William was brought to the villa. He was covered in blood, and his clothes were torn to shreds. The white fabric was so stained that its original color was unrecognizable. Meanwhile, his face was bruised and swollen. One of his eyes was a gory mess and had gone completely blind.He collapsed onto the floor, coughing violently before spitting out a mouthful of blood. Then, he rolled onto his back and began to loudly laugh."Pierce… Oh, Pierce…" He was missing a front tooth, which caused his words to awkwardly slur. "You should've handed me over to CBP right away. But instead, you detained me here on your own. You want to vent your anger, eh? Aren't you supposed to be the most upstanding, law-abiding officer?""I'll turn you in, alright. It's just not the time to do so yet," Pierce said. There was a dark edge to his tone "You shouldn't have told her those things.""Ha… You can't blame me for that. I thought she already knew," William said, his speech punctuated by occasional coughs
"Ah!" William let out a scream of despair before passing out from the pain. His face turned deathly pale, and his cold sweat mixed with the blood covering his body.Tobias, who was standing nearby, winced instinctively and sucked in a sharp breath. He involuntarily flinched and felt the pain in his own crotch just from witnessing the scene.Pierce stood over the unconscious William and looked down at him with a cold expression. He then casually pulled out a tissue and wiped his fingers clean. Then, he tossed it onto William's face."Take him to CBP, Tobias. Tell Mr. Sommers that I'm willing to cooperate with them," Pierce said.Tobias immediately nodded. He had been managing Atkinson Group for years and was well aware of Pierce's undercover work. From what he could piece together that day, it seemed like Pierce was determined to eliminate every smuggler who had been on that ship that day for hurting Millie. No one would be spared.The ones who had escaped so far were Nero and th
Samantha froze in disbelief as Millie's words fell. Was she hearing things? Was Millie serious about leaving? Could this be real?Samantha suspiciously eyed Millie. "Why?""I don't like Pierce. We don't get along, so I want to leave. But he won't let me, so there's nothing I can do," Millie replied."What kind of spell have you cast on Pierce?" Samantha begrudgingly asked. She was utterly frustrated, though there was a hint of envy in her voice. How marvelous would it be if Pierce favored her above all?Samantha had once thought that Pierce treated her differently. She'd thought that she was unique. But all the treatment she had enjoyed thus far didn't hold a candle to how Pierce treated Millie. The care and love he showered her were unconditional.Samantha's jealousy burned bright, but there was nothing she could do about it. But now, Millie wanted to leave. If she left, wouldn't that mean that there would be no more competition?"Do you have a way to help me leave?" Milli
The door opened, and Samantha ran out clutching her cheek, crying. Millie's caregiver peeked inside and saw Millie lying calmly on the bed. It was clear who had come out on top."Ms. Jordan, are you going to rest now? Lunch will be ready soon. Should I bring it in before you sleep?" she asked."I'm tired. I'm going to sleep now," Millie replied, her voice muffled under the blanket she had pulled over her head.The caregiver didn't dare disturb her and quickly shut the door to avoid making noise.Meanwhile, "Samantha" sped up her pace and hurried out of the hospital. Having already been discharged, there was no reason for her caregiver to follow her. Pierce had sent someone to pick her up, but she deliberately left early, so no one was waiting for her at the entrance.She quickly hailed a cab."Where to?" the driver asked."The airport, please," Millie hastily said.Samantha had provided Millie with an ID and a passport. She had even converted some money into dinors so tha
When Pierce saw that it was Samantha on the bed, his face turned ashen.He grabbed her wrist with such force that it felt like he might dislocate her arm. He yanked her off the bed, causing Samantha to stumble. Samantha managed to steady herself, but her heart pounded as she met Pierce's piercing, furious gaze.She recalled a time from their childhood when she had run away and Pierce had found her. He had been furious back then. That was the angriest she'd ever seen him—until now. The infuriated expression he was showing in the moment surpassed that by far.Fear and jealousy filled Samantha's heart. How had Millie stolen all the affection and privilege that had once been hers in such a short time? Why was this happening?"Where's Millie?" Pierce sternly asked."M-Millie… ran away," Samantha stammered. "I came to confront her today, but she held a knife to my face and threatened to cut me up if I didn't do what she said. I didn't have a choice!""If she escaped, why didn't y
The flight attendant spoke politely, but Millie's fear surged as she glanced at the cabin door, which had now been reopened.She couldn't leave the plane. This was the last flight of the day. If she stayed in Arbelton, Pierce would undoubtedly find her."My passport is fine. Can't I resolve this issue with the embassy once I arrive at my destination?" Millie desperately asked."I'm sorry, miss. If you don't disembark, we cannot take off. This will delay the flight for all the other passengers," the flight attendant replied.At those words, murmurs and complaints spread throughout the plane.Millie looked around and saw only eyes filled with frustration and blame. Reluctantly, she stepped off the plane and helplessly watched as the aircraft—her chance at freedom—took off without her.Still, she quickly stabilized her emotions and composed herself. She couldn't waste time wallowing—she needed to leave the airport immediately.As she hurried back toward the main terminal, she spott
Pierce's husky voice broke the silence as he looked at Millie with deep-set eyes. They were filled with a smoldering intensity that enveloped Millie's whole being. The air was thick with unspoken desire.For a moment, Millie genuinely feared he would devour her whole, right there and then. After all, he had no need to hide anything from her anymore since she had already found out about everything."No… I won't run anymore," she lied, playing along for now. But she knew she would run again in a heartbeat the moment an opportunity presented itself.She couldn't force Pierce to go to prison, but she also couldn't live under the same roof with someone who had violated her. If she accepted and went along with it, what would that say about her principles and her conscience?Millie had tried to rationalize everything by reminding herself that her circumstances had been dire, and she had been drugged. Perhaps being saved by Pierce had been better than falling into someone else's hands.
