It was undeniable that Alexander was speaking the truth.“I’ve got a lot of other things to deal with,” Ivanka replied coldly and cut straight to the point.In other words, Ivanka was telling him that she did not have time for his nonsense.How could Alexander not understand what she was trying to convey?Though she was usually calm and strategic, she could also become emotional and impatient like other women.However, she was not as gentle or compliant as most women.“Well, if you’re in a rush, Ms. Ivanka, I won’t keep you. My point is simple—I admire you. If you agree to be with me, I’ll do more than tell you who’s behind this. I can ensure that you’re set for life.”Alexander let out a long sigh while pretending to look troubled. His subsequent words revealed his true intentions.Ivanka felt as if she had just heard the most ridiculous joke. She scoffed and said deliberately, “You have the nerve to ask me that when you won’t even show your face?”Wearing a mask meant he had
Ivanka’s eyes flashed with a hint of ferocity.When Alexander saw this, he stopped provoking her further. He said, “You’re right. My phone number is also my WhatsApp. Text me if you change your mind. I’ll be waiting for you.”“That day will never come,” Ivanka replied decisively.She stood up and left.Alexander, who was standing in front of her, consciously stepped aside.This allowed her to relax her grip. She had been prepared to take action if Alexander had tried to block her, but he let her leave without resistance.However, the smoother things went, the more Ivanka felt that the future would not be peaceful. She had a gut feeling that Alexander had hidden motives.“Ms. Ivanka, are you okay?” Evan immediately approached her when he saw her coming out.Evan had been watching them closely during Ivanka and Alexander’s conversation, especially Ivanka’s expression. He was ready to step in if a confrontation had occurred.“I’m fine,” Ivanka replied coldly.She already had pla
Evan was surprised when Ivanka spoke up as she emerged from the side.Michael had just mentioned looking into Alexander. Before Evan could start the investigation, Ivanka claimed she had already found something. She was way ahead of the game!Michael turned his gaze toward her upon hearing her voice.Though he did not respond verbally, his brows furrowed. As he listened, his mind automatically recalled the scene where Ivanka met and spoke with a man named Alexander.“Mr. Barkworth asked me to look into it. No matter how well he’s hiding, we’ll uncover who he really is!” Evan spoke firmly. His gaze was filled with determination.He had already sensed the coldness in Michael’s eyes. He realized that if he did not quickly gather information about Alexander, things could go badly. After all, he was a man too. Men understood other men best.He recognized that Michael felt threatened by Alexander’s appearance. Michael was furious and filled with possessiveness.Sensing the tension, Ev
The message instantly piqued Ivanka’s interest.She began to wonder if Alexander might be a significant figure in Eldoria. Otherwise, how could a regular person be so difficult to trace when she hacked into Eldoria’s system?This, combined with the message she had just received, made Ivanka even more certain that Alexander was an important figure in Eldoria. Realizing this, she quickly retracted the Trojan horse she had just sent out.At that moment, a senior staff member responsible for Eldoria’s system noticed Ivanka retracting the Trojan horse and immediately called Alexander.“Prince Alexander, I’ve done what you asked. The other party has withdrawn the Trojan horse attack.”“I see.”Alexander smiled, a wicked grin spreading across his face.He had not expected a skilled, world-class hacker to be on Ivanka’s side.However, Alexander began to wonder if Ivanka herself might be the top hacker.After all, why would the Trojan horse have been withdrawn so quickly after seeing t
After speaking, Ivanka turned and walked away to leave Michael behind.Michael remained silent. His expression grew dark. His gaze became even colder.When he took his medicine, he frowned. “Why is this medicine so bitter?”“When is medicine ever not bitter? Besides, you didn’t complain about it this morning. Call Evan and ask him to bring you some sugar if it’s that bad,” Ivanka retorted.She looked at him with a calm demeanor, but she was actually mocking him.He was the esteemed CEO of Barkworth’s Group, not a small child! Why would he need sugar with his medicine?!“Didn’t you go out with Evan this morning?” Michael’s frown deepened when Ivanka asked him that.She was curious to know how it went.“I’ll call Evan, then,” Ivanka said as she took out her phone.“I don’t want anyone else to know,” Michael coldly interrupted her. He wanted her to lower her phone.She would have to handle it herself.“I’ll get you some honey tea.”Before Michael could respond, she called room
Ivanka did not expect the man to pretend to be an attendant. He even hid a sharp weapon within himself. The man moved so quickly that Ivanka did not have time to react. He yanked her over and pressed her neck with a sharp dagger. “Let go of her!” Michael narrowed his eyes. He shot him a cold, warning glare. Ivanka grabbed the man’s hand. The man noticed her intention and pressed the dagger harder against her neck. Ivanka’s expression darkened. She could have evaded him, but she wanted to find his real motive. The moment he attacked her, she knew he was not a threat. Little did the man realize that the moment he held Ivanka hostage, she already made eye contact with Michael. Otherwise, he could not have possibly held Ivanka hostage successfully. The man revealed his true color and blurted out with hostility, “Give me the Ganoderma nebula. If not, I’ll slit her throat!” “Do you think you can get the Ganoderma nebula after killing me?” Ivanka was undaunted. Instead, th
