Katiana’s expression darkened further.“Did you just ignore what I told you? Didn’t you hear what I just said? Are you seriously asking me to intervene for you?”Katiana sat facing Chiara. She dressed in fancy clothes, which clearly indicated that she was nouveau riche.Her golden earrings swayed slightly, and she wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. She was already in her fifties. Even though she had been taking good care of her body, she no longer looked young.She had wrinkles on her face.Since she was afraid of pain, she did not get a facelift.Chiara inhaled slightly and quickly shook her head. “No… I’m not asking you to intervene entirely, or expect you to exact revenge for me. I just hope you’ll take down the hashtags. That’s all I ask…”She knew that she had no right to take action or ask for Katiana’s help. But if she could remove the hashtags, then people would not engage with this topic that much.It was basically a piece of cake to Katiana.However, she had underes
Katiana left as soon as she finished. She opened the door and walked out without looking back.Chiara was left alone in the room. She wanted so badly to take out her phone and call her father.But she did not dare do that. Katiana was right. If she gave herself away at this time, she would never get her life back. Still, she could not help wondering if her father had really cheated on her mother.Did he really have another woman and even have a daughter with her?Since Chiara and Lyla were no longer around, Theodore would finally reunite with his kept woman and illegitimate child. They would live as a family of three!Chiara was broken by this. She immediately picked up her phone to read the posts on Twitter. When she saw a picture of the three of them, she felt a tremble in her heart, because she realized that Theodore’s illegitimate daughter looked like her younger self!Before this, she did not believe the rumor at all. She thought that someone was slandering Theodore. But aft
But Ivanka said absent-mindedly, “It’s a possibility.”“What will you do about it?”Ivanka cut some pork on the chopping block and said calmly, “I’ll just observe how things go and react accordingly.”“Huh?” Sandy suddenly became a little anxious. “You plan to continue waiting?”Ivanka smiled wordlessly.She did not answer any further questions from Sandy.Just as Sandy started panicking, the braised pork was done.It captured all of her attention immediately. “Whoa, my long-awaited braised pork is finally ready!”Ivanka’s lips curved into a smile. “Yeah, prepare to dig in.”Since there were only the two of them, Ivanka did not prepare too much food. There were just two dishes and one pot of soup. They finished cooking in no time.“It’s tasty! It’s so tasty!” Sandy cried tears of joy. “I wish I could cook as well as you!”Ivanka smiled again. “Take your time and learn. I’ll teach you.”“Forget it… I don’t think I can master this skill. I might as well enjoy the food first.”
Theodore’s expression turned grim. He quickly shook his head. “Of course not!”He shook his head instinctively even though no one was around and he was on the phone with Chiara.“Really? Dad, I’m not sure if I should believe you.” Chiara’s voice sounded anxious. She was like a deer caught in the headlights, filled with fear and distrust.Despite feeling sorry for her, he knew it was not the time to reveal the truth. He immediately said, “Chiara, of course you should believe me. I’m your father. Why would I lie to you?”Chiara’s expression was complicated. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “Mrs. Levine told me it’s all true.”Theodore became increasingly anxious but managed to keep his voice steady. However, after hearing what Chiara said, his anger came through in his words. “She’s lying!”Chiara took a deep breath and remained silent.Theodore wanted to explain further, but after thinking for a moment, he asked, “What happened earlier? What else did she say?”Chiara pur
“Chiara, if this scandal keeps spreading, I might have to leave Lane’s Group. If that happens, we’ll lose our chance to turn things around completely.”Chiara frowned while looking troubled. “Dad, I’m powerless right now. I can’t do anything on my own, and I don’t have any real authority. I’m just a puppet...”Theodore sighed helplessly. He was not sure what to say. He had some idea of Chiara’s situation.However, he did not want the scandal to drag on for too long. If it did, someone would eventually notice and his reputation would be ruined. He would be completely cut off from the company.“Sigh...” Theodore looked distressed but did not want to end the call. Chiara sighed as well and said reluctantly, “Dad, I’ll try my best to find a solution. I’ll beg them again. But are you sure you don’t have an illegitimate daughter?”“Of course, I don’t!” he said firmly. Chiara remained worried. She thought for a moment and spoke again, “Dad, things have already escalated this far. You
Chiara frowned and sighed. “Alright, let’s stop talking about it for now. I’ll think of something. In the meantime, see if you can contact anyone on your end to clear things up.”Theodore sighed as well. “Clear things up? What good would that do? We need to find someone more powerful than Ivanka to suppress this. Otherwise...”Before he could finish, Chiara sneered. “Someone more powerful than Ivanka? Dad, are you kidding? Sadler’s Group and Barkworth’s Group are backing her. Who do you think can match that? The Levine family won’t intervene. And Tanya? There’s no way I can get her to help. What do you expect me to do?”She still doubted her father and was growing resentful.Theodore, knowing Chiara’s personality all too well, quickly said, “Chiara, you don’t believe what’s being said on Twitter, do you? I’ve always been devoted to you and your mother. When have I ever had any intentions of betraying you two?”Chiara frowned but said nothing. She was extremely upset at that moment
