who entered my room wasn't Juan. You set me up," she shouted.Melody responded only with cold impatience, "You lack skills and have only yourself to blame."The words pierced Hester's heart like a knife. She had trusted Melody, believing that winning Juan's affection would eventually lead to a future by his side. But now, it has become clear. Melody had seen her as nothing more than a pawn, discarding her when she was no longer useful."It's all because of you!"In a surge of fury, Hester lunged forward. Melody took a fearful step back, her usual composure slipping.Hester had the knife at Melody's throat, trembling with the intensity of her emotions. For the first time, genuine fear flickered across Melody's face."What do you think you're doing? Have you lost your mind?""Yes. I have lost my m
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Melody shot Debra a sharp glare, displeased with what she had just said.Unfazed, Debra continued, "How about one billion dollars? I've heard that Melody has quite a personal fortune. That should be enough to compensate for your emotional damages."Hester wavered further. Her family business was only a mid-sized enterprise, and one billion dollars was a massive amount of money.If she could bring that sum back to her family, maybe they'd overlook the fact that she had lost her chastity. Perhaps they wouldn't see her as a useless daughter."I disagree!" Melody snapped.She didn't have nearly that much set aside for herself, and the mere thought of handing it over to someone who used to bring her foot-washing water made her blood boil.Hester barked, "Shut up!"Melody, held at knifepoint, didn't dare to move.Hester glared at her before adding, "I don't just want one billion dollars. I want a villa in the city center, too. And I demand tha
"What are you waiting for? Sign it already." Hester's voice was sharp, filled with venom.Melody, her hand trembling in anger and fear, scribbled her signature on the contract.Hester finally let go of her, shoving her roughly onto the couch. Holding the signed document like a prize, Hester stepped back, brandishing the knife in front of her."Stay back!""Juan, what are you waiting for? Grab that crazy woman and get her out of here," Melody shouted, her face red with fury.Never in her life had anyone dared to threaten her like this. Juan's inaction only served to fuel her anger."Juan, do something already!"Debra interjected, "Grandma, you might want to reconsider. "You owe her this. If she decides to sue you for conspiracy to commit assault, it'll ruin the Nichols family's reputation all over again."The news of Debra and Juan's reconciliation had barely begun to restore the family's image. Any scandal involving Hester now would undo all the progress."She just held me at
Without a second thought, Debra grabbed the car keys from Juan's hand and turned to Sophie."Sophie, hold onto Juan. I'll drive.""Yes, madam."Sophie carefully supported Juan, her hands shaking slightly as she tried to steady him.Just then, Melody rushed over, grabbing Debra's arm."Stop! Where do you think you're going?" she asked sharply."I'm taking Juan to the hospital." Debra snapped, shaking off Melody's grip.But Melody lunged forward again, her hands clasping onto Debra's sleeve with a vice-like grip. "Are you someone so kind? You're trying to hurt him. He's waiting here for the ambulance."She hadn't forgotten Debra's earlier jab at Hester to sign that document."Let go!" Debra shouted, this time breaking free with more force.Melody stumbled back, her face flushed with anger."This is my house. You can't just...""I am still the hostess of this house. It's my home too. Now, if you don't want Juan to lose the use of his arm, you better stop getting in my way. T
The only unexpected variable in her plan was that Juan had fallen for her, refusing to go through with the divorce.But Debra had already made up her mind. After the divorce, she would sever all ties with Juan. She was no longer the girl from her past life, naïvely believing in fairy-tale love.Now, she wanted her own career and life, and she carried the weight of her family's responsibility on her shoulders.The car pulled into the hospital parking lot. The staff quickly arranged a surgical consultation. Within ten minutes, doctors and nurses escorted Juan into the operating room.As his wife, Debra had to sign the consent forms for the surgery. By the time Joe arrived, Juan had already been inside for over half an hour.Joe reported, "Miss Vargas has likely run back to her home by now. I've sent people to track her down. We'll have her brought over soon.""Put the matter aside for now," Debra replied, her voice heavy with fatigue. "First, tell me who Melody sent into her room."
