He held the position of chairman, but nobody truly feared him. He was merely a figurehead lacking real capability. The company had declined steadily since he assumed leadership. If Lane’s Group did not change leaders soon, it would be doomed.Many were already eager for Ivanka to take over. After all, she was the daughter of the former chairman, Fernando! She possessed the same astuteness and capability as him!Thomas felt even more confident about the situation. He spoke up again, “Ms. Chiara is currently suspended. I don’t understand why she is still meddling in company affairs. Didn’t she consider the potential consequences?”Theodore silently inhaled deeply. He tried to maintain composure as he calmly stated, “I’ll address this with her upon my return. During her suspension, she will not be involved in company matters.”Thomas smiled and responded, “I’m relieved to hear that from you. It assures me that Ms. Chiara won’t act recklessly again. Otherwise, it would reflect poorly
The room fell silent once again as the topic lingered in the air.Awaiting his response, everyone turned to Theodore. Yet, Theodore was just as uncertain.The prospect of Ivanka collaborating with the two companies, particularly with Michael, did not sit well with him.Should they proceed with the partnership with Sadler’s Group despite this internal conflict? But what about Barkworth’s Group?Theodore hesitated to express his thoughts.Thomas smiled and said, “That’s why I said we should ask Ivanka for her opinion first.”Hugh immediately objected. “The company’s interests should come first. She’s just one member. Why should her opinion dictate our decisions?”Thomas shrugged. “You all know her value. Without her buy-in, can we truly ensure the success of this collaboration?”With no consensus reached, the meeting concluded without resolution.Theodore could not issue directives unilaterally. He needed to confer with his team privately.After the meeting, Thomas immediately
Ivanka was worried it might be from Hanson’s side. She immediately picked up her phone. When she saw it was Michael’s number, she frowned and hung up without a second thought.Michael was about to speak, but instead, he heard a mechanical female voice.“Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable...”Michael’s expression darkened.He tried calling again.But, it got disconnected just like before.He tried again. This time, his number got blocked.“Ivanka Lane!!” Michael gritted his teeth as he shouted her name.He immediately called Evan.“Give me your phone,” Michael ordered.Puzzled, Evan complied nonetheless. He headed to Michael’s office. As soon as he opened the door, Evan could feel the chilling atmosphere emanating from the office.In confused bewilderment, he handed the phone to Michael.Michael took the phone. He was about to call Ivanka again, but he glanced at Evan before saying in a low voice, “You may go.”Still wearing the puzzled expression, he n
Jonah said calmly, “I’m coming to you this afternoon. Please give me your spare house key and record one of my fingerprints in your system. Ivanka was stunned. She no longer wanted to talk to him, so she immediately hung up. She truly needed to rest. Before noon, someone already knocked on her door. Ivanka’s drowsiness vanished.The banging on the door darkened her face with fury. It was certainly not Jonah. It was Michael! “Is he crazy?” Ivanka lay on the bed and was reluctant to get up. However, the banging on the door only grew louder! Ivanka furiously threw off her blanket and got up from her bed. The banging on the door was so loud that it hurt her ears. If this went on, Ivanka was worried that her neighbors would come over to watch the drama again. She gritted her teeth and opened the door. The moment Ivanka saw Michael, she furiously tried to kick him in the nuts. Michael’s expression instantly changed, and he evaded her. Ivanka glared coldly. “If you
Michael sharply gazed at Ivanka. She stared at him dismissively. Michael pursed his lips. He did not want to have conflicts with her at that moment. He shut his eyes for a while before saying in a deep voice, “You need to take into consideration your collaborator’s background. Lane’s Group is your foundation, so you need to consider the outcome of its collaboration with Sadler’s Group and Barkworth’s Group and find out which one could bring greater benefits to your company.” Ivanka remained silent. Michael continued, “In the eyes of a businessman, money matters the most, while the rest could be ignored.” This time, Michael sounded uncharacteristically patient. In other words, he implied that Ivanka should be open-minded and not linger on the current situation. She should not be bothered by their relationship. Instead, she should put aside those thoughts and consider the company’s interests. This was a businessman’s mindset, and she should think like that. Ivanka frowned s
Michael froze and subconsciously inhaled deeply.Ivanka did not notice anything odd. Her slender fingers worked on the notebook as she slid to turn on an audio file. “Chiara, why did you call me at this hour? Hasn’t Michael come back yet?” Michael frowned slightly. He recognized Lyla’s voice. “Mom…” Chiara sobbed. Lyla asked in a serious tone, “Why are you sobbing? What’s going on?” Chiara sobbed again. “M-Mic came back.” Lyla smiled. “Chiara, this is just a matter of time. Even though both of you are not married yet, with Michael’s personality, he’ll certainly bear the responsibility. This is good news for you. Why are you crying? What is he doing now? Are you calling me inside the washroom?” —— The audio file paused there. Ivanka already sensed an increasing chill surrounding Michael. She chuckled. “Let’s continue. Hold back your anger first.” Michael pursed his lips silently. —— The next moment, Chiara said anxiously, “No, it’s not like this. “If things go o
Chiara said, “I-Is this really okay? If this happens, I won’t be able to contact him as much anymore. If he ever gets together with Ivanka again...” “It has to work! He has no remorse for what he has done to you. The most important thing for you to do now is to find a way to make him feel remorse and pity for you again. After all, you have already used this strategy to drive Ivanka away!” Theodore asked, “So, what are your plans? How do we put her back into a coma?” Lyla said, “I will send over a few thugs, and I will also send over a hero. Do you understand what I mean, sweetheart?” Chiara inhaled deeply. “Ok. I will get ready right now.” “Alright. Give Mindy a call after twenty minutes. After twenty-five minutes, dress nicely and leave the mansion.” Chiara said, “Okay. Got it.” The audio file ended. Ivanka was shocked. She had not expected Belle to discover such evidence. Everything happened naturally. Everyone could sense that something was wrong with them. After lea
After Ivanka was divorced, she deleted all entries of Michael’s contact. However, she saved Evan’s contact, because she did not take things personally. Michael’s expression grew increasingly troubled. The evidence laid out before him one after another. His gaze turned murderously cold.Meanwhile, Ivanka remained aloof. She smirked. “Mr. Barkworth, I’ve uncovered the truth for you. Are you satisfied?” Michael wordlessly stood up and left. His expression was dark. Ivanka raised one of her eyebrows. It seemed as though she had never before seen Michael’s bone-chilling gazes during their three years of marriage. She was a little surprised. Nonetheless, she was happy that Chiara would suffer a miserable life soon. However, this was just the beginning. Ivanka would slowly reveal to Michael Chiara’s details of acting paralyzed so that he would realize how blinded he was to have believed in a femme fatale. Ivanka turned off her notebook and replied to Belle through WhatsApp.
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