Ivanka’s eyes flickered with some emotions. She pursed her lips silently. Michael did not believe everything Fernando had said. He did not take him seriously. At the moment, after all that Michael had been through, he believed there was something fishy with Theodore and his family. Michael stared at Ivanka as she gradually calmed herself down. For once in a blue moon, he said softly. “I’ll take revenge on the Lane family on your behalf.” Ivanka looked up at him. “As long as I remarry you, right?” Michael said nothing. He thought it was inappropriate to ask for that. Yet, he had no words to refute her. Ivanka smirked. “No need. I want to take revenge on the Lane family on my own.” Jonah had offered his help, but she rejected him. She wanted to crush those people with her own hands. She wanted them to experience true retribution. Michael frowned. He did not know what Ivanka had in her mind. He thought she deliberately went against him. Seeing that Ivanka’s tears wer
Fernando’s eyes flickered with some emotions. The next moment, he said with a smile, “Iv is a good girl. You may have many misunderstandings about her, but I still hope that you can try to understand her. She’s truly a good young lady.” Michael stared at him indifferently. “Did you look for me only to say this?” Fernando heaved a sigh and gave Michael a recording. “This is my recording. After I pass away, you’ll be Iv’s only closest family member in this world. I hope you can keep this recording. You don’t need to inform her about this recording under any unnecessary circumstances. However, if something really happens, please let her know about it.” Michael frowned. His eyes were filled with impatience. Fernando said again, “I’m the cause of your misunderstandings toward her. She’s innocent. Michael, I beg you. Please keep this recording. Let this man die in peace, okay?” Michael looked at him coolly. Fernando’s eyes were filled with genuine pleading. Fernando inhaled deepl
Ivanka kept her emotions under control. Michael frowned and said in a deep and charismatic voice, “I said rest here tonight.” Ivanka paused and turned to him. He sounded as if he was ordering her about. Despite this, Ivanka had no qualms with his tone. After all, he was an arrogant man. Instead, she wondered why she needed to stay. “You’re aware of our relationship. Why do you still want us to stay under the same roof? As I mentioned, I won’t get back together with you.” Right after Ivanka finished saying, she immediately headed out as she did not want Michael to chase after her. She said, “I’ve asked my friend to pick me up.” Michael stared at her silhouette coldly. Ivanka thought she could finally walk out at ease because she did not hear any sound behind her. But Michael grabbed her wrist all of a sudden. She frowned and said wearily, “Michael, you—” Before Ivanka finished her sentence, Michael interrupted, “You never set foot in the master bedroom even to this day. Wh
When Ivanka saw the caller, she answered the call. “Hi, Naila.” “It’s me. How are you recovering?” Naila had visited Ivanka when Ivanka was resting at home. They had been keeping in touch. Ivanka smiled. “Never been better. I started work today.” Naila frowned. “With your current health, are you sure you’re able to work?” “Yes. I’m fine. I’m ready to handle your case. Just give me a call,” said Ivanka in a relaxed fashion. Naila sighed. “The opposition is still finding chances to drag the case. They even stopped me from submitting the evidence. The trial will continue after seven days.” Ivanka nodded. “No problem.” “Iv, I’m counting on you. I can’t afford to lose my son’s custody.” “Got it. Don’t worry.” The duo exchanged some pleasantries before hanging up. Ivanka entered the company again. The company’s plans in various aspects were executed because of her presence at work. Chiara was still trapped in the mental asylum. It served as both a haven and jail f
Ivanka and Bryan turned to the door. A waitress stood at the door. She raised her hand and smiled at the man behind her. “This way, Sir.” Fabian nodded and strode in with his slender, long legs. He wore a bespoke black suit with a matching royal blue necktie. His hair had been styled simply. He had deep features, angular jawlines, and a prominent nose. His sexy lips curved upward as he said, “It’s been a while.” Ivanka smiled. “Yes. It’s been a while.” Fabian had only addressed Ivanka. After all, Bryan and Fabian lived closer to each other, and they often played games together. The duo occasionally went out to have meals together. It was far more inconvenient to meet Ivanka. Moreover, she decided to quit the job. Hence, she seldom contacted them. After Fabian sat down, Bryan turned to the waitress. “Serve the dishes when they are ready.” “Okay. Please wait for a moment.” After the waitress finished talking, she went out and closed the door. Fabian sized Ivanka up
Ivanka frowned. Sometimes, she did not know what to say or do. They were all the same. Ivanka thought she had finally married her true love, only to suffer because of her love for Michael. Ivanka, Fabian, and Bryan preferred to carry themselves as they did. They did not want to be bothered by love for the rest of their lives. After all, humans do not survive by love alone. Ivanka paused for a moment before grinning. “It’s good to see you guys like this. You don’t need to endure the pain. Human desires are a burden.” Fabian smiled. “Forget about it. We have a new order today. It looks interesting.” Ivanka felt puzzled. “What order is that?” She had been busy with work today, so she had not seen the orders from the website. Bryan raised one of his eyebrows and rested his gaze on Ivanka. “It has something to do with you. Do you want to take it?” Ivanka took out her phone in puzzlement. “Something to do with me?” Ivanka clicked on the website as she asked. The hacker
“Are you really going to take up this job?” Bryan stared at Ivanka. “Yep. I am.” Ivanka just smirked. She looked exceptionally relaxed. They chatted for a bit more before leaving. Before they parted ways, they even told Ivanka not to handle everything on her own. After all, they were practically family. Ivanka smiled and nodded. “Alright.” They were truly Ivanka’s brothers. They were not interested in women romantically. Of course, they were not interested in men romantically either. They just did not care much about them. After they left, Ivanka went back to her office. She opened up the hacker’s backend system. When she saw the commission, she accepted it. … Back in Theodore’s office, his eyes lit up the moment his cell phone alerted him that his commission had been picked up! He immediately said, “They agreed!!!” Lyla looked at Theodore, shocked. “Agreed? The one you’re going to hack is Barkworth’s Group. Are they really agreeing to it?” “Of course,
Lyla was afraid that Theodore would not read it carefully. So, she read it out directly.“This software has 20 layers of encrypted security. Each layer has nine digits, with payment required for each layer. No refunds if you can’t break through! Click to pay and agree to the terms to continue.”Lyla gritted her teeth. “Look, they are clearly out to scam you!” “20 layers. That’s two billion dollars. What would you do if she purposely stopped at the 19th floor?” Lyla insisted and persuaded again. “You know what kind of company Barkworth’s Group is? Aren’t you afraid she has some connection with Barkworth’s Group?!” “I’ve checked. They haven’t worked with Barkworth’s Group before.” Theodore sneered. His eyes were full of disdain. Lyla was so angry at this idiot that she laughed outright. “You have to know that they are hackers. How would you find out?” “What would a woman like you know! It’s better to do things discreetly, and not out in the open like you. Stay out of my busines
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