Hayden said, “You owe it to your grandmother. She found out that I’m a woman, not you.” Kevin chuckled. “Of course. I have my nana to thank. If it wasn’t for Nana, I would’ve never known you were a woman. I wouldn’t have pursued you.“I thought my nana was trying to give me problems when I first got your photo from her and was told to woo and marry you. I wondered why she picked a man as my wife. “Nana then told me that you were a woman, but I didn’t believe her. You looked really handsome in the photo. “That was why I was against the whole thing at first. “I didn't want to pursue you because I was afraid of what people would think. I tried to expose you as a woman, but I was terrible at it. Your disguise was flawless. I bet Nana had a hard time figuring it out too.”It dawned on Hayden. “No wonder. I got a feeling you were out to get me for a while. You suspected that I was a woman, but I didn’t think it was likely since we hadn’t met much before.“What happened next?” Hayd
Hayden thoughtfully said, “That's how it is with seniors in the family. My parents are the same. They are most worried about my marriage.“You've given my parents hope for my marriage. They're finally starting to see a future for me.”Kevin was smug. “I make an excellent son-in-law for them.” Hayden grinned. “Of course. You’re an outstanding man.” The pair enjoyed a good laugh and chit-chat along the way, and soon, they arrived at Fortress Hotel. Like before, Kevin took Hayden to go along the green channel. Without alerting anyone, he brought her to the rooftop swimming pool. While Hayden put down her walls for Kevin, Caroline finally closed the business deal. She walked the client out of the hotel and watched them leave in a car, then heaved a sigh of relief. Caroline stood outside the hotel for a while before calling Darren to pick her up as her car was at the service center. “Wait for me inside the hotel. Don’t stand outside. The weather is still hot in October,”
Darren took large strides into the hotel and looked around, finding Caroline in no time and hurrying to her side. “Mr. Fletcher.” Caroline put away her phone and stood up once she spotted him. “Why didn’t you call me if you have problems with your car? I could’ve gotten you another one,” Darren quietly told Caroline off for omitting her car troubles. Caroline whispered, “We’ll talk in the car.” He looked around warily before rushing out of the hotel with Caroline. Minutes later, they drove out of the Jensburg Hotel. “Was your car tampered with?” The car was a private space, as Darren only used it to drive Caroline around. He would inspect the car for tampering or listening devices before driving it. The car was also bulletproof. It was a safe vehicle. “Yes.” Caroline answered, “I ran into Mr. Queen. His chauffeur, who knows a thing or two about cars, examined my car and told me that it had been tampered with, which was why it broke down in the middle of the road.
It was a challenging assignment to tackle. Caroline put Darren on the job because he was the best. Darren had also hand-picked and trained a few reliable allies for Caroline.He said apologetically, “I could’ve done better. I let you down, Ms. Fisher.” “It’s not your fault. The incident happened decades ago. Even if there was any trace left behind, my mom likely destroyed it. Anyone who knew about it is probably dead now. It will be very difficult to investigate and find evidence.“I haven't been able to find anything in Wiltspoon yet. Their influence and network are too strong there.”Caroline’s cousin, Audrey, was in Wiltspoon. “Nothing still in Wiltspoon?” Darren asked, curious as things had been awfully quiet in Wiltspoon. Caroline fell silent for a bit before answering, “Zachary and Serenity’s wedding is around the corner, and Liberty’s new restaurant just opened. I’m guessing Audrey doesn’t want to put a damper on anybody’s plans.” The DNA test results between Caroli
Darren ended the conversation there. Even though he had Caroline's trust, he knew that it was not his place to interfere in her personal life.Caroline's lack of interest in Hayden was all that mattered.Darren dropped Caroline off at the Fishers’ residence. Seeing that Caroline was back, the housekeeper came out of the house and welcomed her with a smile. “Welcome back, Ms. Caroline.” Caroline opened the car door and got out of the car. “Yeap,” she responded. While walking to the main building, she asked, “Is my mom back yet?” “Madam Fisher doesn’t have any engagement tonight. She came straight home after work,” the housekeeper answered Caroline respectfully while walking alongside her.Caroline knew that the housekeeper was putting on a show because that was what he did best. He would be on his best behavior when her mother was home. Behind Madam Fisher’s back, he was on Celine’s side. Caroline said nothing and made a beeline for the residence. She heard laughter the
