After Annabelle fainted, the young man immediately dialed a phone number and said, "Dereon, I have knocked out the person."The person on the other end of the phone was Ryan's assistant, Dereon. After listening to the report from the subordinate, he said, "Take it to the third floor first, take care of it carefully, and don't make any mistakes.""Yes, Dereon."Afterwards, Dereon hung up the phone and continued to wait in the car for Ryan's next instructions.Tonight's operation was aimed at Kendrick, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.And before that, Dereon had been tracking Annabelle for over half a month and had already hacked her phone, gaining access to her microphone. Therefore, that phone was practically a bug.Dereon had overheard that Annabelle would meet Kendrick after the social event, and that time period happened to coincide with the assassination operation.He was worried that Mr. Whitney would miss the opportunity again because of this woman, so he pretended to be
After Ryan gave the order, Dereon lowered his head and, along with several others, left the private room and closed the door.There were only Ryan and Annabelle left in the compartment.He gently stroked Annabelle's cheek, a face that he had once thought he wouldn't care too much about.Just a patient, just someone he used to...However, as time went by, he realized that the girl named Annabelle, her every frown and smile, every annoyance and anger, had already been imprinted in his heart, and it was no longer possible to erase her from his mind.How could there be such great magic?Even someone like him, cold-blooded to the core, could be shaken by her.Was it because of her captivating beauty?Was it because he saw his own reflection in her pitiful self?Perhaps, it was simply because she was so clean and kind that he saw his lost innocence in her.Ryan didn't think any further because, no matter what, she was back by his side.As for Kendrick...Ryan asked lightly, "Anna, if only o
Upon hearing this, Annabelle was able to ascertain two things.The person who kidnapped her was the one who wanted to kill Kendrick. And at that time, Kendrick was in great danger.Annabelle pressed down her heart, which was pounding with nervousness, and quickly thought of a way to escape.The two people outside were still chatting."Hey bro, isn't that girl inside Kendrick's wife? Why did the big brother tie her up?""That was Mr. Whitney's sweetheart," the deep-voiced man replied."You said she had slept with Kendrick. Mr. Whitney can have any kind of woman he wants, so why is he so infatuated with her?""You knew nothing, how beautiful she was, that little face, that figure, not an ordinary woman could compare.""Hehe, that's true..."***Annabelle listened to their sinister laughter, feeling a chill run down her spine.The person who was referred to as Mr. Whitney by two individuals was evidently the person who had been trying to kill Kendrick.And this Mr. Whitney seemed to have
The moment Annabelle landed, a sharp pain shot through her feet, causing her body to uncontrollably lurch forward. Her knees followed suit and hit the ground, even though they were protected by long pants, they were definitely scraped.However, these were all unimportant. She gritted her teeth, not making a sound, enduring the intense pain in her feet, and walked along the wall to the parking area.It should have been late at night by now, with very few vehicles in the parking lot. She quickly found her own car and drove away from the coffee shop parking lot.After successfully escaping onto the main road, Annabelle's heart continued to race uncontrollably.She knew that the opposing force was strong, and even if she ran out of the coffee shop, she might not be safe.The most important thing now was to find Kendrick. I looked at the time in the carPad and it was already early morning.She had been unconscious for two to three hours. Is Kendrick still okay now during these two to three
Although it was unknown whether it was Kendrick's blood or not, the fallen cufflink and the messy room confirmed the words spoken by those two people in the coffee shop, indicating that Kendrick had already been seriously injured.Annabelle felt as if someone had tightly squeezed her heart, but she couldn't afford to be sad. She sniffed and rubbed her teary eyes, and walked quickly towards the outside.However, as soon as she arrived at the door, she heard the elevator make a "ding" sound, indicating that someone had also arrived on the tenth floor.The sound of hurried footsteps immediately came from around the corner.Although she hadn't seen anyone yet, Annabelle could tell from the heavy footsteps that most of the people coming were men, at least three or five of them."Where is she?" a man asked in a low voice.Annabelle recognized the man's voice, it was Warren, the one who called her. She couldn't help but curse her bad luck, had they already found out so quickly?"It should ha
"It's just superficial injuries, not as serious as you said," Kendrick said casually.But Annabelle could see his wounds, there were cuts on his abdomen and arms, the wounds looked long and deep, and they were still bleeding at the time, unsure if any internal organs were injured."I will stop the bleeding for you first."Annabelle used a small knife to damage the bedsheet, tearing it into wide strips of cloth. She quickly helped him wrap bandages around his shoulders and waist. With limited resources, this was the best they could do for now.When Annabelle was bandaging him, Kendrick asked, "Did your friend finish seeing the doctor? What happened to your foot again?"When Annabelle helped him to the bedside just now, Kendrick could feel that she seemed to have injured her foot.Annabelle then told Kendrick about her entire night's experience.After she finished speaking, Kendrick fell into deep thought.Annabelle obviously hadn't realized that all of this was orchestrated by the very
