William waved his hand, and the people behind him immediately handed the surveillance footage to the staff, who projected it onto the screen. Although the surveillance camera recorded the scene during the power outage, the dim blue light still revealed the figures clearly. In the private room, Stephen sat behind the sofa from beginning to end, while Lena shouted at the door throughout. It wasn't until someone knocked on the door after the power was restored that Lena realized Stephen was inside. After watching the surveillance video, everyone present couldn't help but sigh in disdain. "Oh my God! Lena said it herself just now that if she dares to lie about such things, she has no self-respect?" "This woman is scary! Stephen didn't even look at her the whole time, yet she claims to be the victim! And she brought her own mother to extort the Morgan family! This is outrageous!" "She brought her mother with her, so she was obviously prepared! How scheming!" "Get out of Harbor
"John is investigating me?" Melanie was puzzled. After years of competition between Jones Enterprise and White Group, John's understanding of Jones Enterprise was undoubtedly deep. What reason could he have to investigate her? Or, what value did she possess that warranted John secretly mobilizing forces for an investigation? "I'll have someone continue to keep an eye on him. Just be careful," Annie said. Melanie couldn't figure it out and decided to put this matter aside for now. "Tomorrow morning, I'm going to Waukeen’s Agora headquarters to finalize the shooting plan. Come with me." "Sure,” Annie agreed. Her public relations company was involved throughout the process of accepting Waukeen’s Agora's invitation to shoot the cover. The details of the plan had been modified twice, and the final version was basically confirmed. The theme of this shooting plan was a perfume forest. When the new issue was released, it would undoubtedly promote Jones Enterprise's perfumes. Moreover
Melanie and Annie confirmed the final shooting plan at Waukeen’s Agora, and everything was going smoothly. The shoot was scheduled to begin officially the next day. The renowned genius photographer, Mr. Smith, had also arrived in Harbor City. He preferred tranquility and stayed in a highly private hotel. That night, Mr. Smith sat in a corner during the buffet. Two girls at the nearby table were chattering away, and their words occasionally drifted into his ears. "I heard that Mr. Smith will collaborate with Waukeen’s Agora this time. It's truly something to look forward to!" "But I heard the model is Melanie, which is quite off-putting!" "Yeah, that Melanie has no real talent. She's two-faced, flaunting her family's wealth and mistreating servants. She only got to where she is by falsely accusing Madam Morgan. She creates chaos in the socialite circle with her scheming." "Actually, she does have some talent—she's good at flattering others and sleeping around with men!" The
In that instant, Melanie felt that she had stepped on something soft.She was so surprised that she darted away and tried her best to calm down.“Who is it? Show yourself!”“Don’t worry, I don’t have any bad intentions,” came the reply.A man’s voice came from under the table.After a while, the tablecloth was lifted, and the man slowly crawled out of there before standing in front of Melanie. He was slender and tall with pale skin. He looked young, but there was a deep understanding in his eyes. Most importantly, he had long, curly brown hair, and he was holding a bottle of opened wine.Melanie quickly realized who it was. Wasn’t this Mr. Smith?This was the prodigious photographer whose work had won him many world-class awards since he was twelve. Whether the subject was a human or just an object, as long as it was in front of his camera lens, it would be given a life of their own.Mr. Smith put down the wine bottle before going over to the prop room and closing the door. “I’
Melanie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want now?”“Have you seen a photographer? A man with long, curly, hair, wearing a pair of glasses?” The reporter asked. “We’ve received news that he’s hiding in the prop room.”Melanie sighed. Looks like the reporters didn’t find anything.But she still put on a show and said, “Didn’t I already tell you just now? I was resting here and didn’t see anyone.”The reporters nodded in disappointment and wanted to leave, but an idea suddenly came to Melanie’s mind, and she quickly stopped them.“Wait! You’re saying a man with long, curly hair?” She asked as she pretended to think about it.“That’s right!”“Brown, curly hair,” another reporter added.Melanie still pretended to think and said, “Before I came into this room, I saw a man with curly hair walk past me...”“Where did you see him?”The reporters grew excited.“Over there!”Melanie walked over to the door and then pointed in a random direction. “I saw him turning into that corner!”“D
The elevator reached the first floor after coming from the fifty-seventh floor.Melanie had already told Annie about what happened in the prop room, to which Annie couldn’t help but get shocked. “You should have used that chance to threaten him. If he refused to do a photoshoot for you, you could’ve exposed his social phobia and the fact that he’s not the virtuous prodigy like others have described, but rather a drunkard that has a bad temper!”Melanie’s lips slightly twitched. “What’s the point of smearing the reputation of a prodigious photographer?”As soon as they reached the first floor, however, Melanie’s phone started to ring.She took out her phone and found that Rogan was the one calling her. Melanie was already able to guess why.“Ms. Melanie, I’m so sorry about that. But... Can you please come back? We’ll do the photoshoot today as planned...” Rogan explained from the other side of the line.Melanie smiled slightly. Looks like Mr. Smith really was a person ruled by his