The poison was Cruciatus. As the name suggested, it could lead to excruciating pain. The man was shocked. He subconsciously asked, “How do you know that?” They had secretly looked for doctors to cure them. They were told that Cruciatus was a type of specially formulated poison. There was no other way to cure it except by serving the antidote. Besides, the ingredients for the antidote were precious and hard to find. Cruciatus had tortured them for many years. Upon hearing this, Ivanka chuckled. She had guessed it correctly. She said with a drawl, “I accidentally felt your pulse rate.” “Are you medically skilled?” The man was puzzled. He looked slightly dumbfounded. Ivanka raised one of her eyebrows. She grabbed his wrist with the dagger in his hand, and she said coolly, “Yes. I can get rid of the poison from your body.” The man instantly fell silent. The other men remained subdued by the side and saw their last hope about to be fooled. He was going to fail the missio
Ivanka said nothing. She gave a hint at Evan through her gaze. When Michael said nothing else, Evan did as Ivanka told by releasing the four men. The instant Evan let go of them, he snorted, “You’re lucky this time!” The four men did not say anything. They looked at Lark guiltily while he was still holding Ivanka hostage opposite them. However, it did not take long before their eyes were filled with determination and resoluteness. Lark mentally calculated the time while holding the dagger tightly in his hand. After a few minutes, he would use up all his strength and slit Ivanka’s throat. Clang! Lark’s dagger fell to the ground. His eyes widened as he stared dumbfoundedly at Ivanka who had broken herself free of him. “You…” Ivanka crossed her arms. A mocking smile arched across her lips. “I was just kidding with you. Do you really think that I’m not a match for you?” Michael dashed forward. His eyes were filled with bone-chilling coldness. “Get him.” Michael stared a
Instead, she remained standing in front of Jimothy and studied the group of men with a smile.“He works at our company. Since I’ve run into him, I’m obligated to come over and check on him. Pray tell, what has happened between you and why do you feel the need to resolve it with violence?”Jimothy stared at Candice while she stood with her back facing him. The look in his eyes was conflicted.The men exchanged glances with each other and saw a hint of astonishment in one another’s eyes.The man at the front of the group, who was likely their leader, said, “We just get paid to do this, lady. You should stay out of it.”When Candice heard his advice which also sounded like a threat, she did not intend to back down at all. Instead, she asked him, “Oh? How much did you get for this? I’ll pay you double. I just told you that this guy works for us, so I have to intervene.”The leader started laughing, and so did the men behind him. They did not even bother to hide the mockery in their t
Candice ordered some food she liked, and the dishes arrived soon after.Sandy suggested that they all took a picture together.The others did not object.Sandy gave her phone to the waiter.Then the five of them moved their chairs to sit in a row.Michael and Ivan each took the outermost seats.Naturally, Ivanka was seated next to Michael while Sandy, who paid for the dinner, was right beside her.Next to Sandy was Candice, who sat awkwardly in her chair. Ivan was beside Candice.The second the waiter took the picture, Ivanka and Michael exchanged glances inadvertently. Meanwhile, Ivan stared past Candice, and his eyes fell on Sandy.Sandy and Candice were the only people who looked into the camera.But each and every one of them had a genuine smile on their face.Once they had taken a picture, they started eating together.It was a nice, relaxing dinner. They did not talk about work or how annoying Coco had been.They mostly chatted about the fun anecdotes they had he
The call was soon answered, but the person who picked up was not Rosie. It was Mrs. Ruth.“Ms. Lane, you finally called! Mdm. Barkworth will be over the moon when she wakes up!” Mrs. Ruth sounded quite excited as she spoke.Ivanka smiled and asked, “Is Grandma resting now?”“Yeah, she hasn’t had a good rest after learning that you’d be kidnapped. Once you were safe, she finally allowed herself to rest.”Ivanka nodded and told Mrs. Ruth to take good care of Rosie. She later said that she and Micheal would visit Rosie soon.With that, she hung up the phone.Meanwhile, she also reflected upon herself.Rosie had gotten old, yet Ivanka always made her worry. From that moment on, Ivanka would consider the consequences before making any decision. It was not only for the sake of herself, but the important people in her life, who also cared about her.As she contemplated this, Ivanka inevitably thought of the gathering. It would be quite fun.Before they were about to get off work, San
Coco practically ran out crying.Candice glanced at Ivanka worriedly and asked, “Will something bad happen to her?”Ivanka was not concerned at all. “What could possibly happen? She is an adult. Even if something bad happens, she has to bear the consequences of her own action.”Hearing that, Candice no longer fretted over the matter.She was not really worried about Coco. She was just afraid that something would happen to Coco, and Ivanka would be blamed for it.But Ivanka had made a good point. Candice did not want to trouble herself with Coco’s matters. It would only be an unnecessary emotional burden to her.Everyone in the office began discussing the progress of their project.Perhaps it was because Ivanka had made an example of Coco, the other employees became especially energized and diligent during their discussion.They were even more focused than before, since they were all afraid that Ivanka would treat them harshly as well.Hence, they were particularly efficient.