Without Millie, Pierce would have descended into madness a long time ago. If it were possible, he would have hidden his true nature forever. He would have been content to keep up the pretense for a lifetime, as long as it made her happy.It was true that he had deliberately played a role. Even so, his affection for her had always been genuine. Still, Pierce knew that he had committed a grave sin that was unforgivable.He was prepared to spend the rest of his life making amends. He didn't expect Millie to forgive him, nor could he persuade himself to let her go. Though they were both suffering, he couldn't bear to grant Millie the freedom she wanted.If he chose to let go now, there would be no future for them.Millie wasn't a kite tethered by a string that was easily retrieved. She was like a falcon, wild and untamable. Once set free, she would be gone forever."You can just assume that it was all fake," Pierce softly said. He seriously continued, "I won't restrict your freedom. Y
"No! Mr. Atkinson, you can't do this! I did it for you!" Carlos cried."I don't know Yulia personally, nor did I secretly ask you to take care of her. No wonder she kept misinterpreting my intentions and tried to get close to me. You were part of the reason that she's delusional," Pierce said with a scoff.Yulia must have assumed that all the special treatment Carlos had given her was Pierce's doing. Naturally, she would have started to fantasize.Pierce also reflected on himself. He never should have sympathized with her or helped her in the first place. When he saw her, he had been reminded of Millie from years ago and had wanted to make up for his inability to help her back then in some small way. Never did he expect that it would cause so much trouble for him.Whatever compensation John decided to ask from Yulia was none of his business too.After that, Pierce sent Carlos away and began addressing the false rumors spreading online."Well, well. You seem to have a lot of rom
Yulia believed that Pierce must have felt the same way. Since fate had brought them together, how could she possibly give up?Now that Pierce had paid for her hospital stay, she felt she should recover properly and not waste his kindness.…Meanwhile, back at Atkinson Group, Tobias never mentioned the matter to Pierce. The situation had been urgent when Yulia was hospitalized, and anyone would have covered the cost in such circumstances. After all, a life was at stake.Tobias reported, "Mr. Atkinson, the former Head of Sales, Carlos Reyes, keeps asking to see you. The receptionist has alerted me about this multiple times. He said he needs to see you for something important. Do you want to meet him?""Is he the one Mills fired?" Pierce coolly looked up."Yes," Tobias replied."Useless trash like him isn't worth my time," Pierce indifferently responded. After all, anyone who crossed Millie had also crossed him.So, Tobias immediately informed Carlos that if he ever came again, he
Yulia kept waiting for an opportunity, but the two times she saw Pierce, he was with Millie. The sight of this drove her mad with jealousy. How she wished she could tear Millie apart. If it weren't for her, she wouldn't be struggling just to get into Atkinson Group now.And so, Yulia obsessively staked out the parking lot every day like a madwoman. As a result, she had grown noticeably thinner. Sometimes, she saw Tobias. However, she didn't approach him. But finally, after nearly a week, she found her chance.Pierce had arrived alone with no one in the passenger seat. Just as he got out of the car, a shadow flitted into his peripheral view. As a former police officer, his reflexes were sharp. He immediately subdued the person with a grappling move."Ow… Ouch! It hurts…" Yulia pitifully whimpered.Pierce hadn't seen Yulia's face yet. He only realized that it was a woman and that she posed no real threat. So, he released his grip.However, upon realizing that it was Yulia, he
"Thank you for stopping me from acting recklessly, Mr. Atkinson," John said, wincing from the pain."You need medical attention," Pierce reminded him. He didn't even spare Yulia a glance while she was lying unconscious on the ground.Soon, Yulia regained consciousness in the hospital. Only her mother, Helena, was by her bedside. She looked around but didn't see her beloved Pierce."Pierce… Is he away to get my medicine?" Yulia weakly asked, struggling to sit up.Helena wept and said, "That man you keep talking about never showed up—not even once.""Impossible!" Yulia gasped in disbelief, her eyes widening. She had been in such a dire state. How could he not come to visit her?Helena went on, "Not only that, but the club is holding you accountable, and Mr. Presta is also demanding compensation. We've received two court notices. The lawyer told me that we need to pay five million dollars in total!""Five million dollars is nothing. If I ask Pierce, he'll definitely give it to