“That’s right. The model on our cover will be Ms. Melanie. Mr. Smith personally handpicked her,” Rogan said firmly.Mr. Smith didn’t like reporters interviewing him. Before Rogan had been hired, Mr. Smith’s assistant had even emphasized this trait. He didn’t know where the reporters came from to block Mr. Smith while demanding an interview. It was so bad that Mr. Smith split up with his assistant, almost permanently severing ties with Waukeen’s Agora.If it weren’t because Mr. Smith suddenly decided to use Melanie, saying that she was the source of his inspiration and that he would only take her, Mr. Smith would have immediately left.That was why Rogan immediately unleashed his anger when he heard that Grace had arranged for the reporters to be there.“Ms. Melanie has always been the first choice for our model. Perhaps you heard the news wrongly. The person that was switched out is Grace. The magazine has decided to delay her interview indefinitely.”After that, Rogan gave the se
“Do you have photos of yourself in your daily life? If you don’t mind, could you show some of them to me?” Mr. Smith asked.Melanie showed him some of the photos without hesitation. “Feel free to look through them, but they’re all old photos. I’ve been quite busy lately, so I don’t normally have time to take any photos.”Mr. Smith enjoyed looking at Melanie’s past photos. The light in his eyes grew stronger as he looked through each one. He was sure of it now; the two women had intentionally gossiped about Melanie so that he would hear them.How could a woman with such a warm, bright smile be a woman with such a vile side?“Looks like you had a happy childhood,” Mr. Smith sighed as he put down her phone.Seeing that he was somehow touched, Melanie then asked, “What about you? Were you happy?”Mr. Smith shook his head. “I was forced to participate in all kinds of competitions. My parents were proud of that, and they forced me to accept interviews from reporters from all around the
Pleasantly surprised, Melanie turned around to see the man she had been looking for. She never stopped saying his name in her head. He stood right behind her.At that moment, she stopped thinking completely.Without even hesitating, she ran toward him and dove into his arms."Ughh."Jeffrey groaned in pain. He did not dare to press against her stomach. Instead, he arched his back to hold her."Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how I…" She cried so much that she could not speak."Alright, alright. Good girl. Don't cry. I've come back."Jeffrey kept rubbing the back of her head. "Eagle was too neurotic. I've nearly gone mad from dealing with him. I finally got him to regain some of his sanity today… That's how I had the chance to find you…""How did you know where to find me?" Melanie asked."Today is the day of Nathan's trial. I know you'd definitely be in the courtroom," Jeffrey said confidently.Melanie finally calmed down a little. After letting go of him,
"We're not together…"Kenneth's facial expression changed as soon as he saw Melanie.Melanie noticed there was a hint of guilt in his eyes. This was an unsettling feeling for her. "Then where is he? What happened to you guys?"Noticing that she was shaking, Annie and Carson, who had accompanied her to court, rushed forward to assist her."Eagle had a prior arrangement with Nathan. Once Nathan and Leo's plan at the York family's residence was thwarted, Nathan would press a button. Eagle would then receive a code to detonate a bomb. He'd blow us all up," Kenneth explained."Jeffrey was the one who noticed Eagle wasn't in the right state of mind. That's why he informed me to leave with Mr. Oliver. He… Stayed behind to persuade Eagle…" He added."What happened then?" Melanie's voice was shaking."All I knew after that was that the hotel blew up. I waited for him to contact me but he never did. Mr. Oliver and I have been on the run from Nathan's shadowy pursuits. I only managed to sn
Three days later, the trial was officially in session.Leo's attorney was practically defenseless because the York family's allegations of him poisoning Joseph had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Leo was directly sentenced to life in prison.Nathan's attorney, on the other hand, was clever. They tried everything they could to deflect Nathan's allegations.After the presiding judge evaluated the case, he looked up. "Does the plaintiff have any more evidence that the defendant, Nathan, intentionally killed someone?"Hank sat silently at the plaintiff's table.They could only provide evidence of the time when Nathan had tried to murder Hank. However, they had no evidence of Nathan being involved in the explosion on the island this time.Hank looked at Melanie in the audience. She was also frowningThe presiding judge's implication was well understood. Without more evidence, Nathan would not receive a life sentence…"The plaintiff simply does not have sufficient evidence to