Debra continued, "Take the evidence to Hester. Let her know that while she can have the evidence, the Nichols family will never give the Vargas family any more benefits, nor will they collaborate on any projects in the future. If Hester is still upset, she can use that evidence to threaten Melody and get the one billion dollars in compensation."Joe, treading cautiously, asked, "Madam, are you trying to clear Mr. Nichols from all of this?""He had nothing to do with this in the first place. I'm not doing him any favors," Debra replied nonchalantly.The truth was, even if Juan were to handle the situation himself, he would have done so even more cleanly than she ever could. But Debra had no intention of letting Melody live out her days in peace.The evildoers had to pay for their actions.Soon after, the Vargas family members arrived at the Nichols family's house, accompanied by a lawyer. The atmosphere in the room shifted the moment Melody saw Hester walk in with her parents."Wh
Melody stood frozen, her mind reeling from the revelation that she had never anticipated. She didn't believe Juan would give them any evidence."This is impossible. You're just trying to drive a wedge between us.""Mrs. Nichols Sr., you've built a solid reputation in this industry. But if we take this to court, you'll be facing a serious lawsuit. Let's see where your precious reputation will land you then."Jenson hit her soft spot.Melody's reputation had been built not only on her own merits but also on the powerful men in her life—her husband, her son, and now, Juan.But now, Juan had chosen not to protect her. She realized with a sinking heart that she was on her own. She slumped down onto the couch, unable to fathom how the very grandson she had raised and nurtured could turn his back on her like this.Sophie rushed to support her, glaring at the Vargas family members. "Mrs. Nichols Sr. is not well. She needs to rest. If you don't leave now, I'll call security." Jenson kep
Liza grinned cheekily, "My allowance has gone up every year, but don't lose heart. I'll tell Dad to raise your allowance too."She looked at Garland's sullen face and patted his shoulder. "Cheer up. I'm off shopping."She leisurely hummed a song and skipped away.Far away in Seamar City, Robert was reporting his duties to Theda."These past few days, most of the McKinney Group's clients have jumped ship and joined us. Now that their artists are on hiatus, we can grab their endorsement deals. Within a month, we'll swallow up all the resources they're holding onto," he said."Is Debra doing nothing about this?" Theda asked."She did," Robert replied. "Michael has been working around the clock. Debra's trying to use him to salvage the situation. But it's not working.""Michael may be their ace, and Debra's relying on him to secure only luxury brand endorsements. But if she doesn't care about the smaller deals, we'll take them," Theda said, tapping her chin. "Without clients or reso
On a beach overseas, Debra lay on a lounge chair.In front of her was the blue sky, white clouds, and the endless ocean. The golden sand glittered in the sunlight.She wore sunglasses and flashed a peace sign for a picture before posting it on social media.In the picture, she showed half her face, while the other half captured their artists building a sandcastle.The caption read, [Blue skies, white clouds, the ocean, playful employees, and a boss you'll never have.]The comments section quickly exploded.[I know team building, but I've never heard of a boss taking their employees abroad for it. I want such a boss.][Girl, you just took away all my idols.][The McKinney Group's artists have all gone on break. My happiness is gone.]...In floral trunks, Garland was grumbling while digging in the sand with a shovel, "Your wedding hasn't even happened, and you're already on a honeymoon? You can have your honeymoon. Why let me arrange everything and foot the bills?"Liza heard
Erica chimed in, "Right now, with half the entertainment industry's resources in their hands, their artists are already strained. If they take our deals too, those artists will be run into the ground. Even if they worked 24/7, they wouldn't be able to handle that kind of workload.""To capitalists, artists are just tools to make money. They couldn't care less about how the tools feel. And since those artists are mostly rookies, their rates are relatively low. After layers of exploitation, the pay they take home won't match the work they're doing," Debra replied. "Meanwhile, our artists are enjoying paid vacations for two months, traveling and relaxing. Do you think the Buchan Group's artists will feel okay with that? These are skilled professionals, but they're stuck doing assembly-line work. With such intense workloads, their performance will inevitably suffer, and the quality of their work will drop. For artists, no good work means no staying power. Their popularity will fade, and a
"She's probably trying to catch us off guard with this move," Debra said, calming down. "She's pushing her artists to work nonstop, taking on every gig they can get. By marketing them so aggressively, she's maintaining a temporary buzz. Advertisers will shift their partnerships from our artists to hers. If we lose most of our clients all at once, it'll throw our company into chaos. That's when she will swoop in."Andrew muttered, "So, it's a mind game? Theda knows how to play dirty."But Erica still looked troubled. "Now we know what she's doing. What can we do? Just sit by when she steals our clients?"If they lost their clients, their artists' commercial value would plummet. That would be a heavy blow to their business. Their revenue would dive, and they would lose their standing in Seamar City.Debra smiled mysteriously, "If Theda wants to disrupt us, we'll meet changes with constancy.""What do you mean?" Erica was puzzled."Didn't Michael just say that artists aren't machine
