Zachary watched as Mrs. Sox returned to the house and closed the door behind her. He stood in front of the gate for a while before waltzing back to his car. He sat in silence for a few minutes before starting the engine and driving off. Zachary arrived at the Soxes’ residence first thing in the morning. The gate to the Sox family’s home was wide open, and the two hounds were tied to a leash. Zachary had a bad feeling that he arrived too late. He pulled up and before he could even get out of the car, Mrs. Sox, who was sweeping the yard, approached him with a broom. “Mr. York, Jasmine and Serenity are out. They went to Liberty’s diner.” Zachary asked, “How long have they been gone?” “Around twenty minutes. Serenity woke up and said she needed to pick Sonny up from her sister’s, so they left early.” Zachary thanked Mrs. Sox and uttered, “I’ll head to my sister-in-law’s breakfast place then.” “Okay,” Mrs. Sox answered. Zachary quickly drove away from the Soxes’ reside
Facing Zachary, Camryn probingly said hello, “Is that Mr. York?” There was a glimmer in Zachary’s dark eyes. The girl could determine the person by their footsteps. “Ms. Camryn.” Zachary greeted back in a low voice, “Are you here to deliver flowers to Callum, Ms. Camryn?” Camryn nodded with a smile. “Mr. Callum ordered a bouquet from my shop. He asked me to make the delivery right now.” Zachary asked, “Did you come here on your own?” “Yes.” Zachary believed Callum was on his way to his own undoing. He knew Camryn could not see, and yet he expected Camryn to deliver the flowers all by herself. Nevertheless, Zachary said nothing. This was Callum’s business. Zachary could stay out of it and observe from the sidelines. “Do you need help to get upstairs?” “Thank you, Mr. Zachary. That won’t be necessary.” She remembered the route as she had been here twice. Camryn could get to Callum’s office without guidance. Without another word, Zachary went ahead into the offic
“No.”Camryn faintly added. “I’m never included in whatever discussion they have.” She picked up her cane. Her cane had been lying in her mother’s bedroom since the latter kicked it away the other night. The following day, the maid returned the cane to Camryn. Camryn was told that the cane was found in front of her mother’s bedroom door. She assumed that her mother had thrown her cane out. Camryn handed the cane to Callum. Thinking Camryn was going to hit him on the head with the cane, Callum reached out to grab the cane. However, Camryn loosened her grip. It then hit Callum. She was trying to pass the cane to him. “The inside of my cane is hollow. A voice recorder is hidden inside,” said Camryn in an unfluctuating tone. Callum’s dark eyes sparkled as his opinion of her began to change. He stopped the teasing. He held the cane high for a look and flicked on the wood. He managed to pry open a hollow spot and shake it to deliver a voice recorder from inside. “The v
Mr. and Mrs. Newman wanted to wipe Camryn off the face of the earth because she was suspicious about her father’s death. Camryn was a nobody in the Newmans’ residence anyway. No one would bother investigating her cause of death even if Camryn had a terminal illness. Camryn would have died in her mother’s hands ten years ago if her aunt did not drop in for a visit and taken Camryn to the hospital. Of course, Callum and Camryn heard about Mr. and Mrs. Newman’s talks about getting Callum to marry Camryn. Callum watched as Camryn sat in silence. Camryn clasped her hands together without a word for a long time. Although she had suspected her father’s death had to do with Mr. and Mrs. Newman, it was all speculation she made in her head as there was no proof. Now that she got it from the horses’ mouths, her mind was blank, and her limbs felt cold. Camryn could not wrap her head around why her father’s wife and brother would want him dead. Had the affair between Mr. and Mrs. Newm
Callum looked into Camryn’s eyes for a while before uttering, “Serenity is right. You should get your eyes fixed first if you want to collect evidence. I’ll keep the voice recorder safe for you here so it doesn’t fall into their hands. It’ll only put you in danger.” “Thank you, Mr. Callum.” Camryn never thought about asking for the voice recorder back. As Callum put it, Camryn might lose her life over the voice recorder. “I’m going to play along if they plan on using me to save that sister of yours. Do you have a problem with that?” Camryn looked confused. “What do you mean by ‘play along’?” “Your stepfather wants me to marry you. They must think I’m not for it and will use it as leverage to get your sister out of jail. Well, they have another thing coming.” Callum was a proud member of the York family. He was not one to be messed with. Mr. and Mrs. Newman must be desperate to try anything. They adored Carrie so much. “What do you think about me marrying you?” “
Hank’s mental state was heading in an unhealthy direction as things got better for Liberty in life. He could not help but make Liberty jump through hoops. For example, Hank could buy a mini suit for their son, but with Jessica egging him on, Hank believed Liberty was deliberately driving a wedge between him and his son. Liberty refused to let him see his son. Hence, Hank insisted on taking Sonny to try out clothes. He made a huge fuss the moment Liberty disagreed with him. “Where’s Sonny? Where did you hide him?” Hank looked around the breakfast diner, but his son was nowhere to be found. “Did you hide Sonny at Serenity’s place?” That was not right. Serenity’s bookshop was closed for two days. He had been to the bookshop. “Sonny is in a class. He’ll be back soon.”Liberty faintly added, “I’m not stopping you from meeting with Sonny, Hank. If you really want to take Sonny along, then fine. I’m almost done anyway. I’ll go with you when Sonny is finished with his clas
