It was a call from an unknown number. Chiara’s expression changed slightly. Lyla instantly grabbed her phone. “Let me answer the call. The assistant has settled the procedures for you. If the call is from the police, I can shrug them off. But remember that from now on, you need to act like a mentally ill patient.” Chiara nodded. “Got it.” Lyla nodded and answered the call. “Hi, I’m Chiara’s mother. May I know who’s speaking?” The person on the other end of the line paused for a moment before saying, “Hi, Mrs. Lane. I’m calling from the police department regarding some evidence provided by Barkworth’s Group. The police have started their investigation in this matter. So, we’ll need Ms. Lane’s cooperation during this period of time. May I know if she is around?” Lyla frowned and said, “Sorry, officer. My daughter has nothing to do with this. Besides, she’s mentally ill. I’m transferring her to another hospital. It’s not that we refuse to cooperate with you. With her current
Rachel’s smile stiffened. She looked at Tanya in resignation. “Are you sure you truly have a crush on Michael? He is, after all, a divorced man.” Although Rachel looked highly upon Michael, she hesitated because he was a divorced man. Nonetheless, Tanya fell head over heels in love with him. Besides, if the two get married, both families would enjoy endless benefits from it. Hence, the Cullen family was very supportive of Tanya’s marriage with Michael. In spite of Rachel’s helplessness and hesitation in this matter, her daughter truly loved Michael. Tanya blushed, but her gaze was filled with determination. “I don’t mind that he was a married man before this. I don’t want to miss out on such an excellent man.” Rachel sighed and shook her head resignedly. Tanya browsed Twitter again before putting down her phone. After hearing the audio file, she became even more determined to achieve her goal. Seeing this, Rachel sighed in resignation. “Fine. Since you’re so fond of him,
Michael swept a razor-sharp glance at Ivan. The atmosphere inside the club turned grim. Xander and Ivan were already used to Michael’s personality. Hence, they dismissed him. Instead, they laughed. Ivan sneered fearlessly. “Why are you staring at me? Are you feeling guilty? Did I say it correctly? Michael, it’s clear to see your hidden intentions. Even though we grew up together, I didn’t expect to see things through you so easily. I’m not going to get involved in this matter. Since you’re so worried about her, does she care about the same for you too?” The saying that good friends would stick their necks out for each other was a myth. Good friends were the happiest when they mocked, showed disdain, or put each other on the spot. The atmosphere inside the room turned colder. It was so cold that a sense of chill ran down their spines. The next moment, Michael said coolly, “I’ve never seen a proposal as good as Ivanka’s. I never let my personal feelings affect my professional j
Xander sneered, “Do you even have a brain?!” If the task would put one’s life in danger, Michael would handle it on his own. He would never let Ivan do it on his behalf. Ivan instantly recovered his senses and raised an eyebrow. “Fine! Cut it off! You guys always trick me!” Michael smirked. He continued drinking the wine. Ivan immediately flew into a fit of rage as he stared at Michael furiously. “It’s no wonder you’re still a bachelor even to this day! You’re so inconsiderate! Who would fall for a guy like you?! You’ll never get a wife!” After Ivan finished speaking, he was worried that Michael would instantly turn on him. He sprang up and lied to them that he needed to use the washroom. Xander’s lips twitched. His gaze was filled with mockery. Meanwhile, Michael glanced at Ivan indifferently and ignored him. After Ivan went to the washroom, Xander turned to Michael. “When are you laying your hands on them?” “The matter looks fine to me.” Michael was calm. It seemed
Theodore instantly fell silent. His expression was as black as thunderclouds. At that moment, he had no words to defend himself. Jillian stared at Theodore indifferently. “Mr. Lane, the best solution is to bring your wife to Barkworth’s Group and apologize to them.” No one refuted her. Even Theodore’s supporters did not side with him. At a moment like that, their personal interests came first. If their interests were at stake, Theodore was nothing to them. One of the shareholders on Theodore’s side said coolly, “If the party involved is just a small company, we could easily dismiss it. However, the party involved is none other than Barkworth’s Group. It’s our company’s main source of revenue. If we lose them, who would want to collaborate with us? Collaborating with us would only mean that they are working against Barkworth’s Group.” The other attendees nodded in agreement. “He’s right. Even though Sadler’s Group works in opposition to Barkworth’s Group, Sadler’s Group do
Thomas said, “So, are you going to execute the solution to this matter? We can only salvage the situation. I believe you can bear the hardships.” Theodore thought. “This group is driving me to the grave!” Meanwhile, Jillian said coldly, “This matter is very important. You might have difficulty putting aside your dignity during the meeting. Hence, I’ll go with you and meet Barkworth’s Group management.” She made it sound as if she was speaking for Theodore. In fact, she wanted to supervise him. Theodore was very concerned about his own dignity, and Jillian was worried that this would eventually lead to a failed negotiation. Everyone agreed with Jillian in unison. Jillian sided Thomas and spoke up for him. Hence, she was a core member. The members who were on Theodore’s side were worried that Theodore would retreat. With Jillian keeping an eye on him, they felt relieved. Theodore’s expression darkened. “Do you have any objections?” Everyone kept quiet. No one was agains
“Okay. I’ll send my address to you now.” After Ivanka finished saying that, she sent Thomas her address via WhatsApp. Thomas grinned. “Good. I’ll come now.” “Alright.” After they hung up, Ivanka walked out of the room. Sandy was getting up from her bed. Apparently, she overheard Ivanka’s conversation with Thomas. “What is it? Is my uncle coming over?” Ivanka nodded. “He’s coming to visit me and discuss the company’s affairs. I guess the meeting is over and they’ve come out with a new policy.” “Tsk! The shareholders and board of directors must have criticized Theodore. It must have been a spectacular scene. Theodore’s expression must’ve been priceless!” Ivanka’s lips twitched. They chatted for a while before Thomas came in with a basket of fruits. Sandy casually took the basket of fruits. She said casually, “Uncle Thomas, more than half of the fruits that you bought are my favorites!” Thomas laughed. “Really? I don’t know what your favorite fruits are. I casually pick
Ivanka sounded certain. After trying to persuade her to change her mind a few times, Thomas nodded silently after realizing that Ivanka’s words made sense. “Alright, then, you can work on your own projects for now.”Ivanka smiled wordlessly, but she looked calm. Sandy sat by the side and watched as the two people talked. There was a slight trace of bitterness in her eyes. Was she too naive?Why could these two always make predictions, while she could only stand by and listen like an idiot?She listened for a while before finally understanding what the two were discussing. Seeing that the two were still planning, she inhaled and said, “Wait a minute. So, after all that talking, you two still decided to continue working with Barkworth’s Group? And agreed to Michael’s request to collaborate too?”Ivanka’s eyes twinkled silently. Thomas nodded and said, “That’s right. Our company is not stable enough to break away from Barkworth’s Group, and their top priority now is Iv’s project.
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