Compared to those mass-produced artists, these people under Theda's management had been trained for years.They were different from those who debuted just because of their looks. These people were versatile and unique in their own ways.Randy mumbled, "I've tried my best, but every time we fight back, they come up with something new. The advertisers we worked with before saw the momentum behind their publicity. Plus, their new talents were cheaper, so they all switched sides. Our ad revenue has dropped significantly. Even our commercial street has to feature ads for those Buchan artists. It's like quenching a thirst with poison."Erica chimed in, "This is the least we can do. Their artists are riding the tide. It makes sense that advertisers would go for them. We can't just tell people not to run ads for them."Debra nodded. "Advertisers choose who's trending. And those newcomers are popular and affordable. Michael is better but beyond the average advertisers' reach."Erica got an
Soon, the interrogators came out of the room. It seemed they wouldn't get any answers today.Kale had been waiting outside the station.When Drake and Debra walked out, he quickly went up."Boss, the plane tickets are ready.""Good."Before getting into the car, Drake said, "I'll give you an answer within three days. Don't forget our bet."Debra shook her head, surprised that he took that lopsided deal so seriously.Her phone rang with a call from Erica. "Check the news!"Debra, sensing her urgency, opened the news app.The top headline was about Buchan Entertainment. The article showcased a lineup of attractive artists and members of popular bands.Randy's words resurfaced in her mind. When she had just returned to Seamar City, he mentioned that a surge of artists had become wildly popular, rivaling the fame of Michael back in the day.Since Oscar left the entertainment industry to take over the Odom Group, these artists had been gaining even more momentum, almost as if the
"You think I'm scared of being caught?" Drake tried to pull his arm away, but Debra held on tightly.In the end, Drake snapped, "Fine! I won't go."The police were already closing in. Running now would only make things worse. Being dragged back in cuffs wasn't exactly appealing.Debra let go of him and smiled cheerfully, "Thank you for your cooperation."Pedro personally led the operation. Within minutes, the officers subdued the six thugs and loaded them into the vans.Pedro glanced at Debra and pointed at Drake. "About Mr. Lowe..."Debra explained, "Mr. Lowe is a witness. He's cooperating with us to clear his name and assist in solving this case. Isn't that touching, Mr. Hardy?""Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Much appreciated," Pedro said gratefully.But then he scratched his head and added, "Well, since Mr. Lowe is a witness, he'll need to come to the station for a statement. I know it's inconvenient, but I'm sure a generous and upright person like Mr. Lowe won't mind, right?"Befor
"I'll talk. It was Matthew Ledger. Please, spare me, Mr. Lowe," Silas said, terrified.He was just a small-time worker running errands for the bigshots.Drake narrowed his eyes, not expecting Matthew to be so bold."Boss, what should we do with these people?" Kale asked."Bind them all up." Drake glanced at the boat. "Stuff them in there, along with the machines, and send them to the West Factory. We'll go meet Matthew.""Yes, boss." Kale gave orders to cram those men into boxes.Among the group, six men suddenly pulled out their guns. "Don't move!"Debra saw it and opened the car door.Looking nothing special, these people had blended into the crowd and acted only at the critical moment.Debra knew that the shipment of so many machines couldn't go unsupervised. She hadn't noticed anyone hidden earlier, but it turned out they'd been embedded within the group.Clearly, whoever was behind this had infiltrated Drake's company."Stand back!" The six men grouped, scanning their s
Presumably, Silas had smuggled out countless machines and made a fortune over the years.Drake pulled out a bank card and said, "There's not much in here, but it's got 300-500 thousand dollars. I'd appreciate it if you guys could help carry all the machines down. Consider this a tip."Everyone was excited to hear that. It was easy money to make.The leader quickly ordered his men to unload the cargo. Drake handed the card over and glanced at his watch.Then he looked over at the car parked 100 meters away from the dock.Inside, Debra rolled down the window but had no intention of stepping in. She was simply enjoying the show.The men brought down the boxes, emptying the cargo ship.Drake nodded and said, "Thanks, everyone."The leader laughed, "No worries. You've already paid us."Drake smirked, "It's for carrying the evidence down."Before those men could react, Kale and his team sprang from their hiding spots.Realizing it was a trap, the men tried to flee, but Kale's peop