Adina chuckled. “What about you? What do you think?”“Jasmine lacks real skill. If Jones Corporation is really handed to her, it will definitely go downhill in three years.”Adina could not help but smile. “Since you know that, why did you back out from the succession contest?”Daniel was silent. He would never admit that he was an idiot sometimes. “It will be fantastic if we can win, but it’ll be fine if we lose too.” Adina smiled. “You’ve been handling the resort project by yourself all this time. When the project ends, you will have learned far more than you could have imagined. It’ll be a priceless achievement in your life. With that, perhaps you can one day build another empire for the Jones family.”“Thanks for giving me this chance, Adina,” Daniel said sincerely. “Why are you thanking me? You should thank your grandpa. He cares about you, which is why he let me join the contest. Grandpa Jones loves you. You better not let the old man down.” “I won’t!” Daniel said fierc
“Your mom has a meeting later this evening. She’s too busy to accompany you.”Duke’s voice was stern, inviting no arguments.George had grown up under Duke’s strict authority, therefore he had no intention to rebel.But Alden glanced up in determination. “I just want to eat with mommy. After dinner, George and I will go home right away.”Duke frowned and was ready to protest but Adina interrupted. “Just let them stay for dinner.”She smiled and led the two kids into the house. “You two can play in the living room while I go make dinner.”She put on an apron and walked to the kitchen. The fridge was stocked with food she had bought while Duke was sleeping. It had everything she needed.While she was busy cooking, Duke talked to the kids in the living room. “Why are only two of you here? Where are Harold and Mel?”“They don’t know that we’re here,” George replied obediently. “It’s fine to come over, but why hide in the bushes?” Duke asked calmly, his gaze fixed on Alden. Du
Duke noticed it. he furrowed his eyebrows. “George, get Al and leave,” she said firmly.George was taken aback. “Daddy, we haven’t even started eating yet. Can’t we leave after dinner?”Duke pulled Adina to him. Adina’s eyes had lost all emotion. They were unfocused and looked at him icily. Alden’s heart sank.He tugged at George’s arm and said hoarsely, “Daddy, you can take Mommy upstairs. George and I will leave after eating.”Duke got up and carried Adina upstairs. He placed her on the bed and locked the door behind him.“What’s going on, Al?” George asked, his face getting paler. “Is it really what you thought?”“According to what I’ve read online, Mommy’s sudden changes are the exact same thing that happens to humans who have been implanted with the bio-intelligent chips,” Alden said gravely. “This is the result of the system issuing an order.”George’s heart felt heavy. “What should we do now?”“Since mommy chose to leave the Winters family’s mansion, it must mean that
Adina entered her study with her phone in her hand and switched on her laptop.Even though the news about Jones Corporation had been suppressed, there were still many people spreading rumors online. A number of posts were gaining public attention.Zhenny ordered the workers to work overtime throughout the night in order to boost the revenue figures. They were made to work almost sixteen hours a day. Many workers fainted on the job. Some nearly died from the shock and were being monitored in ICUs.Adina skimmed through the news. “Daniel, we have two shifts at the site. Each shift is supposed to be eight hours of work. You have to pay attention to that, alright?”Daniel had made note of everything she said. Adina looked grim after the phone call. Based on Zhenny’s manner of doing things, the petrochemical project was quite likely to deliver significant benefits in the span of a month.The resort project went off without a hitch, but they were a little late while starting off. They
Earl sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her chin with one hand.When the task was completed, Adina abruptly woke up. She slapped Earl’s hand away.Earl clamped her mouth shut. “Don’t you try to call Duke, or else I don’t know what I will make you do,” he hissed.He swung the dangling earring in his hand. “Even if I asked you to kill Duke, you would do it in an instant. Do you want to bet on it?”“You scumbag!” Adina squeezed out the words from between gritted teeth. “Do you know how thrilled I was when I found out you had been implanted with the bio-intelligent chip?” Earl said as he stroked her cheek. “Can you imagine how surprised I was to learn that the bio-intelligent chip in your body was produced by my company? I was ready to accept my fate and spend the rest of my life in that underground room, but you gave me hope.” Adina grimaced and moved away from his touch. Every time he touched her, she felt disgusted.He looked like Duke. But it baffled her how evil he could
Thoughts ran in Adina’s mind. She forced out a smile and walked to the kitchen with Duke.“Duke, how’s Earl these days?” she asked as she washed the tomatoes.Duke was cutting vegetables. “He’s locked up in the basement. He is being truthful without making too many demands.”Earl used to make strange requests during the first few days of his confinement. He always tried to escape but was caught every time.Now, he just answered Duke honestly when interrogated. Perhaps he had accepted the fact that he could not escape.Adina’s hands stopped. Duke seemed to be unaware that Earl had escaped.She looked down. “Duke, I want to speak to Earl.”Duke stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “Addy, Earl is not easy to deal with. He’s not going to tell you anything.”Earl refused to disclose anything regarding the chip database, no matter how hard he forced and coaxed him. Besides, he didn’t want Addy contacting Earl.“What are you worried about, honey?” Adina wiped her hands clean.
Duke only calmed down when Adina approached him and patted his back gently. He pursed his lips and continued, “The surveillance is probably destroyed. Hire a hacker and restore it. We must find Earl.”Duke was still furious even after hanging up.“Calm down…” Adina said softly. “You know Earl. He’ll never let himself get imprisoned for the rest of his life. He probably has been planning his escape the first day he got imprisoned…”Duke held her icy cold hand and said gently, “Addy, if you hadn’t wanted to talk to Earl, I might not know when I would learn that he’s missing…”“Duke, now is not the time to blame yourself.” Adina reassured him, “We should think of potential places where he might be hiding.”Duke had a stern expression. He gritted his teeth and said, “He’s most probably coming to Sea City.”He thought of a terrifying possibility.‘Earl hates me. It’s predictable that he’ll come to Sea City to take his revenge.‘He might come for Addy instead…’He subconsciously e
Adina bit her lower lip so hard that her red lips turned pale.“I’ll count to three. If you refuse, I’ll have you play with Duke.”Earl’s lips curled into a wicked smile as he gently shook the earring in his hand.A frequency is sent to Adina’s brain through the chip whenever he pressed the little red button.No matter how hard she resisted, in the end, she could only succumb to Earl’s command.She might even kill Duke if Earl asked her to.‘Duke trusted me. If I were to be involved, he would surrender willingly…’“One.“Two.“Okay, okay. I’ll do as you say.”Adina raised her head and looked at Earl. “What do I have to do to make you happy?”Earl looked at the queen-size bed. “Get on the bed and get undressed.”Adina pursed her lips, turned, and walked towards the bed in silence. She was about to switch off the light when Earl said coldly, “You don’t have to switch off the light. No more tricks. Just get undressed already.”Adina lowered her head and started to unbutton