The two of them immediately held their breath. Annabelle could hear someone knocking on the doors of each room, saying it was room service and asking if they needed cleaning.Those who did not receive a response should have swiped their cards directly to enter.Because she heard the "beep" sound when a door was unlocked.It is now early morning, and it is impossible for the hotel staff to go to each room and ask if they need cleaning.Therefore, there was only one possibility, the person outside was Ryan's subordinate.As they approached the door, Annabelle's heart was in her throat.If they didn't answer when someone knocked on the door, those people might enter the house to check.What should I do if answering will give away the truth...She glanced at Kendrick, and the two of them locked eyes in the dim light. His eyes were dark and he flexed his finger joints."There should only be two people, I can still handle it, hiding in the wardrobe, don't come out," he said, as he was about
Annabelle felt like burying her face in the ground and running away, "I don't understand, please don't say things randomly.""It's okay if you don't understand, I will teach you slowly in the future."Annabelle sighed inwardly, knowing that this was exactly how it would turn out."But now we have to hurry," Kendrick said, opening the door and quickly glancing outside.He knew that the other party might soon realize something was wrong or notice other clues.So they had to take the opportunity to leave."Anna, help me out first. Let's go through the emergency exit."Annabelle nodded and asked worriedly, "What if they block the exit?""They probably didn't know about that exit, and it required a password. Let's go."Annabelle didn't have time to think carefully. She let Kendrick's arm rest on her shoulder and supported him as they walked towards the exit he had mentioned.Under Kendrick's guidance, Annabelle supported him and arrived at the small door.To be precise, it was a floor pain
Annabelle sneezed and turned to glance behind her.She and the young master had already climbed partway up the mountain, walking along a small stone path. The return route seemed steep, and the mountain appeared to be empty except for the two of them. Yet, just a moment ago, she had inexplicably felt as though someone had called her.“Are you already too tired to go on?” The young master stood a little higher up, smiling and waving at her to catch up.Annabelle took a couple of deep breaths. The cool air stung her fragile lungs, causing a slight ache. She hadn’t exercised this much in a long time, and it was a bit much for her, but she still quickened her pace to catch up with the young master.The young master pulled a bottle of water from his backpack and handed it to her. "Drink some water."Annabelle took a few sips, returned the bottle to him, and then wiped the water from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.“Do you remember when I took you hiking when you were a c
“She left temporarily.” Kendrick replied.The longer they were apart, the more convinced he became that something was wrong on Anna’s end.That was why he had stopped waiting for her call.Instead, he was focusing on delivering a powerful counterattack against Ryan.Perhaps, once he defeated Ryan, Anna would naturally return to him.“I told you before—if you couldn’t protect her properly, you should’ve handed her over to me. And now? You’ve lost her!” Marvin said bitterly.“Are you done? You can leave now.”Marvin let out a cold snort and tossed a document onto his desk.“Just to be clear, I’m not helping you—I’m helping the Gregory family.”Kendrick narrowed his eyes, picked up the document, and skimmed through it quickly.“Looks like you’re not as useless as I thought.”Marvin lifted his chin arrogantly. “Just make sure the Gregory Group survives first. Then, go find Anna. When that time comes, I’ll still compete with you for her—I only acknowledge you as my rival in love!”With tha
The young master smiled at her. “Let me check your pulse first.”“Alright…”Annabelle extended her wrist, allowing him to take her pulse.She had actually already checked herself—there was nothing wrong aside from some lingering weakness.Still, she waited for his assessment.After a moment, he smiled. “You're recovering well, but you're too weak—probably due to a lack of exercise. How about this? Anna, accompany me for a hike today, and afterward, I'll take you back to Elfhedge.”Hearing his promise, Annabelle let out a sigh of relief.“Alright, let’s go now!”She had wanted to get out for a while now.And with spring just beginning, she longed to go out and enjoy the fresh air.So, they changed into comfortable hiking clothes, left the villa, and followed a mountain path into the depths of the forest.Anna walked ahead, while Ryan followed behind.Watching her slightly pale face, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain—along with a deep sense of guilt, knowing that he was the one
First, the Gregory Group’s business partners were poached by the the Whitney Group. Then, the the Whitney Group aggressively competed for market share, swiftly taking over more than half.Next, Kendrick’s research and development projects were overtaken, with core team members breaking their contracts to join the the Whitney Group.To make matters worse, a newly developed the Gregory Group real estate project was exposed for having quality issues. Rumors even spread that it was built on a graveyard, bringing bad luck.This series of blows left Kendrick in a dire financial situation.Smaller projects also suffered under the Whitney Group’s suppression.In short, he was being forced into an increasingly passive position.The business world was like this—fierce battles fought in the open, and silent killings carried out in the dark.One could rise to glory in an instant—or collapse just as quickly.This time, Ryan hadn’t sent any assassins.Yet, he was still pushing Kendrick toward destr
The next morning, Jax arrived at Lavender Villa and reported his latest investigation findings to Kendrick in the living room.The gang that Annabelle and Uncle Trey encountered that day was indeed out for revenge on behalf of the ex-convict.They had been watching Anna for a while, following her and Uncle Trey into the mountains of their own accord—not under anyone’s orders.As for how Ryan knew Anna’s exact location, Jax placed a transparent plastic bag on the coffee table. Inside was a small black device, about the size of a keyboard keycap.“This was found under Anna’s car,” Jax explained. “A tracker, likely planted by Ryan’s men.”That was how Ryan had pinpointed Anna’s location. He must have noticed the abnormal speed and route of her car that day and rushed over immediately.As for why Kendrick had failed to arrive in time—Jax had also tracked down those responsible for the road obstructions.They had, without a doubt, been acting under orders. And it was almost certain that th
When two people are deeply intimate, even the slightest emotional shift in one can be immediately sensed by the other.Scott noticed it the moment Julissa became distracted.He pulled away from her lips.“What are you thinking about? You’re so absent-minded,” he said, displeased.Julissa hesitated, unsure how to bring it up.How was she supposed to tell him… that she had been with another man?Of course, she could choose to hide it or simply never mention her past. But what if he did care?If he did, then he was nothing more than a controlling chauvinist. And in that case, they wouldn’t be happy together anyway.She had always felt that men who obsessed over whether their girlfriend was a virgin had a strange kind of psychological fixation. Even if they got married, he might eventually use it against her, turning it into a weapon of humiliation and resentment.If that was the case, then she should leave now rather than later.She acknowledged that her drunken mistake had been impulsiv
That day, as Mrs. Hickman left the hospital, she continued reminding Julissa to always protect herself as a young woman.Julissa was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear. In the end, she pretended to feel unwell, which was the only way to finally make her mother stop.That night, after finishing his work, Scott arrived at the hospital to keep her company.For the past few days, Julissa had been telling her parents that Anna was staying with her at night, and when Anna wasn't available, a nurse would take over.In reality, it had always been Scott by her side.Now that her parents knew about their relationship, they did something unprecedented before she went to bed—they video-called her.They said they just wanted to check in on her, but Julissa knew the truth: they weren’t comfortable leaving her alone with Scott in the hospital room.They even had lingering doubts about his identity. It was probably hard for them to believe that their daughter had actually found herself a powerful
The husband and wife exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other's concerns.As for whether the young man's words were true or not, they would need to privately question their daughter—or better yet, do some investigating themselves.Scott sensed their unease and guessed they wanted to have a talk with Julissa. Understanding the situation, he tactfully stood up, saying he had work to attend to and would return later in the evening.Before leaving, he glanced at Julissa. "Get some rest. I'll be back later."Julissa waved at him absentmindedly, feeling a wave of relief now that the "meeting" was over. At least nothing too disastrous had happened.As soon as Scott stepped out of the hospital room, he let out a deep breath. His back was already damp with sweat.That was more nerve-wracking than a business negotiation...But he could tell that Julissa’s parents were honest, down-to-earth people who deeply loved their daughter. Growing up in such a warm and caring family, it was n
Previously, Julissa had never formally introduced Scott to her parents. Every time they visited, she would find an excuse to send him away.Besides, Scott was busy during the day, with too much company business to handle. Most of the time, he only visited at night.Her parents had only met him once before, and at that time, Julissa had brushed it off, saying he was just a colleague.Well, that cover story wasn’t going to work anymore.Her parents had caught them kissing. There was no way she could still claim they were just coworkers—that would just be shameless.Julissa decided to come clean.“Dad, Mom, let me formally introduce you. This is my… boyfriend, Scott.”The word boyfriend still felt unfamiliar coming out of her mouth. She didn’t dare to look at her parents’ expressions, for some reason feeling like she had committed a crime just by being in a relationship.“Yeah, we figured,” her father said, clearly displeased that she had kept this from them.Then, he turned to Scott, hi