Hayden’s eyes flickered. She asked Kevin, “What do you mean by that? Your sister-in-law and her sister look like Caroline? Does your sister-in-law have lost sisters?” “I can be sure that Serenity only has an older sister, Liberty, and no younger sister. She has a cousin, but her cousin doesn’t look like Liberty.” Kevin continued, “I just found it strange how strangers can share such an uncanny resemblance, so I wanted to ask you if the Fishers have any displaced children—not recently, but decades ago. “Serenity and Liberty can’t be displaced children of the Fishers. I know about the Hunts very well. “However, their deceased mother was an orphan and seemed to have only been sent to an orphanage when she was a few years old. She was later adopted, but unfortunately, she was given to someone else to raise after her adoptive parents gave birth to their own child. She was later given to someone else again, and this was repeated several times. “This caused Mrs. Stone to put in a lo
“Hayden, I envy you. Your parents aren’t anxious about your marriage and don’t rush you at all.” Hayden pursed her lips. It was not that her parents did not pressure her, but they could not rush her. After all, she was dressed as a man. Her parents wanted her to go on blind dates with men, but if she did, she would probably scare the men away. Many people were pursuing her, but they were all ladies. She could not marry them even if she wanted to. As such, her parents were helpless. They could only urge her brother, but Hugh disregarded his parents’ pressure. Every time he was urged to get married, he turned a deaf ear to it. As long as he was out of the house, he would forget what his parents said. His parents were helpless in this. “Mrs. Stone’s maiden name is Fisher. My big brother’s mother-in-law is Mrs. Stone’s younger sister, so her maiden name is also Fisher. Given how Caroline and Liberty look so similar, it’s highly likely that Mrs. Stone is Madam Fisher’s nie
Kevin said to Hayden after some thought, “You can, but you have to be careful and leak the news to the Fishers with someone’s help. Don’t do it yourself, lest you get caught in their family’s strife. “Madam Fisher is old, but she’s still in good health. Besides, she has been ruthless since young, so she’s not to be messed with. He teased her as well, “Both the real and fake daughter of the Fishers like you.” Hayden responded, “Caroline only admires me. I made it clear to her that there won’t be any outcome between us, and then she let go of this.” As for Celine, who once thought she was above the rest and would be the Fishers’ future family head, Hayden disliked her since before, let alone now. Not to mention Hayden was a woman, even if she was a man, she would not choose Celine. “Hayden, how about you don’t interfere in this matter? I’ll arrange for someone to spread the word.” Kevin did not want his future wife to be involved in the Fishers’ fight. Hayden looked at hi
Hayden was speechless. “Grandma May, you know about me and Kevin?” “Of course. The internet is so developed now. Although it happened in Jensburg, as long as I surf the internet, I can also see it from Annenburg.” Hayden suddenly felt that her attempt to complain through this phone call would fail. Grandma May knew about it, and so did Kevin’s mom. Nevertheless, if Grandma May, who was known as the stabilizing force of the Yorks, did not react to it nor control Kevin, what could Hayden complain about? It would be futile. The outcome would probably be the same as what Zachary said. As long as Kevin was happy, they would not care about who he was pursuing. “Grandma May, I’m a man.” Hayden continued in a low voice, “I’m not homosexual, so it won’t end well if Kevin wastes his time on me. I do think that he’s treating me like this because he doesn’t want to marry the wife candidate you chose for him. “We’ve all heard about the wife candidates you chose for your grandsons,
Kevin said with a smile as he got out of the car, “Okay.” Donald saw that he brought many things over and told him, “Kev, don’t buy so many things when you come in the future. Our family doesn’t lack anything, but if anything at all, we’re lacking two people—my two children are still single.” Kevin giggled and responded, “As long as you and your missus don’t mind, I can take up one of those spots.” “Can you? Will your family agree to it?” “I make my own decisions.” Donald was relieved. He and his wife originally had their eyes on Kevin and wanted him to be their son-in-law. They only dropped the idea when Hayden told them that Kevin had a wife candidate. Who knew, he suddenly started pursuing Hayden passionately by sending her flowers and gifts every day. Well, it had only been two days. Nonetheless, to the Queens, the two days that Kevin pursued Hayden felt like two years. “Donnie, is Mrs. Queen not at home?” Kevin asked because Donald went out by himself. His
Donald was speechless. He could neither admit nor deny it, thus he simply kept quiet, not knowing that his silence was acquiescence, allowing Kevin to further confirm Hayden’s identity as a woman. “You’re not gay?” Donald asked on purpose. Kevin grinned. “If Hayden is a man, then I’m gay. Whether I’m gay or not depends on her.” Donald was lost for words again. He wanted to ask how Kevin knew his eldest “son” was a woman but felt that he would be admitting his daughter’s identity if he did. Hayden would be angry at him again if she found out. “You young people should handle your own affairs. We as elders won’t interfere.” Donald could only cover up like that. Kevin smiled and said, “Donnie, you and Mrs. Queen are open-minded like my parents. I’ll invite you to Wildridge Manor someday when you’re free. My parents can definitely get along with you.” Donald beamed as well. As the two continued to walk out, he said, “We haven’t seen your parents since Mr. Bucham’s wedding.