“Mom.”Sonny came running in his gym uniform. “Sonny, you’re back.” With a smile, Liberty went up and picked her son up. “How was it? Do you feel tired? Did you cry?” Sonny shook his head. “I didn’t cry, but I do feel tired.” “Oh, you’re tired. Let me kiss your tiredness away. You must stick to the classes.” Liberty was concerned that her son could not keep up with the workout. She gave her son a kiss and reminded him to hang on so as not to disappoint Zachary after all he did for Sonny. Sonny was exhausted and tempted to quit, but his uncle’s words were imprinted in his mind. By taking up the art of self-defense, he no longer had to be afraid of bad guys. He could also protect his mother. He wanted to be the manly man and shield his mom from all harm. Sonny gave a firm nod. “I will stick to the class, Mom.” Jim entered the diner too. “Ms. Hunt.” He said hello to Liberty. “Thank you, Jim.” Jim smiled. “Don’t mention it, Ms. Hunt.” It was his duty to drop of
“It’s up to you whether you want to do it. Don’t be scared to speak your mind if you don’t want to.” Liberty did not want to force her son. She respected his choices. Tilting his head, Sonny looked at his dad and contemplated for a while before asking, “Is my mom going?” “Yes. Didn’t I give your mom an invitation the last time?” “Oh.” Sonny bobbed his head. “Okay, Dad. I’ll do it.” Hank smiled. He knew his son was close to him and would be happy to be his flower boy. “Should we go pick an outfit then?” Sonny turned to his mother once more. Hank had to tell Liberty, “We should hurry if you want to come along.” Paying Hank no mind, Liberty turned off the electricity and checked if the stove was off. With all that confirmed, she let the two workers knock off and said to Jim, “Jim, you can return. I’m going with Sonny to pick out a suit for him.” Sonny had his lesson in the morning. The class in the afternoon was not necessary. He was young, so William did not want t
Although they had the two hundred thousand dollars, it did not change the fact that Liberty was fifteen and Serenity was ten—they were still just children. Having been pampered by their parents and never having experienced hardship, after their sudden death and being tossed out into the street, Serenity often cried, saying that she missed their mom and dad. Whenever Liberty tried to comfort her sister, they would end up crying together in each other's arms instead.Liberty could understand Caroline's feelings, though she also accepted that Caroline was much luckier as she was of age, had a father and three older brothers, and no one could kick her out of her home. “Yeah, I’ll go out once in a while. Please thank Audrey for me and ask her to let me know when she’d like to come over so that I can hand over all my responsibilities related to the company and the family. I’ll work with her schedule. And…I don’t blame any of you for my mother’s death.”That was her mother’s own doing
They were aware of everything Caroline had done for the family. To be honest, Caroline had indirectly saved Liberty. If she had not warned Liberty, Liberty’s bodyguards alone would not have been able to protect her when Belinda sprung that surprise attack on her. Liberty had already had a good impression of Caroline, but after that incident, that impression only grew stronger.Caroline’s smile faded a bit as she said, “There’s no rush for Darren and me. At the earliest, it’ll be at the end of the year. It’s too chaotic right now.”Liberty nodded in understanding. “As long as you and Darren are on the same page, that’s enough.”“He’s a good man. We haven’t really gone out on dates, but we know how we feel about each other. He suggested we date first, get engaged, and finally register our marriage. “He wants to take it step by step and promises I’ll have everything I want.”“Aunt Audrey and I are very reassured about your relationship with Darren. He’s a man worth spending a
At the mention of Liberty’s wedding, Caroline congratulated her. “Have you decided to register your marriage with Mr. Lewis? Congratulations in advance! I wish you both a long life together and hope you have a precious daughter soon.”Liberty already had a son, so it seemed normal to wish for a child the second time around.However, when Liberty became the head of the Fishers in the future, Caroline understood that Liberty would need a daughter to take over from her.Liberty smiled. “It hasn’t been easy for Duncan and me to get to this point. Considering we’re not young anymore, we decided to just get it done. Thank you for your well-wishes, Caroline, but we’re not in a hurry when it comes to kids.” She did not have the energy to raise a child at the moment. Whether she took over the Fisher family or not, she was too busy right now. Even though her new company seemed to be doing well, it had not truly stabilized yet and was only temporarily so through the influence of her brot
