“Mic?”Chiara was truly on the verge of losing it this time.She did not get it!Michael clearly did not like Ivanka and found her extremely hypocritical. Why would he keep getting involved with Ivanka like this? They even… They even slept together!Chiara sounded like she was crying. A faint sob came from the other end of the line.Michael frowned slightly and glared coldly at Ivanka. “Ivanka, that’s enough!”He thought. “Has this woman finally revealed her true colors?” Ivanka chuckled. “Enough? How can it be enough? Look at how upset Chiara is now. Aren’t you going to treat her the way you treated me yesterday? You were so gentle to me.”After all, the high and mighty Mr. Barkworth carefully applied ointment to her foot yesterday. She almost felt grateful for it.Michael stared sternly at Ivanka.Ivanka, however, could not help but chuckle. The last thing Michael cared to do was to explain himself, so he would not take the initiative to tell Chiara that they were not in b
“B*tch! That b*tch!”Chiara was infuriated.She never expected Michael to have dinner with Ivanka, nor did she expect the b*tch to have no regard for what Michael thought of her and speak without restraint.Was she not afraid of making Michael hate her even more after saying those things?Or had she resorted to scorched earth tactics to bring down her enemy?After what Ivanka said, Chiara could not admit herself into the hospital again. Doing so might make Michael suspicious!Besides, when Ivanka said those things just now, Chiara did not sense much resistance from Michael. Chiara thought. “How did things turn out like this? Why did it become like this?”Chiara, in a fit of rage, shouted, “Ivanka!”That b*tch!Chiara’s chest heaved as she gripped her phone tightly. Her face became paler.She was panicking.No! She absolutely could not let Ivanka go on like this!...After finishing her meal, Ivanka cleaned up the table and went back to her room to take a shower.As her p
“And?”Evan paused briefly before speaking softly, “I need to dig deeper for the details. We can’t prematurely conclude that this is related to Ms. Ivanka.”Michael’s stern face revealed little emotion. His expression was inscrutable.“I got it.”After saying that, Michael hung up.The room fell into silence once again.Michael held his phone with a cold, thoughtful gaze.... For the next two days, Ivanka finished her work as usual. She pretty much had to spend time with Michael during the day and had meals with him.However, apart from work-related discussions, there was no other communication between them.The seven days of the business trip finally ended.They would spend the night at their current location, and tomorrow they would head back.Ivanka was puzzled about why they did not leave tonight, but without any specific instructions from Michael, she refrained from questioning.The next day, they departed together.Ivanka and Michael were still seated together in t
There was a loud boom.It sounded as if something exploded.Michael immediately grabbed Ivanka’s hand and headed for the exit.Ivanka was trembling slightly, and she let him drag her away.Soon enough, they reached the flight captain. At this point, the captain had lost his composure.With the hubbub outside, he still attempted to calm everyone down.It was a shame that this time, his assurances no longer worked.Bangs sounded. Some passengers saw what was going on outside the plane through the windows.“Someone’s out there! A plane is attacking us! They fired at us!”“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”People could not stop screaming.Everyone was already panicking.Some flight attendants were about to burst into tears. They could not help saying, “What do we do? Why is this happening? Are we going to survive this?”One of them was sobbing. “I’m terrified… Ahhh!”The flight attendant who just spoke suddenly let out a scream. It was broadcast to the passenger cabin.The passengers were e
Ivanka felt like she was in a dream.She looked at Michael in surprise. After all, Michael always appeared indifferent and kept a distance from people around him. But today, the usually cold Michael suddenly stepped up to maintain order and calm everybody down.At that moment, she had a bizarre thought: Michael seemed to be a kind-hearted guy.Michael turned off the microphone. The flight captain immediately looked at him with gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you so much for doing this, sir!”However, even though the situation was stabilized at the moment, they were not truly safe. The captain added anxiously, “The plane is still flying, but it is unstable. I am afraid that the pilot can’t take it anymore.”It was his fifteenth year working on a plane. Regardless of how experienced he was, he had not been through a crisis like this one.Michael immediately said, “I’ll pilot the plane, and I need a flight conductor.”With immense disbelief in their eyes, the captain and the flight a
If he made a mistake, he would become a killer who failed hundreds of passengers…While he deserved to die for his mistake, he could not let the others die with him…He was surprised when the flight captain came into the cockpit.The captain said, “Well done, Owen. Let Mr. Barkworth and Ms. Lane take care of the rest. Switch places with Mr. Barkworth. Stabilize the plane before getting up.”Owen was flabbergasted. “Is… Is this alright?”Seeing that someone wanted to take over, he was surprised and incredibly relieved.The captain nodded solemnly again. “Yes, quickly.”Owen responded with an affirmative and did as he was told. He looked at Michael. “Here you go, Mr. Barkworth.”As he called out to Michael, he was still in deep shock. Even though he had seen Michael and Ivanka on the television screen, the astonishment he felt was still indescribable.Who would have thought that Mr. Barkworth could fly a plane!Michael took the pilot’s seat and started controlling the plane. He
