Chloe felt a strange sensation inside her as she read the message. Since when was Vince so disrespectful? She was only acquainted with Vince because of Joseph. She and Vince had never met up on their own, but now he was asking her to look for him at Imperium?She did not reply to the text and decided to inform Joseph about this. After listening to what she said, Joseph frowned. "That's not Vince. Someone used his phone to message you."In other words, Vince was in danger. Chloe was taken aback. She was relieved that she had not rushed to meet him. Suddenly, Joseph's phone vibrated. It was a call from the person who had been tasked with looking into Bethany's recent activities. Feeling something was wrong, Joseph narrowed his eyes."I have to take this call. I'll call you back later. Don't go anywhere and stay at the office. No matter who comes to you and persuades you to go with them for any reason, don't listen to them. Just wait for me there,” he instructed.Chloe realized th
Chloe shook Joseph's arm and pleaded, "Let's go together. We can look after each other. If anything happens, I won't be able to explain myself to Jas."Of course, she hoped they would return safely, but that seemed unlikely considering the current situation."Fine, you can come with me, but your safety comes first. No matter what happens, you're the priority, and I come second." "All right," Chloe agreed, and they sped off to Imperium.An hour later, they arrived at their destination. The underling who had reported to Joseph earlier rushed out of the bushes upon spotting their vehicle, waving to flag them down."Sir, I've contacted our comrades at the off-site training session. Thankfully they had a satellite phone. I told them not to return to Imperium for now. The bad news is that all our comrades inside are now under Otto’s control."Joseph frowned. "Why would they have a satellite phone?""They said Vince gave it to them."Vince had sensed something was going to happen, so
Vince, who was trussed up tightly, listened intently to Otto and Xavia’s conversation. He was like an ant on a hot pan, yet he could not break free. His overwhelming regret felt like a series of slaps, causing his face to turn red. He wished he could break free and drive these people out of Imperium. After that, he would kill himself to atone for the mistakes he had made. "Check if those from the off-site training are on their way back. We can't let them know what's happening here or they might run," Otto instructed coldly as he took a deep drag of his cigar.Since Frieda’s death, Cyrus had decided not to cause the Whitmans any more trouble and handed over the management of Duskfall to Otto. Harold shared the same perspective, believing that the deceased could not be resurrected. Frieda's suicide was meant to stop the perpetuation of past grievances from being passed on to the next generation.It no longer mattered who was right or wrong. Harold advised Joseph to let the past be
Vince stared at his phone which had been shattered into pieces. He had purchased that phone with his very first bonus and cherished it very much. His shock then turned into a burning rage as he glared fiercely at Otto, wishing to tear Otto to pieces. Unfortunately, nobody paid attention to him.Xavia was seething with anger, staring darkly at the distraught Vince. "What should we do? Should we just kill those who are here?"After a few seconds of contemplation, Otto said, "Even if Joseph knows, what can he do? His people are in the cells, those at the off-site training don't have any weapons. We have hostages, so he's powerless against us.""You want to take that risk?""Why not?" Xavia frowned. She had a look of disapproval as she caressed her protruding belly. "Why not seize the opportunity and eliminate them now? We can deal with one batch at a time."When there were lives, there was hope. By killing these people, Joseph would suffer significant losses, and lose Vince, his mo
The faint glow of the mobile phone screen illuminated Joseph's face, casting a soft light over him. He gripped his pen tightly and carefully calculated the safe path on the paper. Chloe held up the phone, now being used as a flashlight, trying to provide him with enough light. She held her breath to minimize her presence and not disturb him.Using the phone's flashlight feature consumed a lot of the phone’s battery, and after about half an hour, her phone battery level had dwindled to around 10%. Chloe's palms were slippery with cold sweat as she debated whether to speak up and tell Joseph. However, she hesitated so as not to disturb him.A moment later, Joseph said, "I've figured it out." Chloe was surprised and shocked. "That was fast. You're amazing!"She could not deny that some people were favored by the heavens. They had brains and brawns. She was confident that Jasper would have no problems with Math in the future.Joseph nodded. "But I'm not sure it's 100% accurate." Ch
Otto never thought Joseph would be able to get in undetected. He had no idea how Joseph had managed this and he regretted not heeding Xavia's suggestion.He quickly assembled his subordinates, urging them to be on high alert to prevent Joseph from meeting up with his men. He then led some of his subordinates into the inner part of Imperium to search for Joseph. He failed to notice that Xavia was nowhere to be found. *In the dungeon, Joseph swiftly released everyone."Mr. Joseph!" The people inside were shocked to see Joseph. They did not know how Joseph managed to get inside. Some of them even choked up and said, "Sir, we've failed you… We let Duskfall sneak in.""Let’s not talk about this now. I’m sure Otto heard the signal and will be here soon. Go grab some weapons and wait for me to join you.""But there aren’t many of us. We can’t win. You should take Ms. Chloe and get out of here. We'll cover you.""Are you stupid? If Mr. Joseph wanted to escape, why would he have come i