The more the two guards talked, the more unsettled Lyla became. She started to panic.The male staff member sneered. “They deserve it. Their family ended up like this because of their own actions. They have no one else to blame.”Lyla had lost interest in weeding, but she feared that if she stopped, she might draw attention and cause them to change the subject. She took a deep breath and continued working.The female guard laughed and glanced at Lyla, who was not far away. She continued with her mocking tone, “I’ve been following Twitter these past few days. Theodore has become public enemy number one. He can’t even stay home comfortably. He has lost all his power, and there’s no one to clear the trending topic for him.”Trending topic? What trending topic?!Lyla’s expression changed as she wondered.How could that wretch Ivanka do this?!The female guard had long suspected what Lyla might be thinking. She almost told her not to worry and assured her that she would fill her in s
The female guard’s voice was filled with sarcasm and danger. However, Lyla showed no fear. Having committed murder and confessed to her crimes, she had little left to be afraid of.She was simply standing here and talking to these two guards. What more could happen?“What’s going on outside? Is there anything besides the trending topic?” she asked as she stood right in front of them.The other prisoners glanced over. They were clearly interested in the gossip. It was a welcome change to hear about the outside world, given they could not touch a phone every day.The female guard scoffed. “What’s happening outside has nothing to do with you. It’s not like you can plan any schemes from here.”“You better have evidence for what you’re saying. You’re supposed to be legitimate officials. The court has already ruled that I didn’t kill anyone intentionally. Yet you continue speaking about my husband in that tone. Aren’t you afraid I’ll sue you? I’ll get out of here eventually.”The femal
Ivanka frowned deeply. Michael was in a horrible state. He had been poisoned and suffered gunshots. He had a strong tolerance to medicine and pain. But it was his mental condition that caused him to fall into this state. Not being fully recovered also added to the burden. Ivanka gave him a white pill which she had formulated by herself. After that, she had the security guard carry Michael into her car. Then, she sent him to the hospital. They arrived at the emergency department. Xavier had finished attending to his patients. When he walked out of his office, he saw Michael being carried into the hospital. He then saw Ivanka beside Michael. Xavier frowned. His expression became tense, and he asked solemnly, “What’s happened to him?” “He’s weak and had previously been poisoned. Since you’re around, you can look after him.” Ivanka summarized Michael’s condition. After hearing Ivanka’s brief explanation, Xavier gave Michael a checklist and put him on a drip. After that,
Since Jonah had come to this and Ivanka was not an ungrateful person, she nodded and gave her word. “Jonah, I’ll give this my all. Don’t worry. As long as it’s within my ability, I’ll help you.” Jonah had to be bound to the wheelchair at the moment. Since Ivanka had shared a similar experience when she took over Lane’s Group back then, she naturally figured out how wolfish and greedy his adversaries would be. Jonah was injured because of her. She swore to give her all to save him from whatever crisis he was facing. Jonah took advantage of this and asked, “What time are you coming tomorrow? I’ll have my assistant get ready.” Ivanka thought for a moment. “Tomorrow afternoon.” She needed to manage her company affairs during the first half of the day. Jonah was content upon hearing her answer. “Good. I’ll wait for you tomorrow.” “Okay.” Ivanka nodded before hanging up. When she returned to her office, she did not expect to see Michael sitting on the couch. She nearly jum
There was only one possibility. Ivanka was calling somebody else. Michael wondered who could strike up such a long conversation with her. Sandy and Ivan had returned to the country. Ivanka’s besties were around her. Even if Ivanka deliberately approached Chiara, she could not possibly have so much to chat with Chiara. If Ivanka’s phone call was business related, there was no need to chat this long. Michael eliminated the possible reasons one by one. In the end, he thought of Jonah. Michael’s expression instantly turned as dark as thunderclouds. His gaze was dull and cold. Evan noticed it. He also saw the call record on Michael’s phone. Evan quickly persuaded Michael, “Mr. Barkworth, Ms. Lane could be tied up with her work, so she couldn’t answer your call. We could go to her workplace now.” Michael said nothing. He gave a cold glance at Evan. Evan got a shock. The next second, Michael turned around and left his office. Looking at Michael’s fading silhouette, Evan wi