“Why don’t we leave now so that you can deal with this matter, Ms. Ivanka?”The director of the project department, who was perceptive and shrewd, planned to leave right then. Ivanka shook her head and signaled everyone to sit down.They were all uneasy, and they kept giving Coco weird looks.Two people had dared speak to Ivanka like that in the past—Ferris and Mandy.But those two were no longer with the company.At the thought of those people, the project department staff began looking at Coco with pity.However, Coco could not care less. All she wanted was to make a fuss.She wanted to see how shameless Ivanka could be.Unruffled, Ivanka stared at her. She did not get angry and seemed rather affable as she asked, “Tell me what upset you. Have we falsely accused you of something you didn’t do?”Before Coco said anything, Ivanka added cruelly, “Oh, I forgot that you aren’t familiar with the protocol here, so you have no idea what you did wrong, right?”Coco paled. Undoubte
Candice was momentarily stunned by his answer. She was a little offended.“Then why did you come to my office for this conversation?” Jimothy’s grin was mischievous. “To prove your company’s HR is blind, and you just lost a great talent. That’s all.”With that, Jimothy stood up, dusted off his sleeves dramatically, and turned to leave.“Your resume!” Candice called after him.Jimothy waved dismissively without looking back. “Keep it. Enjoy reading it. And don’t let an incompetent HR handle your interviews again.”Candice stood there for a moment and processed the scene before an involuntary chuckle escaped her lips. This one had personality.Regardless, the incident served as a wake-up call for Candice.It became glaringly clear that Coco was not only incompetent but also prone to overestimating her abilities.Before the task was assigned, she had the chance to decline. Candice had given her the opportunity and explicitly asked if she could handle it. Yet, Coco confidentl
The college student finally believed her and walked toward Candice.On the other hand, Coco seemed guilty and was desperate to prevent it. “He has no respect for our company! Are you really going to hire someone like him who won’t follow orders?” Coco’s tone was sharp. Her finger trembled as she pointed at the young man.She scanned the room for backup in hopes that the people who had been flattering her earlier would speak up in her defense.Unfortunately, no one stepped forward.Those who flattered Coco only did so out of respect for Ivanka. Yet Candice had a close relationship with Ivanka and was the company’s vice president.The gap between a vice president versus an intern was as vast as night and day.Anyone with common sense knew where to align themselves.Coco felt a mix of despair and resentment.Candice ignored her entirely. Why Ivanka was so wary of someone as clueless as this was beyond her comprehension.Coco was simply dumb.Without wasting another thought o
However, reality proved she had worried for nothing.Candice had called her over merely to ask if she had the most basic professional knowledge and whether she could handle the afternoon’s interview.Coco let out a deep sigh of relief before patting her chest confidently and assuring Candice she was more than capable.Knowing Coco came from the mountains, Candice was naturally skeptical, so she asked again, “Are you sure?”Coco thought to herself that it was just an interview. All she needed to do was just ask the candidates some questions. They could just choose someone who wrote the resume well.Not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Michael’s cousin, Coco pretended to be confident and accepted the task.Candice was half-doubtful, yet she still gave her instructions and let her go.However, Coco’s firm assurance eventually led to trouble....“Your company must be a joke to hire someone like you for HR. You’re offended? You’re not even a real professional. What? You ca
Word quickly spread within the HR department. After learning about Coco’s connection to Ivanka, some colleagues were vying to curry favor with her.Although some observant individuals noticed that the relationship between Coco and Ivanka was not as harmonious as it seemed, it did not deter the opportunists. Relentless flattery and attention poured in.One moment, a male coworker would offer to grab her food while placing his own lunch order. Next, a female coworker would ask if she wanted to order some coffee too.At first, Coco was caught off guard and politely declined. However, as she realized their intentions were purely self-serving, she began to accept their gestures without hesitation.By midday, Coco had become the department’s little queen. Ironically, as an intern, she should have been the one fetching coffee, running errands and collecting mail. Instead, she had colleagues practically lining up to do those tasks for her.Coco quickly assembled her own little e