She could view his side profile. The contours of his facial features were handsome and sharp like they had always been, yet they made her feel oddly safe and secure today.Without him, the people on this plane would have died.At present, no one knew what exactly had happened or why the three green helicopters had shown up. They had already reported this incident to the authorities.At such a critical time, Michael had remained composed and saved a plane full of people. He also calmed them all down and made them return to their seats.It was the first time Ivanka realized that Michael was capable of compassion.If he just wanted to save himself, he did not have to put in so much effort.He did what he had done just so he could save all the passengers.At that point, Ivanka no longer needed to give directions.She slowly got up from her seat, but she was not in a hurry to leave the cockpit.After all, there would be passengers waiting outside and hoping to see who had saved the
Back then, Evan had intended to report all his findings to Michael.But to this day, he still recalled what Michael had said at the time.“There’s no need to tell me about these things.”So Evan simply dropped the subject.As Michael’s expression grew grimmer, Evan feigned ignorance and said, “Let’s go, Mr. Barkworth.”Michael got up wordlessly. Evan quickly followed him.…Ivanka returned home to tidy herself up. She immediately called Jonah.Jonah answered the call almost immediately. He smiled slightly. “What’s the matter, my princess?”Ivanka furrowed her brows slightly, but her expression was calm as she said, “I’m back. Next, I’m going to work on the request you made a while ago with the company. But please give me some time. I still have two projects to deal with before I focus on yours. Is that alright with you?”A serious look dawned on Jonah’s face. “When did you get back?”Ivanka hesitated and did not immediately answer, “Why do you ask?”Jonah frowned a little.
Egbert stormed off in fury, but Sandy’s rage had not cooled in the slightest. She even lashed out at Ivan. “You shouldn’t have stopped me just now! If I’d given him a good scolding, or even a beating, maybe it would’ve finally knocked some sense into him. Otherwise, he’ll keep coming back. He’s always trying to use me for his own purposes!”She was so angry she was practically grinding her teeth. Ivan pressed his lips together and let out a long sigh. “With the way you looked like you were ready to kill someone, what did you expect me to do? Just stand there and watch you commit murder?”He was really worried when he saw how Sandy was losing control. “What’s the point of that old b*stard still being alive anyway?” Sandy said coldly. If she could really get rid of that old man, she would do it so she could avenge her mother and let go of that grudge she had been holding on.Ivan shook his head and said in a low voice, “Then think about it, how hard did you work to get to where yo
Sandy exploded. “Eighty million? Why don’t you go rob a bank? Or better yet, see if that wrinkled old face of yours is worth anything as collateral!”Sandy was fuming.Egbert had not expected Sandy to be so vulgar. He turned back, enraged.His black eyes shot daggers like he could rip her apart on the spot. Sandy did not flinch. Instead, she lifted her chin and gave him a cold, mocking smile. “What? Are you so mad that you’re thinking about hitting me? Do you want me to remind you of the law? We have no legal ties anymore. If you so much as touch me, that’s assault. And let’s not forget, you barged into my workplace to cause a scene.”“Sandy, I don’t know what kind of twisted morals your birth mother and adoptive mother taught you, but just look at yourself now! Do you even resemble a proper human being?”Egbert was extremely disappointed in Sandy. The one thing Sandy hated most was when people brought up her birth mother and adoptive mother. Those two women were the most import
Egbert snapped at Sandy coldly. His gaze was pressing.However, that had no effect on Sandy. Her lips even curled into a mocking smile as she said, “I’m not one of your McNeil pets. That look, your words, they cannot intimidate me at all.”At the mention of “pets,” Egbert was so furious that he slammed his cane against the floor with a loud crack. “Listen to yourself! Is that any way for a lawyer to speak? Do you even understand the meaning of respect, decency, and manners? Is that how your mother raised you?”Sandy had been mean and harsh on purpose to kill whatever sliver of hope he held onto.Just as she wished, he was angered.Watching him lose his composure, Sandy even felt a flicker of satisfaction rise within her. Her mother and herself were thrown out and lived a tough life while her father stood by uselessly. Who else was to blame, if not this old man standing before her?“My mother raised me to be a decent person. She taught me never to push away what’s rightfully mine,
