“What does it say?”Zachary had not seen the results yet. He watched her actions but could not see a smile on her face, so he assumed his father-in-law really was not the biological son of Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt.“The results say that my granddad and I are related by blood. My dad is their biological child.”“They’re actually related by blood? With how badly they treat you, I always thought you weren’t biologically related.”Serenity looked at her husband and seemed amused. “You sound like you were hoping my dad wasn’t their biological child.”Zachary said sheepishly, “They’re so ruthless that I thought your dad wasn’t their own. How can they do this when he’s their actual son? It’s heartbreaking.”“My sister and I had our hearts broken by them long ago. We’ll never reconcile in our lifetime.”Serenity put the results away. She had not received a reply from her sister yet, so she guessed that Liberty should be sleeping.The business at All You Can Eat was booming, and Liberty wa
Serenity said, “Because I was the one who told him to pluck your hair.”“You told him to do it? Are you mad? Why do you want to pluck my hair? How could that runt obey your orders? Serenity, did you give Noah a lot of benefits?”She gave his youngest grandson benefits but not to her own grandfather. Sure enough, there was no point in raising a girl. She did not know how to take care of her grandfather after getting rich.“I heard you spread rumors saying my dad wasn’t your biological child. My dad died more than ten years ago, so he can’t refute the accusations. As his daughter, I have to refute it for him.“According to inheritance law, Grandmom and you can inherit a part of Dad’s assets. The results will be the same whether we go to court or negotiate. You wouldn’t have gotten into this situation if you weren’t this greedy.”Serenity took out the DNA test result. “I told Noah to pluck your hair to do a DNA test. Dad can’t get a DNA test done with you, but it’ll be the same if I
Mike persuaded his granddad to come to an agreement with Serenity and Liberty regarding the house.“Okay,” Serenity agreed.If negotiation was on the table, she wanted it. She did not want to waste time on a lawsuit.An hour later, Zachary arranged a private room in Wiltspoon Hotel for the Hunt family to talk.Liberty brought Sonny with her.Old Mr. Hunt called John back too. He was fighting for Scott’s house because he wanted John to inherit it. John had always been his favorite grandson, so he liked to discuss everything with John.After hearing that Serenity used their youngest cousin to get a DNA test done with Old Mr. Hunt in advance, John was cognizant that continuing their actions would only paint them as clowns.There was a mishap with Harriet’s cosmetic surgery too. She was supposed to change her face to Serenity’s, but she came out looking like their other cousin instead...It would be hard to carry out the plan of Harriet replacing Serenity as the missus of the York
The Hunt family was speechless.They exchanged glances, and then Mike said, “Serenity, discuss it with your sister and name a price. Just sell the house to us.”“If we offer to sell it, will it be you or our grandparents paying?”Mike said, “Our grandparents are the ones staying in the house, so of course they’ll be the ones paying. However, they don’t have much savings after Grandmom got sick. All of us pitched in to pay for her medical fees. They may not be able to fork out a large amount of money at once.“You can let them sign an IOU. They’ll pay you as much money as they can now. If it’s not enough...”“Can they owe you the money?”Serenity could not help but ask, “They’re old and don’t have a source of income. How are they going to buy a house?”Mike was silent.Old Mr. Hunt heard his grandchildren’s conversation and said to his two sons angrily, “You brothers help me pay for the house. Scott’s share can be considered paid for since your mom and I are staying in the house
“A few thousand per square foot.”Serenity looked at her two uncles and two cousins and asked them, “Do you have any objections? If you don’t, then we’ll go with Granddad’s idea. I’ll get someone to help me write the contract, then we’ll notarize the agreement. Granddad and Grandmom will have no share in the property my parents left behind in the future.“They don’t need to move out, but you have to pay for the rent and utilities every month. We won’t take advantage of you, but don’t even consider taking advantage of us either.”Zachary leaned into Serenity’s ear and whispered, “Transfer the ownership first. Although the name on the title deed is your dad’s, your grandparents are still around. Your sister and you will only be able to inherit it completely if they sign to give up their share of the inheritance.”If the title deed was transferred to the sisters’ names, there would be no need to wrangle with those people in the future.Serenity nodded.The Hunt family had no objecti
The driver was Lily.The car she was driving belonged to Mrs. Lewis and it was lent to her to use while she was in Wiltspoon.Mrs. Lewis really liked Lily and tried her best to matchmake her with Duncan. However, Lily was not in a hurry to pursue Duncan. Instead, she accompanied Mrs. Lewis everywhere when she was free so that Mrs. Lewis would like her more.She was trying to appeal to her mother-in-law first.At Lily’s words, Mrs. Lewis turned her head to look outside the window. Lily was driving, and there were many cars behind them, so she could not suddenly brake or slow down. They were already a distance away by the time Mrs. Lewis turned to look.However, a mother could still easily recognize her son.“It’s Duncan,” Mrs. Lewis said confidently.“Who’s that woman talking to him?”Mrs. Lewis did not see Liberty clearly and said, “Lily, there’s an intersection ahead where you can make a U-turn. Let’s go back and see who that woman is.”Her youngest son seldom interacted with
“Okay. Thank you, Mr. Lewis.”Liberty thanked him politely and added, “We’ll be going now. Goodbye.”Duncan said, “Drive safe. Bye, Sonny.”Sonny waved at him. “Bye bye, Dunc.”Liberty rode her e-bike and left with her son.Duncan stood where he was and watched the mother and son’s backs fade away. When they were out of sight, he turned back to his car, started the engine, and went back to his office.After his car left, the BMW parked a hundred feet behind his car drove off as well.“Drive faster, Lily. Overtake Duncan’s car and go further ahead to see who that woman is.”The two did not drive past Duncan after making the U-turn because they were afraid of being discovered by him, so they stopped not far from where he parked. However, they could not see the woman’s face clearly from that distance.Mrs. Lewis saw Liberty before, but that was when Liberty was still fat.Now that Liberty had lost dozens of pounds, Mrs. Lewis could not recognize her anymore.Furthermore, she on
They lived in a small circle where paths intersected frequently. They would cross paths eventually.Liberty was a divorcee, and Mrs. Lewis only brought her up in passing. Lily only remembered a bit about Liberty because she was Serenity’s sister.“Yes, she divorced last yet. Her husband had an affair. I heard he was violent toward her too and wanted to go Dutch with her when it came to living expenses. Liberty stayed at home to raise their son and was considered a housewife, yet her husband wanted to go Dutch with her. It was clear it was because he disliked her, but she didn’t realize it.“I heard she only found out that her husband was cheating on her when she received evidence of his affair. Her husband was very stingy with her, but he bought luxury goods for his mistress.“Women, especially married women, need to love themselves more. If you don’t know how to love yourself, you can’t expect your husband to love and cherish you. You have to try and maintain financial independenc
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll