Melanie pursed her lips.Although she was married, Stephen had not returned home either. She paused briefly and politely said, "I'm busy with work and really can't go back. Uncle, feel free at home."Of course, it was his home, but maybe she was too casual about it.Jeffrey frowned, "Burning the midnight oil like this, don't you realize the impact on your health?"Melanie hesitated for a moment. It seemed that Morgan Group had investigated her health before arranging her marriage to Stephen. "President Morgan, rest assured. Since the surgery eight years ago, I've been actively taking care of my health. I'm in good shape now.""Do you know the risks of undergoing major surgery? With so many employees at Jones Enterprise, do they need you to be the one sacrificing?" Jeffrey remained firm.Melanie, however, was not afraid. "I want to reclaim the empire my father built. Jones Enterprise is like his other child."Hearing her emotional response, there was a brief pause on the other en
Half an hour later.The presentation from the White Group concluded, and the person in charge finally came out to inform that Jones Enterprise could enter for bidding.Melanie, accompanied by Mr. Lincoln and two executives, entered the room, copied the proposal onto the host's computer, and began the presentation.She calmly opened the first page of the slides, greeted the hosts politely, and started explaining.However, just as she reached the second page, the chairman of the industry association, Eaton Pagemaker frowned."Sorry to interrupt, Miss Melanie. Could you please flip through your proposal?"Melanie blinked her long lashes, having a rough idea of what might be happening.With an elegant smile, she nodded and used the remote control to smoothly run through the slides. The committee members at the judge's table grew increasingly serious.After a brief discussion, Chairman Pagemaker put down his pen and asked her directly, "Miss Melanie, are you sure this proposal is yo
John White frowned, his gaze momentarily distracted.Melanie smiled and nodded to Mr. Lincoln, and he quickly went out, bringing in another Jones Enterprise employee with a tray containing various bottles and jars."Ladies and gentlemen of the judging panel, please allow me to give a practical demonstration."Melanie spoke while expertly taking out the small bottles. "These are some fragrances I've personally diluted."She approached the only female judge and said, "In this lady's perfume, basil is the predominant ingredient. Basil produces warmth and has a minty fragrance. I believe you have a warm, cheerful personality and prefer similarly warm scents. I recommend a combination of lavender, marjoram, and lemongrass. With the proper proportions, these ingredients create a fresh and aromatic fragrance while providing stress relief and relaxation."She opened the bottles of the mentioned ingredients, made a basic fragrance blend with a dropper, and placed it beside the female judge
Several judges echoed Melanie's proposal.Knowing various brands of perfumes within the industry is a simple test for someone in charge of a perfume department. Besides, Melanie had just analyzed the ingredients of each perfume, even if John had a less-than-perfect sense of smell, he could still make brand predictions based on the components.However, John White hesitated.He struggled to refuse the analysis but had no reasonable excuse to do so.Chairman Pagemaker’s face darkened as they waited.Both were in charge of perfume departments, one excelled at recognizing and blending scents, while the other had not even conducted a basic analysis of competitors. It was evident who had plagiarized whose proposal.After instructing the staff, the chairman said, "Let's conclude today's tender here."Seeing several judges getting up to leave, John hurriedly followed to the door, wanting to explain something. However, the chairman ignored him, with a nasty remark. "Mr. White, the plagiar
In the private dining room, Daniel was unexpectedly having a meal with the person in control of the White family, who happened to be John White's father.Despite the longstanding competition between Jones Enterprise and the White family, the two families rarely met privately, deliberately avoiding any suspicion. Melanie made a mental note of this unusual encounter.After the meal, Melanie went directly back to the company and inquired about the progress of the investigation into the stolen proposal. So far, no valuable clues have been discovered.However, she remembered a statement made by the chairman of the industry association during the bidding. He mentioned that her proposal was identical to the one from the White family, down to the last detail. This indicated that John had obtained the final draft version of the proposal.Considering the limited number of people with access to the final draft, Melanie lowered her gaze, a cold gleam flashed in her eyes.Daniel had already be
Melanie continued to ponder along this line, thinking that if this was indeed a conspiracy involving Daniel and the White Group against Jones Enterprise, they must have further plans. “As soon as our problematic medicine arrives there, they'll proceed to the next step," she mused."I'll immediately contact Quincy Quicksilver to ensure he checks the medicine upon arrival. If there's a problem, we'll promptly send back the affected batch," Mr. Lincoln suggested.Melanie nodded, "However, the medical team's bus isn't fast, and we don't know if those plotting against us will leave us any opportunities. Mr. Lincoln, you should quickly arrange to stock up on these two types of medicine. I'll personally bring the medication over."After a brief hesitation, Mr. Lincoln agreed. "I'll send a few reliable individuals to accompany you.""Good."With decades of experience in the field, Mr. Lincoln had accumulated many contacts. Although gathering these two medicines on short notice presented s
The car had not reached the entrance of the village when the noise of people erupted.It was not a cheerful commotion, but rather one of anger."Jones Enterprise is a scam!""They've given us fake medicine! I've heard that all the medicines brought by the medical team are expired and fake!"Several individuals leading the uproar were causing a stir. Soon, those who were initially in line for treatment and those sitting in the back, listening to the presentation, joined in the growing fury."Hey, is what you're saying true?" someone asked.The young man leading the commotion affirmed the claim. "Would I deceive our people?! I wouldn't betray our kind! The medicines they brought are all expired! Using them could kill us!"The scene instantly became chaotic.Upon hearing the possibility of fatal consequences, people of all ages stood up, unable to tolerate it any longer."These rich folks are only here to deceive the poor folks!""Why do these big city enterprises come here for
Quincy followed Melanie's gaze to the warehouse.In front of the warehouse, someone with a bowed head spoke to the crowd, "No, we carefully checked, none of them are expired.""None of them are expired?""None of them."The person who came out of the warehouse shook their head.Some people were still skeptical and squeezed in to check. Although the locals were not privy to much in terms of education opportunities, they could still understand the expiration dates.These medicines were all recently produced, with a long way to go before the expiration date!"Are you all reassured now?"Melanie and Quincy walked over, passing through the crowd, and stood on a large rock to address the people."I can assure everyone that since its establishment, the mission of Jones Enterprise Medical has always been benevolence and compassion, to heal and save lives! Jones Enterprise will never betray this mission!"Melanie's clear voice silenced the surrounding noise."Everyone, calm down and
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.