Donald took Kevin to go fishing. The two of them fished for the whole afternoon. In the evening, they returned home with two buckets. Donald’s bucket had over ten fish, whereas Kevin’s had tens of fish. “Kev, you’re so good at fishing. We were both fishing with the same rod and the same bait, but why did the fish always go to your side and take your bait? This is the least I’ve caught since I started liking fishing.” Donald walked and complimented Kevin for knowing how to fish. Kevin responded with a smile, “Donnie, I was just lucky. Perhaps the fish came to my bait because I’m good-looking.” Donald laughed out loud. “Yes, yes, yes, you’re young and handsome. Even the fish are charmed by you. Kev, what else do you know?” “Donnie, I think you should ask what I don’t know. My brothers and I are multi-talented. My nana said it’s always good to have more skills. We learned everything we wanted to learn and those we didn’t want to learn. “In a way, we’re well-versed artistic
Hayden was mad, but she still called her brother and asked him to go home for dinner together. “Why did Dad call us back for dinner? Are we celebrating something at home?” Hugh asked. He and his sister normally lived in their respective villas and only went home for a meal with their parents during the holidays. “Kevin went to our house and went fishing with Dad the whole afternoon. Dad said he caught half a bucket of fish. Kevin wants to grill fish, so Dad asked us to go home to try some.” Hayden was resentful as she explained. Kevin was best at fawning over people. Hayden’s dad would not last more than three seconds in front of him and might expose her secret indeed. The same applied to her mom. Hugh smiled and said, “Kevin is really something to have made Dad so happy. Since Dad asked us to go back for dinner, let’s go then. I haven’t had drinks with him for a long time either, so I’ll have a couple with him tonight.” Hayden responded helplessly, “I have a social engag
Isabella’s bodyguard had only called out to her, not daring to touch her, so she had not woken up. However, when Austin gently patted her face and called her, she woke up almost immediately. When she opened her eyes and saw Austin’s handsome face, Isabella was momentarily dazed, thinking she was dreaming about him.She had actually dreamed about Austin. Had she developed feelings for him? If she had not, why would she dream about him? In all her life, this was the first time she had dreamed about a man. Isabella wanted to touch Austin’s face, but as she raised her hand, she realized she was not dreaming.Austin was real. She could smell the fresh scent on him because they were so close.He had showered.Isabella quietly lowered her hand, hoping Austin had not noticed her earlier intention, lest he misunderstood.“Ms. Isabella,” Austin’s warm and pleasant voice reached her ears, making her want to close her eyes and go back to sleep. With him around, she felt safe and secure.
Hunter had neither money nor power. What could he possibly use to save his sons?“Dad, go home. When the trial starts, we’ll send someone to pick you up so you can attend and observe.”Hunter stood up angrily and stormed off.After he left, Ellie asked Ava, “Are we really not going to do anything? My child is still young. Having a father in prison will always be a stain on their life.”“What can we do? Even if we wanted to save them, we don’t have the means. We know what Caroline is like. She’s not going to let this go lightly this time,” Ava replied. “Anyway, think about last year, when they were caught cheating. How did they treat us then?”Remembering the events from last year, Ellie said, “Let them serve a few years in prison, then. Ava, Caroline is in the hospital. Should we go visit her?”“We should. Let’s go tomorrow. We’ll call Emma and visit Caroline together. The Fisher family is full of terrible people, but Caroline still has some conscience. She’s always been kind t
Hunter was momentarily speechless. He did not have much money. When Belinda was alive, he never had more than five hundred dollars on him. After his children grew up, he secretly asked them for money. During that time, he had money to spend freely, living a lavish life outside.However, all that money had been spent. He had no savings, mainly because he was used to spending extravagantly.He had been unable to save money. He did not own any shops or properties either; Belinda had kept him on a tight leash.The house in their hometown had been built with Belinda’s money, but it was not under his name. It was under his three sons’ names.After Belinda’s death, his sons supported him. Each son gave him over a hundred thousand dollars a month for living expenses.Combined, that was several hundred thousand dollars a month, allowing him to live comfortably in Ashford. He had managed to save a little, but not much, just over a million dollars in total. Hiring the best lawyers for h
Despite this, lying in bed and enduring the pain, Caroline could not help but start to cry, feeling deeply wronged.When Darren came in and saw her crying, he walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently wiped her tears with a tissue.“They’re not worth your tears,” he said, his heart aching for her.Caroline sat up and buried herself in his arms. “Darren, you’re all I have now.”Darren held her tightly, his voice filled with tenderness. “I’ll always be by your side, no matter what happens, Ms. Caroline. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.“If you’re really hurting and need to cry, then cry. Let it all out.”It would also help her sever ties with the past and the family bonds that had caused her so much pain.Caroline did cry—a long, cathartic cry. It would be the last time. From now on, she and the Clarks would go their separate ways.Meanwhile, Hunter went to Justin’s house and called Jason’s wife, Ellie, over. He said to his two daughters-in-law, “By no
