The man murmured a quick apology before slipping a note into Jessica’s hand.Jessica clutched onto the note, not having the nerve to open it in public. She looked around and saw the sign for the nearest toilet. Following the signpost, she went into the ladies’ room and opened the note for a look. The note wrote, “We will cause a distraction during an aquarium show and take the child amid the chaos. Your task is to lure them to the aquarium.” Jessica shredded the note and flushed the pieces down the toilet. She thought those people would not carry on with the mission since a large group of the family came along. Plus, Serenity brought two bodyguards to the trip. It never occurred to Jessica that they had no intentions of giving up. They planned to strike during a show at the aquarium. Would they succeed? Jessica was not with the Brown family now, much less Serenity and her sister. Coming out of the ladies’ room, Jessica gave Hank a call. She told Hank to send his loca
Liberty clung tightly to her son. Jessica knew the plan would fail when Liberty held Sonny, and the York family’s bodyguards escorted the group out of the aquarium. “Lucas! Lucas!” Chelsea’s shrieks snapped Jessica out of her thoughts. A big man grabbed Lucas and made a run for it. Jessica was dumbfounded. Did they grab the wrong child? “Honey! Hank! Go after them! That person took Lucas!” With no time to watch the fight, Chelsea tried to pursue the man who took Lucas while calling her husband and brother for help. Realizing that Lucas was kidnapped, the Browns tried to go in pursuit, but they could not get past the crowd. “A kidnapper! My child was kidnapped! It’s that tall man there. That’s him! He took my child!” Chelsea went pale in panic. Unable to elbow her way through the crowd, she cried out loud. Hearing a kidnapping was taking place, all the parents, who were here for the show with their kids, stuck with their children and ran out of the aquarium. It o
Liberty would have lost her son to the kidnapper if she had loosened her grip even by a tiny bit. Now that they were inside Elisa’s car, Liberty continued to clutch onto her son. Color drained from her face. The lingering fear had not left Serenity. Elisa called her brother and the moment her brother picked up, she said, “Clive, send all our bodyguards to fetch us from Wiltspoon Zoo. There’s a kidnapper on the loose. Sonny was nearly taken.“I don’t think I can drive now. What if someone stops the car and kidnaps Sonny?” This was Elisa’s first encounter with such a chaotic and dangerous situation. Sure, she was cocky and acted as if nothing scared her, but her legs went weak when Sonny was almost taken. It would be hard to catch up to the kidnapper amid the chaos if Sonny was really taken… The thought of it drained the color from her complexion. Her limbs were still shaking as she could not settle down. She was not in a position to drive right now. The last thing she wan
Serenity ran into the two bodyguards at the zoo entrance as they were carrying Lucas out. “Mrs. York.” The two bodyguards brought the kid, who was screaming for his mom, to Serenity. Putting Lucas on the ground, the bodyguard uttered in distress, “Can you give his family a call to pick him up? He’s been crying the whole time.” “Serenity.” Lucas wailed out of fear. He had never met the York family’s bodyguards. The boy was taken by a stranger and rescued by another pair of strangers. While Lucas was a wild child, he was only four years old. It was normal to be frightened to tears. Serenity was someone he knew. Lucas immediately clung to Serenity’s leg, asking to be picked up when he saw Serenity. “It’s okay now.” Although Serenity was not fond of Lucas, she needed to soothe the poor child. Serenity dialed Hank’s number and said, “We got Lucas. We’re at the entrance of the zoo. Come out here.” The Browns were crying on their knees after Lucas was kidnapped. Mrs. Bro
Serenity answered, “My sister got a good hold on Sonny, and I gave the man a kick. The kidnapper gave up on Sonny and ran away.” She turned over and looked in the direction of Elisa’s car before adding, “Sonny is in Elisa’s car.” Through the conversation between Serenity and Zachary, the Browns realized that Sonny was nearly taken too. Mrs. Brown cried and shouted to see her grandson. It was then Liberty took Sonny by the hands and got out of the car. “Sonny! Sonny!” Mrs. Brown held onto Sonny, making sure her grandson was fine before choking with sobs. “Thank goodness you’re okay. Thank goodness.” “Grandmom.” Seeing that the old lady had tears on her face, the little man reached out to wipe away her tears. Mrs. Brown had never looked after Sonny, but Sonny was her only grandson, so of course, she adored him. With Sonny’s caring gesture touching Mrs. Brown’s heart, she cuddled Sonny and had another bout of crying. The Browns gathered around Sonny. “Stop crying, Mo
Even Serenity suspected foul play. They simply did not raise their suspicion in front of everybody.“Okay.” The fun ended too soon for Sonny. He found the show at the aquarium entertaining, but it was a shame that his mother brought him out before it was over. The York family’s security team stood in two rows, clearing a way to the Rolls Royce. Carrying Sonny in his arms, Zachary walked alongside Serenity to the car. Liberty hitched a ride in one of the cars driven by his bodyguard. Elisa took her brother’s car while a bodyguard drove her car back. Soon, the two CEOs left Wiltspoon Zoo, escorted by their security teams.Once they were gone, Jessica could breathe a sigh of relief. She was afraid everybody might suspect her. On their way back, Serenity said to her husband, “Zachary, something about today doesn’t sit well with me. I feel like it’s more than just a kidnapping. They created a distraction and kidnapped the children amid the chaos. “No one was holding Luca