Thomas stated his purpose.Sandy’s reaction, however, was full of repulsion. She frowned. Even her tone was curt. “Uncle, I made it very clear about seeing him the last time we spoke. He never once considered me part of the McNeil family. If it weren’t for my mother taking me in, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Now that I’ve grown up and suddenly seem useful, he wants to claim me back? I was abandoned by the McNeil family the moment I was born. I’m not stupid enough to become a pawn for your family!”Sandy was furious.She had always treated Thomas with a certain courtesy, but at the moment, that line had clearly been crossed.Thomas, though only the messenger, could feel the weight of her resentment. “It may not be as bad as you think. If you won’t go, Dad will come find you himself.”That was the truth. Yet Sandy did not spare the old man a shred of respect. She scoffed. “He might be your dad, your head of the family, but he’s nothing to me. From the moment I was abandoned, th
Sandy was really surprised to see Ivanka. “When did you get back?”“Today,” Ivanka answered honestly.“You have quite a packed schedule for just one day.” Sandy teased her.When they had planned to take down Coco last time, Ivanka was not around. Then Michael returned. From what Sandy could tell, they were always either together or closely following each other.Ivanka did not respond to her teasing. “I’ll only be here for a day or two, then I would have to leave again.”Sandy was speechless. She rolled her eyes at Ivanka. “Are you going to become a full-time jet setter?”“She can’t help it,” Anna answered for Ivanka. Just as she finished saying that, Anna’s phone rang. It was another case to follow up on. She had to step away to take the call.Only Ivanka and Sandy remained in the office. “You look exhausted. If you keep going like this, I’m worried you’ll wear yourself out!” Sandy shook her head and expressed her concern for Ivanka. Ivanka chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that fa
When she heard what Anna said, Ivanka immediately teased. “Why, can’t I even come to the firm?”“Well, of course, you can come. You are an important partner; why can’t you come?” Anna laughed and looked at Ivanka, annoyed. Immediately after, she made a cup of tea for Ivanka.The tea was also of fine quality. She had bought it.Ivanka also remembered how she, Anna, and Sandy, the three of them, used to work hard together in the firm after she divorced Michael. Originally, she wanted to live on her own. However, one thing happened after another, and her plans got delayed. “I don’t see Sandy. Has she gone to handle cases?” Ivanka sipped a mouthful of tea, and immediately after, she asked Anna about Sandy’s whereabouts.Anna told Ivanka truthfully. “Sandy recently took over a very tricky case. She wants to make a not-guilty defense for that person. But the father of the deceased is the Groethe family, a rather prestigious family in Bostone. How could a commoner fight with a rich ki
But as time went on, things happened one after another. While they were in contact with each other, she also slowly understood Jonah’s personality.The most important thing was that Jonah was also honest with her later on.When Jonah mentioned this again, Ivanka could not help but scrutinize Jonah again.He was starting to become unhinged!“Jonah, you need to stabilize your emotions. Sometimes, when you feel impatient, you should just close your eyes and take a good rest. You should not have such emotions.”Ivanka spoke solemnly toward Jonah and advised him. When he saw Ivanka’s serious expression, Jonah instantly also realized that he had lost himself.Ivanka was not like Chiara, who could accept him losing control. If he lost control in front of Ivanka, it would affect Ivanka’s mood. That would make him courting death too! This would put a halt to all his opportunities!Jonah also realized this problem. He was very distressed. He could not even explain why his emotions had
When Ivanka said this, she pressed her hand on Jonah’s shoulder. There was no other meaning, she wanted Jonah to calm down.But this instead gave Jonah an opportunity. He grabbed Ivanka’s wrist. Then he tugged forward forcefully… Ivanka was caught off guard, and her whole body fell on top of him.He then took advantage of the situation and held Ivanka in his arms.The faint scent entered his nose, Jonah was intoxicated for a moment.But at that moment, he felt like he was waking up from a dream.Ivanka could not be so intimate with him. The sensations of touch and warmth in front of him were so real again. It was not an illusion, it was his compulsion!After realizing this, Jonah hurriedly pushed Ivanka away. He even more quickly apologized to Ivanka. “Iv, I’m sorry. I lost control. I didn’t mean to…”“I know.”Ivanka uttered softly, but her tone was cold.She knew. Neither did she blame him. But why was she using that tone, with that look on her face?“No, Iv. you’re blami
“Jonah, I don’t like you. I told you, I only see you as a friend. When I’m unwilling to do something, no amount of moral coercion would work on me.”Ivanka spoke up bluntly. She did not want Jonah to cling to something impossible.Jonah was silent.This was where Jonah and Michael were different.“Look, you still have so many things to do. By the time you remember me, we have already missed the best time. This time when you leave, did Michael go with you?” Jonah raised his eyes to meet Ivanka’s. He wanted to hear Ivanka’s answer from her mouth.Ivanka did not reply. But the look in her eyes already said it all.Her silence confirmed it all.Jonah felt that his heart grow incredibly heavy at the moment. He had a crazy thought: Was it true that if Michael died, Ivanka would be able to focus all her attention on him?However, he was an invalid and did not even have a chance to get close!“The way you treat Michael and the way you treat me has always been so different. I know. A