It was why Ivanka still came for Jonah in spite of her unpleasant experience with Margaret in the hospital last time. Jonah had been injured because of Ivanka. She came for him only. The other people did not matter to her. Jonah’s heart sank upon hearing her words. His expression tensed up. He could imagine the indifferent look on Ivanka’s face right at that moment. She had that expression on her face simply because he was never really important to her. Jonah was upset precisely because of her indifference to him. He wanted to say something to her but did not know how to begin. He was also not in the position to say that. It did not take long before Ivanka’s gentle but rather indifferent voice rang in his ears, “Jonah, don’t worry. I’ll treat your legs until they recover. Don’t run into any conflicts with your mom because of me.” Her words pulled Jonah’s wandering mind back into the present moment. He felt a heavy weight on his heart. “Iv, I trust you. You don’t need to
Margaret became frustrated and grabbed Ivanka. She could not understand why Ivanka was fine while Jonah ended up in such a bad situation after the accident.Then, Jonah defended Ivanka. There was also all the talk about Ivanka’s treatment. Margaret was curious to see what kind of miracle medicine Ivanka could develop.In the end, Ivanka’s treatment did not work. Moreover, her relationship with Jonah, which had finally started to improve, was once again ruined because of Ivanka.Jonah scoffed. “Mom, I’m not an eight-year-old anymore. You’re saying all this because you want me to go along with your plans for an arranged date, right?”Margaret had not expected Jonah to guess her thoughts. She was about to insist on her point when Jonah spoke first. With a mocking smile, he said sarcastically, “Do you think anyone would date someone like me?”He had a point. But Laura might be one such person.However, Margaret did not like her. She would do anything to keep Laura from becoming her d
“That’s because you want him to fall in love with you!” Margaret snapped.Ivanka chuckled softly. Her tone was edged with sarcasm. “Love? Does it really matter that much?”Margaret felt humiliated and furious. She pointed a finger at Ivanka’s face with a hostile expression. “If it doesn’t matter, why are you doing all this? Stop pretending, Ivanka!”Ivanka let out a bitter laugh. “Pretending? What am I pretending for? Is being divorced a crime? Margaret, you’re a woman too. How would you feel if someone accused you like this?”She hoped Margaret would take a moment to reflect. After all, she was Jonah’s mother, and Ivanka did not want their conflict to escalate.But Margaret was unmoved. Her glare turned colder, sharper, and filled with hatred.“You think I’ll just let this go?” Margaret said sharply. “If it weren’t for you, Jonah wouldn’t be in this mess! I meant every word I said, and nothing will change that.”To her, Ivanka was nothing more than someone scheming to use Jonah
“Ivanka,” Margaret took a deep breath while trying to compose herself. When she looked at Ivanka again, her expression was calm. She said, “I don’t know how deep Jonah’s feelings for you run. What I fear most is that once he becomes fixated on you, that’s it. When he falls for someone, his heart won’t make room for anyone else. In that way, he’s just like his father.”Ivanka’s gaze wavered. She bit her lip and was unsure of what to say.“I beg you, don’t hurt Jonah anymore!” Margaret’s voice carried a note of desperation.Ivanka’s expression turned extremely complicated.There was a time when Jonah came to her only to use her. Back then, they were both using each other. It made things simple.But later, Jonah unexpectedly started talking about marriage. Perhaps it was to provoke Michael, or perhaps he simply wanted to keep her close because she was useful to him.At some point, though, it seemed Jonah had become serious about her. She could not pinpoint when it happened. Perhaps
Jonah frowned in clear disagreement, but he stayed silent. Ivanka’s confident smile reassured him and made him trust her.Eventually, he let go of her wrist.Ivanka noticed Margaret putting on her shoes. She quickly followed, stepping outside just as Margaret was about to get into her car“Margaret,” she called out.Margaret frowned slightly and stood still.Since Jonah had not come out with Ivanka, she decided she could spare a moment to speak with her.She turned and looked at Ivanka coldly.Ivanka softened her tone. “Let’s take a walk.”Margaret did not respond, but her silence was enough of an agreement.They walked slowly around the edge of the mansion. The surrounding area was all part of the Sadler family estate.Margaret suppressed her anger and glanced at Ivanka before speaking in a composed tone, “Alright. What do you want to say?”Ivanka met her gaze briefly before looking ahead and said, “Do you know what will happen if Jonah’s coughing continues?”Margaret’s he
Margaret glared at Ivanka and scoffed, “If there’s an issue, I’ll get another doctor to handle it. It’ll be anyone but you, Ivanka. Haven’t I made myself clear enough? I’ve told you this before.”She hated how Ivanka ignored her warnings and kept coming back to visit Jonah time and again. What if Jonah got too close to her and ended up ruining his reputation? If Jonah had not been here, Margaret would have been even harsher.Ivanka frowned as she met Margaret’s sharp gaze. “I’ve never tried to get close to Jonah like that. We’re just friends. I know I’m not good enough for him, so I’ve never even thought about it.”“You might not have, but he has!” Margaret snapped, raising her voice.“Mom!” Jonah’s expression darkened.Jonah was usually calm and polite. This was the first time Ivanka saw him looking so upset and was about to lose his temper.Ivanka’s eyes flickered with hesitation. She was unsure of what to say.Explaining Jonah’s coughing would do no good. Margaret would not