After a moment of silence, Hunter repeated the same line. “But you didn’t die, did you? You only got a little hurt, and it’s not even serious.”Caroline almost laughed in anger at this.Sure, she had not died. She had only been injured. Did that erase the fact that her brothers had tried to kill her, though?She retorted, “Dad, if I had tried to kill your three sons, but they didn’t die and only got a little hurt, would you say the same thing to them? Would you tell them it’s just a family dispute, ask them to forgive me, not to sue me, and not to send me to jail?”Hunter instinctively replied, "If you had the intent to kill, how could I let you continue down that path? Of course, I’d have to let you serve a few years in prison…“Carol, I’m old, really old. I only have the boys to rely on in my old age. Are you trying to leave me with no one to depend on in my later years?”Caroline said coldly, “I’ll provide for your living expenses. I’ll make sure you don’t starve. You can even
Darren did not let go even after being struck.Seeing Darren get hit, Caroline’s expression darkened. She coldly said to her father, “Dad, if you really want to kneel, go kneel at the hospital entrance and shout at the top of your lungs that your daughter is unfilial.“Tell everyone that your sons tried to kill your daughter, and your daughter refuses to forgive them, so you’re kneeling there to force her to forgive your sons.“Let’s see if I give in.”Hunter stopped struggling. After slapping Darren, he felt a pang of fear. He was afraid Caroline might retaliate by slapping him to avenge Darren. Fortunately, while Caroline was furious, she did not lay a hand on him.He began to cry. “Carol…” He wept bitterly.Darren released him, and Hunter sat on the sofa, sobbing, “Carol, I’m old. I have no income, my parents are long gone, and your mother is no longer here. I only have your three brothers to rely on.“If you send all three of them to prison, what will happen to me? Who w
Caroline hummed. “I do plan to visit Wiltspoon to see her sometime soon. I just don’t know if I’ll be kicked out when I get there.”“And I should visit Mr. Foster too. How is he, by the way?" Patrick was the longest-living person she had ever met. Back when she lived with her adoptive family in the countryside, the oldest people in town usually lived into their eighties, and few made it to ninety. Patrick was nearly a hundred years old. What was more, he could walk without support and even travel long distances with his old friends.Liberty replied, “He’s doing quite well. Aunt Audrey accompanies him on walks every day. When they don’t go out, he sits by the cradle and watches baby Elias for hours on end.”The bond between generations was strong. When Patrick looked at Clive’s son, Elias, he felt like he was looking at his great-grandson. As Tiara’s great-grandson, Elias was naturally like his own great-grandson, too.“Dr. Carden comes by periodically to check on him and adjus
Liberty had already called Audrey to inform her about what had happened and also mentioned it to Serenity.Knowing the Clark brothers had all been captured, Serenity felt thoroughly relieved and stopped worrying that her sister would run into trouble in Jensburg.She told Zachary that Caroline never let people down.Zachary did not comment.Caroline’s fever had completely subsided, but her coughing had worsened. The doctor had changed her prescription, but the effects were not immediate.When Liberty entered, Caroline was out of bed and walking around, supported by Darren.“Caroline, why are you out of bed?”Liberty scolded her, “Get back in bed and lie down. You’re injured. If you don’t rest properly and keep moving around, you’ll aggravate your wounds, and you’ll regret it.”She did not blame Darren, though. She knew Caroline always came first to him. He always followed her lead and was unable to influence her decisions.“I’ve been lying down all day. My back is sore, and I’m
The housekeeper replied, “Yes, sir.”They did not have much work in the first place, so they did not need to slack off. Once they were done with their work, they had tons of time to entertain themselves.Hunter rushed out the door with his car keys. Despite being over seventy years old, his driving skills were still quite good. Not needing to hire a driver, he drove himself straight to Jensburg.Upon arriving at the city, Hunter did not immediately go looking for Caroline. He was unaware that she had been injured.Instead, he went to meet his old friends to ask them to help him find out if anything had happened in relation to the Fisher family last night.After he finished speaking, one of his friends said, “We were about to ask you the same thing. Your three sons attacked your daughter with knives and even kidnapped her, intending to chop her up and feed her to the fish.“Luckily, that Mr. Fletcher, who works for your daughter, arrived with the police and rescued her, but she wa