Carson sighed. It was time to explain everything to Hank…Although Carson had spent a lot of time in Hank's hospital as Professor Marshall, and he would also tend to their men's wounds, as well as discuss a variety of topics with Hank, they had never acknowledged their relationship…Besides, Carson knew Hank hated him.Hank hated him for being heartless to his grandmother back then. That was why Hank changed his last name to Castillo instead of Yule…"Let's take Melanie back to rest. I'll explain the rest to you myself," Carson said. Hank had already figured out half of it."Grandpa, I'm not going back. I'll wait for the news here," Melanie said firmly.There was no sign of Jeffrey's corpse yet. She would wait until the rescue team confirmed that they could not find any corpse.She wanted a clear answer."Okay. I'll get the trailer ready for you. You can lie down inside. You can't afford to hurt your body anymore than you already have. I checked your pulse earlier. It's not loo
Buzz!Melanie's vision turned black. She began falling backward."Melanie! Melanie!"Carson propped her up and called the doctor over.However, Melanie opened her eyes after a few seconds and tried to stand up. "I'm fine… Grandpa, take me there… I want to go to the scene of the explosion…""You're in no state…""I'm fine. I can hold up," Melanie promised."If you don't let me go and see it with my own eyes, I'll be even more paranoid," she added.Carson knew his granddaughter too well. He sighed and frowned before requesting for a ride. He met up with Hank. The two of them accompanied Melanie to look for Jeffrey.Jeffrey, Kenneth, Mr. Oliver, and Eagle waited at the drop-off point near the York family's residence. Nathan had instructed them to not do anything rash.Mr. Oliver and Eagle were still useful to Nathan.Once Nathan acquired Joseph's signature, he would meet up with them.However, the small hotel they were waiting at was already in ruins. There was smoke everywher
'Chief… Frankie?'Leo turned around in surprise. Nathan did the same. They saw Chief Frankie and several Interpol agents walking out from behind a screen in Joseph's room.Melanie was a part of that group!"Aren't you… dead?" Leo pointed at Melanie in shock."Thanks to you, I'll live a long life." Melanie sneered.Chief Frankie waved his hand. The police behind him charged forward to put handcuffs on Leo and Nathan. Leo narrowed his eyes and quickly pressed a button on the remote in his hand."We'll all die together!" He shouted.However, no matter how hard he pressed, nothing happened in the room."What's going on here… Eagle?" Leo's voice was trembling.His hands were cuffed, and the remote control was confiscated by the police."Leo, you are suspected of poisoning Master York and attempting to murder Melanie and others on the island. We are arresting you for premeditated murder!" Chief Frankie uttered calmly."No… No…" Leo struggled but to no avail. He had no idea what wa
At the same time, Melanie and Carson were on a plane with Professor Turner. They soon arrived at Medonia.Carson contacted Hank ahead of time and asked him to pick them up with his men.After the exhausting journey, Melanie's face was pale. She seemed to be in very poor condition. "I've already contacted the maternity hospital for you. You can go there and wait for your delivery. Leave the rest to me.""No…"Melanie shook her head. "I have to go back."Jeffrey was still in Nathan's hands. She would not be able to wait peacefully if she went to the hospital.Carson knew his granddaughter well enough. "Let her go. Professor Turner and I will be with here. We'll be ready for anything."Carson was still disguised as Maximilian. Hank did not know he was Carson. Hank nodded in agreement.“Mr. Castillo, there's something I need to trouble you with.” Melanie said."I heard from Professor Marshall that you're on good terms with the chief of Medonia's Interpol. Can I trouble him to be a
"Wait a minute! Isn't Jefford actually Jeffrey?" Leo asked while running after Nathan.Nathan ignored him and continued to walk forward.Leo did not give up and followed Nathan closely. "Who exactly is Jeffrey to you?""Are you being unreasonable right now? Why are you still so unsure at this point?" Nathan glanced at Leo contemptuously."I'm dealing with serious business. Don't get in my way with your petty romantic affairs!"After saying that, he glared at Leo and exited the cabin.Leo felt chills in his heart, but he could not make Nathan stay…-Jeffrey was tied up on the deck all this time. His body was freezing, and his lips were turning purple from the cold."Hey, President Morgan, fancy seeing you like this!" Nathan laughed grimly when he saw the miserable state Jeffrey was in."Thanks to you, I've been more miserable than this on many occasions. This is nothing." Jeffrey made it sound like a walk in the park."Hehe." Nathan sneered."I know. You've had strong willp
Lynette seemed stunned. She could not help but stand up with the help of the railing on the speedboat. Her eyes turned red as looked at the island burning in the distance. There was a look of disbelief on her face…If they had not evacuated five minutes ago…By now…She would not have even been able to breathe and think…The explosion sent shockwaves across the ocean's surface. The ride became even more bumpy. With sea water splashing against them, they had all become wet."Are you alright?" Carson protected Melanie. He was worried she would not be able to take it.Her stomach did feel awful, but she braced herself and tried not to tense up. Her emotions would affect her baby.When Lynette heard the voices behind her, she turned around to look at Melanie. Her gaze had become much softer than before. "You're not going to give birth on the boat, are you? I'm a woman, but I don't know how to be a midwife!""I won't give birth now. There are still things left to do," Melanie said.