As soon as Yulia walked in, her eyes were wet with tears. She looked pitifully at Pierce, acting as if the nightclub had forced her into selling her body and that she had suffered countless injustices.She walked straight toward Pierce. "Mr. Atkinson, I never expected us to meet again in a place like this."Pierce frowned because he wasn't exactly familiar with her.While the other hostesses were enthusiastically entertaining other men by pouring drinks and joking around, Yulia was the only one wearing a mournful expression. Clearly, she was dampening the mood."Mr. Atkinson, do you have any idea how miserable my life has been since Mrs. Atkinson kicked me out of Atkinson Group? My father went back to gambling, and those people even took my mother away. If I didn't return to this line of work, I wouldn't have any way to survive."They were originally willing to give me a one-month grace period because I had a stable salary at Atkinson Group. But now… Mrs. Atkinson has ruined me!"
"Ms. Shaw, if you don't leave now, someone will have to escort you out," Tobias said.So, Yulia slunk downstairs in embarrassment. She even got to see Tobias harshly reprimanding the receptionist."Are you out of your mind? How dare you bring just anyone to the CEO's office? You're fired!" Tobias sternly said.The receptionist argued, "But, Mr. Shaw, this isn't my fault. She's someone Mr. Atkinson seems take special care of—""That was nothing more than a few minor favors. You failed to do your job properly, so don't make excuses. Pack your things and leave," Tobias stated indifferently.The receptionist felt deeply wronged, and her gaze toward Yulia turned resentful.Yulia didn't understand where things had gone wrong. Pierce had seemed to be so concerned about her previously, so why was he being so cold to her now? Had Millie discovered something? Was that why he wanted to cut ties with her completely?Feeling lost and dejected, Yulia left the company, only to run into Carlo
After that, Millie went upstairs to look for Pierce and told him the story of her firing Carlos and Yulia."Okay," Pierce nonchalantly said. He didn't even look up once, and his tone sounded very calm as well."I've been laying off employees without your consent. Don't you have anything to say about that?"Pierce laughed after hearing what Millie said. "You're my wife, so you also have a say in Atkinson Group. You're just exercising your authority, so why would I say anything about it? I know you're not a reckless person. If you fired them, you must have had your own reasonings." Pierce didn't even question why Millie had fired two employees or the reason behind their layoffs.What's done was already done. He couldn't care less about the two employees who got fired."Does this mean that I can do whatever I want as long as I'm here?" Millie asked."Of course! Whatever I own is also yours. I'll even let you sit on my lap if you want." Pierce sounded exactly like a king back in th
While some people chose to stay away from Yulia to avoid getting into trouble, there were still a few who sided with her. Then again, these people were just going to use her as a stepping stone to climb the corporate ladder with less effort."You're firing me? What did I even do wrong?" Yulia confronted the HR Department."The case that you messed up here has cost Atkinson Group millions of dollars. This big of a screw-up is enough to get you fired."Even if Yulia filed for labor arbitration, she would not receive any compensation. But of course, she couldn't be bothered by that small amount of money anyway. As long as she managed to keep her job in Atkinson Group, she would still be working under Pierce's leadership and was bound to see him again eventually. Unfortunately, she was about to leave the company for good. Now how was she supposed to see Pierce again?"I have to go find Mr. Reyes," she said.However, when she came to Carlos' office, he seemed to be in a gloomy
Millie had the distinct feeling that Yulia and her colleague were talking about her, but she had no proof. All she could see were their furtive glances.She became annoyed by their persistent glances and said, "If you two have something to say, why don't you say it out loud? Are you gossiping about me?""Of course not! I have no idea why you'd say that, Mrs. Atkinson," Yulia replied with a smile."You better not be lying."Yulia and her colleague left the elevator when they reached their floor, leaving Millie standing there with a frown.Millie just couldn't bring herself to like Yulia. It led to her pondering whether she should just fire Yulia. That way, she wouldn't have to see her every time she visited Atkinson Group.The strange thing was that Millie had never seen Yulia before when she was still working here. But now, she ran into Yulia almost every single time she came to Atkinson Group.In the end, Millie made up her mind to just fire Yulia.Instead of heading to the CE