Chloe froze when she saw Xavia lunge toward her. As she was caught off guard, Xavia attempted to slash her in the chest. Chloe staggered backward, barely avoiding the attack. "Bitch, you're dead," Xavia hissed, her menacing smile sending a chill down Chloe’s spine.Chloe tightened her grip on the vase, her mind racing for a solution. Calling Joseph for help was out of the option. He was too far away and he might get distracted. The situation on his end was probably not much better.Before Xavia could strike again, Chloe blurted out with a resolute expression, "I'll give you Joseph, just don't kill me!"Xavia froze. After a moment, she laughed so hard that her large belly trembled. "You have it all wrong. I've long moved on from Joseph."She did not believe Chloe had the ability to persuade Joseph, and she certainly did not believe that Chloe would give Joseph to her."No, you've loved Joseph for so many years. You can't just give up," Chloe said, "You're so pretty, and you're a
Chloe clenched her teeth, frustrated that her attempt to deceive Xavia had failed. 'What do I do now? Should I kick her stomach? But the child in her womb is innocent. And what if that just makes her even angrier?' While Chloe was lost in her thoughts, the tip of the dagger approached. She refrained from taking the risk and simply shut her eyes."Get away from her!" Zoelle shouted as she hit Xavia on the back of the head.Xavia staggered a few steps back. Her dagger clattered to the ground as she fainted.Chloe, still in shock, stared at Zoelle. As her brain processed what just happened, she asked, "Why are you here?"Bent over and trying to catch her breath, Zoelle explained, "I called Vince several times, but he didn’t answer. Then I called you, and you didn't answer either. I immediately guessed that something had happened to you and Joseph."Chloe asked, "How did you find this place?"Imperium's location was concealed and there was no human activity nearby. The gate was c
After Chloe calmed herself, she realized that the place she was in resembled the villa she lived in while overseas five years ago. However, upon closer inspection, the exterior scenery was different. She realized something and froze."Did you build a villa identical to the one I stayed in five years ago?" she asked.Noah was busy bandaging himself. Upon hearing her question, he replied, "Yeah, doesn't it look almost identical?"Chloe's gaze swept over every item in the room, and she admitted that she was touched. She turned back to Noah and looked at him gently as if she had returned to the time when she simply treated him as a little brother."How did you convince Tiffany to cooperate with you?"Tiffany had made her move while Noah distracted Desmond."I just told her about it, and she agreed."Chloe asked, "Do you think you’re treating her fairly?"Noah said flatly, "I’ll compensate her."Compensate? How? Chloe thought that youth was the most precious thing in the world, but
In the Whitman family home, Joseph went to deal with a bunch of urgent company matters after putting Jasper to sleep. By the time he finished, it was already past three in the morning. He contemplated calling Chloe to ask about Noah's situation, but thinking it might disrupt her sleep, he abandoned the idea.When Joseph woke up the next day, it was already half past six. He recalled Chloe mentioning that Exotic Star had a new product launching today and that she would have to wake up early. He reached for his phone on the table, intending to call her.However, his hand slipped and the phone fell to the floor. The loud thud caused his heart to tremble. He stared at the shattered phone screen as he got a bad feeling. He grabbed his spare phone and quickly dialed Chloe's number. After ringing for some time, a cold, mechanical voice informed him that there was no one available to answer at the moment. Without hesitation, he immediately headed to the Sullivan Manor. When Joseph got ther
“Yes, Grandpa, and I hope you won't stop me when the time comes," Noah said. "You're not discussing this with me. You're just informing me!" Desmond said exasperatedly. "I'm sorry, Grandpa.”Desmond hemmed and hawed for a long while, at a loss for words. He seemed to age ten years as he stared into the distance through the window. After a while, he said, "I've already had someone contact doctors abroad regarding your condition, so don't worry. All you have to do now is just focus on recovering. Don't give up so soon."Sensing Desmond's determination, Noah's eyes filled with tears. He too wished to spend a few more years with his grandfather.When they arrived at the Sullivan manor, the foreign doctors had replied. Upon learning that the renowned healer, Z, had treated Noah but only achieved limited success, they decided not to intervene.Noah was not discouraged by this. He comforted Desmond and said, "Grandpa, I would like to go abroad for a few days. It's been a long time sin