The whole of Wiltspoon knew Zachary was crazy for his wife. It would be the death of Zachary if anything were to happen to Serenity. “Do you think Mrs. Newman is in on it?” Serenity’s first thought was Mrs. Newman. After a brief silence, Zachary said, “I can’t tell for sure, but I told Josh to keep an eye on Mr. Newman and his wife after your argument with Ms. Carrie. There’s no unusual activity on their end. “Seren, we can only know through an investigation if the mastermind is after you or me.” Zachary put Sonny next to him and pulled Serenity into his arms. Locking Serenity in his embrace, he vowed solemnly, “Don’t be scared. I’m here for you. I won’t let anyone harm you.” Lifting her chin, Serenity looked into his eyes with worry. “If they’re out to get you… You must be careful, Zachary.” “Unfortunately, I hold a status that tends to attract danger. I’m used to it. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” The York family sheltered their descendants from the outside world until t
“It’s a personal choice to take up self-defense if you're an ordinary person, but now… Sonny should learn to fight and protect himself.” Zachary had always held a torch for Sonny. He believed Sonny had a lot of potential and thought about taking the boy under his wing when he was older. Now, Zachary was merely carrying the plan out ahead of schedule. “That’s true. Alright, we’ll go with your idea. Thank you, babe.” For Zachary to help Sonny tap into his potential and creativity, Serenity was happy for her nephew and thanked Zachary for it. Zachary carried Sonny with one hand and dabbed on Serenity’s nose with his free hand before uttering, “You always call me Zachary, but suddenly I’m “babe” when I talk about getting Sonny a coach. Does Sonny hold a bigger space in your heart than I do?”Serenity replied with a smile, “You both hold equal spaces. No, you take up a bigger space in my heart.” Sonny was only a kid, but Zachary was an adult. Of course, Zachary took up more
“Josh was very mischievous when he was young. I’d never think he could be that naughty until I heard my mother-in-law telling me stories from his younger days.”Jasmine had always been under the impression that Josh was gentlemanly and more approachable than Zachary.After their marriage, he treated her well and doted on her a lot.Jasmine did not have to worry about a thing because she could always turn to Josh for help.However, such a man used to be a troublemaker when he was younger. He would climb every wall he saw and give his parents terrible headaches.“Nana brought her daughters-in-law out to gallivant,” Serenity said as she stared at her phone.She just saw Grandma May’s post on Instagram. It was a video of her with Rosella and Sasha. “Nana didn’t even tell me that she was heading out,” Serenity muttered and caressed her bump. She sighed. “I can only travel after this baby is born. Zachary and I haven’t even gone on our honeymoon. He’ll make it up to me after I give
Meanwhile, Serenity, Elisa, and Jasmine were in the office of their fresh produce company.However, the only person working was Elisa.The two pregnant women were simply there to watch her and pass the time.“Has Dylan’s livestream of him eating chili peppers ended?”Jasmine had just returned from the bathroom. She got curious when she saw her two friends no longer watching their phones.“It ended long ago. Imogen stopped him before it even got to fifteen minutes. She got soft-hearted too quickly.”Serenity was eating a plate of fruits. She said, “The person who falls in love first will always give in quickly.”“Dylan can’t eat spicy food. Eating chili peppers for more than ten minutes is enough. He might really die from the heat if he continues.”Elisa smiled and said, “Well, it’s not as if Dylan isn’t in love too. At least he was willing to eat hot chili peppers for Imogen. He even ate them for over ten minutes. From the livestream, it seemed like the chili peppers Layla had
Grandma May had the next two months all planned out.She would gallivant to other places for two months.Half a month after her return, she would become a great-grandmother. Rosella had no opinions. She would simply follow her mother-in-law’s plans.She left and returned to her place to pack her luggage. However, she met Sasha on the way back. When Sasha asked what she was up to, she told Sasha about the plan. Sasha ended up wanting to tag along.Just as Grandma May was ready to leave with Rosella and Sasha, Tania returned home. Upon seeing her mother-in-law taking her two sisters-in-law to roam, Tania held Grandma May’s hand and insisted on going with them.Grandma May was speechless. She glanced at Rosella, who smiled sheepishly.Ultimately, Grandma May and her three daughters-in-law left Wildridge Manor together.When her sons returned home and realized their wives had been “kidnapped” by their mother, they were utterly dumbfounded.Liam immediately called Zachary and co
“Yeah. I thought of that old man. He left me alone in this world so soon.”Grandma May wiped her tears. “I’ll stop thinking about him. I’m more fortunate than him to be able to see my grandsons get married. If I am luckier, I might even live to see Rowan married too.“However, I want nothing more than to have a great-granddaughter before I die. My husband’s biggest regret before he passed away was not having a daughter or granddaughter.”Rosella consoled her. She said, “You’ll definitely be able to live a long life, Mom. You’ll live till you’re a hundred and twenty years old, see Rowan get married, and carry your great-granddaughter. You have nine grandsons and granddaughters-in-law. Surely one of the pairs will be able to give birth to a daughter.”Actually, Rosella was not too confident about it.After all, the York family had not had a baby girl born into their family for three generations. While there were a few daughters before that, they all passed away at a very young age.