There were very few people left of Patrick’s generation. After a moment of silence, Caroline said, “Yes, he’s just returned to his hometown, so he should stay for a while longer. “Liberty, please tell my cousin to just give me a few days. I’ll clear the mansion out for you to move in. What I said before still stands!” Liberty elegantly sipped her coffee and did not respond immediately. Half a cup later, she set it down and looked at Caroline, who was also looking back at her.The two of them held each other's gaze for a full two minutes before Liberty averted her eyes and said calmly, “There’s no need to rush. Let’s discuss it after Christmas. My aunt hasn’t laid out a concrete schedule yet.”Caroline also set her coffee cup down. “It still needs to be cleared out and cleaned. It’s fine if you don’t move in immediately; letting it be for a bit will help disperse my mother’s lingering presence, so you won’t feel uncomfortable.” Fisher Manor did not belong to the head of th
Caroline did not care what her father and brothers thought of her. She could hazard a guess— they were most certainly not happy with her. With that in mind, she had Darren drive her back to the office. Just as she returned to her office and poured herself a cup of water, her secretary called her on the intercom to say that Liberty had arrived.“Let her in,” Caroline said. She had not expected Liberty to come looking for her so quickly but did not think the visit was to ask her to vacate her position. Perhaps it was to check on her. A few minutes later, the secretary led Liberty in.“You can go ahead with your work,” Caroline said as she dismissed her secretary. Once the secretary left, Caroline and Liberty exchanged glances before Caroline awkwardly said, “Liberty, I don’t know how to face all of you.” “Well, I’m not here to kill you, so there’s no need to be nervous,” Liberty replied as she walked over to sit on the sofa.“Killing me would only dirty your hands,” Caro
Not to mention the antiques. If they sold it all off, even at a conservative estimate, it could fetch them several billion dollars. That did not even include the jewelry Belinda had accumulated. Women, even the iron ladies, loved jewelry. Belinda was no exception. Many of her jewels were passed down through generations of the Fisher family, making them more valuable than the ones on the market today.Adrian’s eyes sparkled greedily but darkened just as quickly. “Dad, no one but Caroline is allowed inside the manor now.”“What? Who decided on that?” Hunter asked, alarmed.“Audrey Fisher left people to guard it. She’s even arranged for her people to take over and all the employees have been replaced, including the housekeeper.” Hunter was momentarily stunned before he spluttered, “What right does she have to do that?” Adrian was silent. Audrey was a Fisher and the eldest daughter of the previous family head, who should have inherited the title but was prevented from doing so
Hunter signaled for the caregiver to leave and even got Adrian to make sure the caregiver exited. Once the caregiver was gone, Adrian closed the door and sat down by the hospital bed. He reached for some grapes from the fruit plate and ate them.“Dad, has Caroline mentioned anything about taking over the company?” With their mother gone, Adrian felt that Caroline should step up.“The whole company is waiting. We don’t know what her plans are. Although the company isn't in danger, it’s just like a dynasty. Just as a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, a company cannot function without someone in charge.”Hunter's face darkened in displeasure. “Don’t even mention her taking over. That girl is not on our side. Your mother was infuriated by her countless times when she was alive. If she weren’t your mom’s biological daughter, her grave would be overgrown with weeds by now.“She even said she wants to return everything to the Fisher family, including your mother’s assets. S
It was no wonder that he was upset after hearing her say such things. “Darren, let’s go with the flow. There’s no need to force anything. We’ll let everything happen naturally.”She was not that young anymore so if she was going to get married, it would be just about time.Darren was a few years older than she was and was in his early thirties. Caroline thought that if she married him, they could get their marriage certificate after Christmas and maybe have a child the following year. Once they had completed life’s milestones, she could focus on her business.“Darren? Do you know how to take care of kids?” she asked suddenly.“I’ve never done it before, but it shouldn’t be too difficult, right?” he replied.He wondered if she was already thinking about having kids so soon.“Once we have a child, you might need to be a stay-at-home dad for a while. I’ll be busy with work and you can’t help with the actual pregnancy, but you can help with the baby afterward.”Darren chuckled,
“Miss... Caroline, no matter what decision you make, I will support you regardless. Even if you don’t take over the Fisher family, you have enough assets of your own and your companies are doing well,” Darren assured Caroline.Darren had read up on Caroline's private businesses before and knew that the companies under her name were thriving. Even after returning to the Fisher family, she only occasionally visited, and still, the businesses ran smoothly. Caroline was an amazing woman to Darren. She did not need to inherit a family fortune to forge her own path. Still, what he loved most was Caroline’s confidence.“And you still have me,” he added.With his support, Caroline’s career would reach new heights.Caroline turned to look at him. After a beat, she smiled. “When I first came back, I really regretted it and wished I hadn’t returned to the Fishers because I couldn’t stand them. But ever since you came into my life, I’m grateful that Celine and I returned to our rightful