Half an hour later, Desmond and Noah walked out of the ward together.Desmond said, "The doctor told you to stay in the hospital for a few more days, so why don't you just listen? If something happens to you again, they can treat you immediately."Noah smiled warmly and said, "It's okay. The medical equipment at home is sufficient."Desmond sighed. It would be good if Noah stayed at home as well. At least there would be more pairs of eyes on him.Desmond instructed the driver to come to the hospital’s basement car park. When he hung up the phone, he looked around the corridor and wondered, "Wasn't Chloe just sitting here? Where is she?"Noah did not say anything and just lowered his head."And where's Tiffany too? Call her. We need to go home," Desmond said as he took his phone out to call Chloe.However, Chloe did not answer his call. Noah did not call Tiffany. Instead, he said, "Her brother had something to discuss with her, so he came by and brought her home. Maybe Chloe ha
Chloe looked at Tiffany and said sarcastically, "Not everyone is willing to contribute their entire life knowing that the other person doesn't like them."Tiffany had a heart problem. She might die at any moment, yet she chose to live around someone who did not love her back. Chloe often marveled at the greatness of love, but she would never possess such a sacrificial spirit.Tiffany laughed coldly. "It’s because I have compassion and you don't. When Xavia died before your eyes, you just coldly stared at her body."Chloe raised her head sharply, glared at Tiffany, and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Xavia took my child, stole my man, and wrecked my marriage! She nearly got me killed several times! If she hadn’t died, it might have been me! I should've celebrated her death with fireworks! None of you know what I've been through, so stop pointing fingers at me!"At first, she had felt responsible for Xavia's death, but she had since come to her senses. Xavia's death had nothing to
Desmond was taken aback that he even forgot his cane and almost tripped on the carpet. He quickly got back up and headed for the second floor. The butler immediately called for an ambulance while the other housekeepers guided the panicked guests away.Chloe furrowed her brows, following Desmond into Noah's bedroom. The curtains were drawn tightly, blocking out all light. But just standing at the door, one could detect the strong scent of rust from inside.A helper flipped a switch, and the room was flooded with light. The wooden furniture was neatly arranged while neatly folded clothes sat on the sofa.Chloe looked around but did not see Noah. She then looked toward the bathroom and her face sank.Tiffany pointed to the bathroom and said, "He's in there."Desmond trembled as he pushed open the bathroom door. Inside was a mess, with red stains covering the floor. Noah was in the bathtub, his wet clothes clinging to his body. His arms hung limply over the tub's edge, and his head sl
Chloe did not know how to answer."Say something. You wanted her dead, right? Are you happy now that she is dead?!” Kenneth shouted angrily at her, his eyes bloodshot and his gaze piercing.He was so loud that it drew the attention of many nearby. Callum and Joseph rushed over, and Joseph shielded Chloe behind him. He pushed Kenneth back several steps and said sternly, "Never speak of that woman in front of Chloe again. Otherwise, there'll be consequences!""Hah! Are you protecting a murderer?" Kenneth laughed. "Oh yeah, you’re both responsible for Xavia's death after all."Smack!Callum slapped Kenneth across the face, instantly silencing him. "Get a grip, Ken! Xavia deserved to die. Stop embarrassing yourself in front of Chloe.”Kenneth held his face as he muttered, "Yeah, you're right… Xavia should’ve died. She was evil. She deceived and took advantage of me… She should die..."Then why was he so tormented over her death? He could not sleep or eat. He knew Xavia deserved th
Joseph frowned. "Of course not. Her death has nothing to do with you. Promise me you won’t think such thoughts."The unexpected turn of events caught both Chloe and him off guard. Xavia clearly wanted to haunt Chloe forever by killing herself in front of her. Although he felt shocked, he was not deeply shaken. After all, he had not witnessed Xavia's jump, and Xavia probably thought that the third floor was not enough to kill her. After all, being in the hospital for treatment was better than being detained by the police.Chloe looked at Joseph with vacant eyes and smiled bitterly. "You're right. It’s good that she's finally dead. She got what she deserved, and I should be happy," she said."Exactly. Even if she didn't jump, the police would’ve arrested her," Joseph said gently, "It's my fault for asking you to buy us some time. If she comes back as a ghost to haunt you, I'll stop her."Joseph, Tyson, and a few officers had arrived just moments after Xavia jumped. He had brought a g
Everyone erupted into gasps. As a deafening crash came from below, the staff scattered. Some ran downstairs to try and rescue Iris. Some who had rushed to the windows shouted anxiously, "She's still alive!"Everyone around Chloe was running as her mind was filled with an endless ringing. The whole world became a blur. She never imagined that things would end like this. The meeting hall was on the third floor. It was not too high, but it could be fatal if one were to land on their head. Everyone's accusatory gaze fell on Chloe, and the crowd started to murmur."Damn, how could she do this to Iris? Do you think she’ll be haunted by nightmares tonight?""Yeah, why does she insist that Iris is Xavia?""What if Iris dies? Won’t Ms. Chloe indirectly become a murderer?""Do you think Iris will come for revenge in the middle of the night when she dies?"Something inside Chloe snapped, and she shouted, "It wasn't me! What she did has nothing to do with me!"Her outburst silenced the ro