Grandma May was truly the anchor of the York family.Nine of her grandsons were nurtured into talented young men who could hold their own. Even if York Corporation was gone, they could start anew and rise again with their capabilities.Of course, with such capable grandsons, York Corporation would only reach greater heights. It would never fall.Grandma May did not have other wishes aside from hoping she could live to see a daughter being born into the York family and Rowan growing up into an adult.After completing her late husband’s wishes, she could meet him in the afterlife without regrets.Grandma May recalled her marriage with Old Mr. York. She had accompanied him to build an empire when they were young, and they educated their grandchildren after they retired. She thought they could grow old together. Well, they did grow old together, but he passed away before she did.Time flew, and a few years have passed since then.When Old Mr. York passed away, none of the York bro
Imogen knew many powerful people.She had great connections.Upon learning that Dylan had told Grandma May that he could not fall in love with Imogen last year, Rosella complained to her husband that it was Dylan’s loss. How could he give up on an elite daughter and choose a fox instead?Moreover, he still did not know that woman’s name or background even after pursuing her for over half a year.His brothers also refused to help him to obtain any information.Clearly, they wanted Dylan to have a hard time. His elder and younger brothers had listened to their nana. He was the only one who went against her arrangements. It was no surprise that the York brothers did not want to help Dylan.It was only in the new year that Rosella found out Imogen was the Chameleon Fox that Dylan had been pursuing all along and she was also Silver’s student, Sugar.Imogen had even been to Wildridge Manor several times as Sugar. At that time, Rosella could sense that Grandma May was playing matchma
Immediately, someone brought a large cup of water for Dylan. Imogen took the cup and handed it to him, urging him to drink. Dylan accepted the cup and drank it all in one go, which eased the spiciness in his mouth a little. “Imogen, your cousin said I need to finish these peppers, but I haven’t even eaten half yet.” Dylan looked at the basket of peppers and saw that he had not eaten even half of them. He had never eaten this much spice in his life. Right now, his throat felt like it was on fire, and his voice was hoarse. The intense heat was affecting him badly.If this had happened in Wiltspoon where the climate was warmer, after eating so many peppers, his throat would have been terribly inflamed, and he probably would have an upset stomach and a serious case of indigestion. Then, he would be stuck in the toilet for half a day.However, since it was cold in Huntington, eating a little chili every day was not a problem, though not as much as Dylan had just eaten. His stomach
“Did you need me for something, Layla?” Imogen, despite being in a rush to stop Dylan from continuing to eat the chili peppers, asked Layla.“Of course, I came to talk to you about work,” Layla replied.“But the discussion might take a while. Are you going to discuss work with me first, or go downstairs to stop Dylan from eating more peppers first?”Imogen hesitated for a moment but decided to stop Dylan first. Layla guessed that her cousin would choose Dylan and sighed inwardly. Imogen was already wrapped around Dylan's finger. However, Dylan had not entirely escaped Imogen’s influence either. Though he had not fallen in love with Imogen herself, he had fallen for her alter ego, who was still her cousin in the end.Fortunately, the woman Dylan loved was her cousin's alias. If he had chosen another woman, Layla would never have allowed her cousin to take him back. The Doyle ladies did not settle for second place.“Layla, give me about ten minutes.”“Alright, I’ll wait for you
It was already so spicy, there was no way it could get worse. Thus, following his family's advice, he began grabbing huge handfuls of chili peppers and stuffed them into his mouth. The heat made his eyes water, and it felt like his mouth was swelling from the spice. Imogen also saw the comments and watched as Dylan continued to eat the peppers in large mouthfuls. She turned off the livestream, not wanting to keep watching. However, her heart was in such a mess that she could not focus on her work. A few minutes later, she tossed her pen aside, pushed her chair away from the table as she stood up, and walked out quickly. She ran into Layla as soon as she left the office.“Layla,” Imogen called out. “You heading out?” To be honest, Layla knew the answer without asking. “He’s eaten quite a lot of chili peppers already. He doesn’t usually eat spicy food. And eating so much at once will harm his stomach.” Imogen still felt sorry for Dylan. Layla smiled, “If you're worried