“Don’t you feel sorry for what you’ve done?!” Ivanka stared at Travis as if she was staring at an idiot. “Mr. George is the one who killed him. Since you were so close to Benny, you should hate Mr. George instead. Why are you forcing me to regret myself for what I’ve done to him?” Ivanka looked at Travis in puzzlement. Travis was afraid of Mr. George because of his power, so he targeted Ivanka, who was weaker in comparison. Travis knew Mr. George was the one who had killed Benny. But he tended to delude himself and put all the blame on Ivanka. All he wanted was a peace of mind. Ivanka felt speechless. She sighed while looking at the rancid food. She wondered when she would be rescued and when the opportunity would come to leave this place. An opportunity presented to those who were well-prepared for it. When it was time to leave this place, she could not run away with an empty stomach. It would only cause her trouble. So, Ivanka decided to take the plate. Little
Suddenly, Ivanka saw a human face appear outside the window. She was shocked. She looked carefully at the human face and realized that it was none other than Michael. Ivanka cradled her mouth for fear that she would cry out in excitement. Her eyes teared up. When she was taken away, threatened, and mistreated, she barely showed any emotions. It was not because she was not afraid of them. Mr. George was ruthless. He was a madman. She could not look fearful in front of these men. She needed to protect Sandy. As she continued to act tough, she became used to it. It was not until she saw Michael that she finally met her savior. Michael had trekked all the way up the mountain to find Ivanka at all costs. He also bore the risk of being discovered by Mr. George and his group at any time. But the moment he saw Ivanka, he thought everything he did was worthwhile. “Are you still alright?” Michael mouthed. Using his lips, he asked about Ivanka’s current condition. Ivanka n
That was how Michael showed up in front of Ivanka. Michael found his way based on Sandy’s description of the location. Ivan wanted to stop Michael but failed. Michael had expressionlessly said, “If Sandy was taken instead, I wouldn’t stop you either.” Ivan had no choice but to make way for Michael. He reminded Michael to be careful. Nonetheless, all that was no longer important. The moment Michael saw Ivanka safe and sound, everything became worthwhile. The two did not need to say much. They could tell from each other’s gazes, and the rest was redundant. Ivanka was relieved when she saw Michael. But she could not completely relax herself yet. She briefly mentioned Fiona’s matter. Upon hearing her words, Michael fell silent for some time before asking, “Has Mr. George met with Fiona before this?” Ivanka was startled. The next moment, she shook her head. “I don’t think so.” “Are you sure?” Michael narrowed his eyes. “This is very important.” Ivanka recalled care
After Mr. George left, Ivanka nervously looked outside the window. Michael was no longer there. She did not know when he had left. Ivanka was perturbed. She waited until it was night. They delivered her food throughout, but Travis did not come. Mr. George was aware of Travis’s desire for Ivanka. He wanted to avoid any complications before handing Ivanka to Fiona. Ivanka waited but did not see Michael and his group barge in to save her. Instead, Fiona finally came. It was about 10 p.m.. The quiet factory instantly created quite a commotion and the lights were brightly lit. Ivanka leaned against the corner of the wall and saw the lights outside. The next moment, she heard a faint sound. Ivanka pressed her ear against the door. The door had no soundproofing, so she heard everything. Mr. George seemed very happy and showed his respect to Fiona. He said, “Fiona, good to see you. Please come in.” Fiona said nothing. The crowd entered through the door and went to the c
Ivanka lay on the floor. She bit the bottom of her lips and stopped fighting against them. She lay flatly as if she had decided to accept her fate. She had reasons for doing so. One, she truly did not have the strength to fight back anymore. Two, she had noticed the emerald ring on Fiona’s thumb. Be it intentional or unintentional, Fiona kept fiddling with her emerald ring. Ivanka could not be more familiar with the emerald ring. Before she and Michael departed from the village, Mdm. Wright had given them the ring. She and Michael each had one. It was a couple’s ring.They did not usually wear the ring; it was more like a souvenir to them. After all, it was made of emerald stone, so the rings were fragile and tight. Michael had wanted to deliver Ivanka the message about Fiona and her group’s true identity through the ring. Hence, he purposely had Fiona put on the ring. The emerald ring was handcrafted and made of emerald stone. Based on the gemstone’s purity and the
The fake Fiona wondered which part of her story had gone wrong. But all that was no longer important. Ivanka shouted, “Run! Run outside and take cover on your left and right!” Right after she finished shouting, the fake Fiona and her group charged toward the door to run for their lives. Mr. George and his group snapped out of their dazes and quickly shot in the direction of the door. Ivanka felt the bullets grazed past her. Fortunately, Ivanka timed it well. The person carrying her was also fast, so they did not get shot. It was only later that Ivanka found out these people were policemen. It was no wonder they were so physically fit. Outside of the factory was filled with policemen. Mr. George knew this, so he did not come close to them. He yelled angrily. No matter how angry he was, he dared not run after them. He had no choice but to let some of them leave the factory before asking the rest to close the factory entrance. The policemen had set up a trap outside
When Ivanka woke up, she looked in confusion at the unfamiliar pure white ceiling.When she got a grip of her bearings, she sat up. By then, the person keeping watch by her side had probably watched over her the whole night as well. The movement woke him up. So, he sat up in a hurry, looked at Ivanka with concern, and asked, “You’re awake. Do you feel discomfort anywhere?” Ivanka shook her head and quickly nodded again. Michael was amused. “Where does it hurt?” Ivanka pointed to her stomach, a little embarrassed. Michael smiled and said, “You’ve been sleeping until noon since you returned late yesterday. It’s only right that you’re hungry.” He touched Ivanka’s head, and she stiffened for a moment. Michael felt it but did not say anything. He was just trying to get Ivanka used to his touch. “Wait here for a moment.” Ivanka nodded. So, Michael turned around and went to the open kitchen to make porridge. Ivanka was in the room. She could see Michael get busy fro
Ivanka did not ask and Michael did not say anything. A weird silence fell between the two.It was clear that they had just narrowly escaped a life-and-death situation, and yet they had suddenly become calm again.Ivanka did not understand why, and proud as she was, she would not ask.The air around them froze a little.An awkward atmosphere spreads among them. Michael seemed like he wanted to start a conversation several times, but he was cut off by Ivanka’s hums of agreement. At that exact moment, Sandy knocked on the door and walked in.The atmosphere in the room improved with the addition of a third person.Sandy walked in cautiously with her hands behind her back, as she sensed that the atmosphere between the two was a bit off.It was tense like arrows on drawn bows. Michael saw Sandy arrive and also made way for her to sit down.Sandy looked at Michael, whose chin stubble had grown out. For a moment, her heart went soft for him. “You go take a shower and clean up first
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