Not feeling awkward at all, Marcus retracted his hand. He sat back in his seat with composure, but his eyes did not break contact with Caroline. Celine smiled and said, “Caroline, Dad chose Marcus for you. You should try and get along with Marcus. Although the Wrights aren’t super rich and powerful, their assets are worth at least a few million dollars. “Marcus’s parents don’t mind their son taking our family’s name. You know it’s hard to find a man to take the wife’s family name. Dad immediately thought of you when Marcus was happy to compromise. See how good Dad is to you.” Celine was gloating. The Fishers encouraged Celine to pursue Hayden. Although Celine had not made much progress, her family demonstrated their support for her to marry into wealth and power. Yet, Hunter found a mediocre husband for Caroline. Sure, the Wrights were worth several millions, and to an ordinary family, the Wrights were wealthy. However, they were considered poor to the rich and powerful lik
Hunter’s smile froze. Marcus was once him. If Hunter had something to show for, he would not have married into the Fisher family and become a sperm donor to Belinda. At least, Belinda was good to his family. His sacrifice had given something back to his parents and siblings. However, Hunter did not have freedom, especially financially. His wife only gave him a daily allowance of five hundred dollars to prevent him from cheating. He did not have the guts to cheat on Belinda anyway. Many women threw themselves at him over the years while he was already married, but Hunter dared not cross the line. He did not have the courage to talk with those beautiful women. He knew too well what Belinda was capable of and would be in for it if he got on her nerves. Even his family could feel her rage. After Caroline was born, Belinda settled down and reduced their bedroom activities by a large margin. He was afraid she would leave him now that he had lost his value to her. Cheating was the
Hayden would not even look at Celine. Yet, the man was nice to a country bumpkin like Caroline. “Mom, I’ll go with Caroline tomorrow,” Celine proposed since Caroline mentioned buying Hayden a meal. Madam Fisher said indifferently, “Don’t go, Celine. You know what Mr. Queen thinks of you. I don’t care how you approach Mr. Queen. I only want results. But Caroline is treating Mr. Queen to a meal, which will be beneficial for the company. You can’t ruin this for us.“Caroline, I don’t have a problem if Mr. Queen accepts your invitation. I’m happy that you closed the deal tonight. I’ll get you a new car tomorrow. You can pick one yourself at the dealership. Your budget is five million dollars.” Celine uttered with envy, “Mom, my car isn’t even that expensive.” Caroline replied, “You’re adopted, but I’m the biological daughter. How can you compare yourself to me? Celine, you should know where you stand.” Celine had no words and showed her mom those puppy dog eyes. Madam Fisher p
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
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc
“I’m not obliged to provide for you, Mr. Clark.”Darren would not give Hunter money. He also felt Hunter was trying to obtain some information through the call, not money. Hunter said furiously, “Aren’t you going to marry Caroline? You’ll be my son-in-law in the future. It’s like being half a son to me. Since you’re my son, you should look after your father. Quick. Give me the money.“Otherwise, I won’t let you marry my daughter.”Darren said without hesitation, “Ms. Caroline will decide for her marriage.“If we do get married, she’ll be the one in charge of the finances. I don’t have money.”“Fletcher! Are you a man? Can’t you revitalize the spirit of the Fisher family’s sons-in-law? You saw how I ended up like this. I didn’t have access to the finances and didn’t have money. I’ve been under strict control ever since I married into the family.“That was how I ended up in this miserable state. I’m telling you, the Fisher women are evil. It’s best if you don’t marry Caroline.
“Why would a husband have an affair if his wife could do well?”Ellie was exasperated. She ended the call without hesitation. “Old bastard. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. All your sons cheated on their wives because they have a perverted father like you.“I would’ve divorced Jason if it weren’t for my children being too young. Look at Emma now. She even received half of Adrian’s assets and doesn’t have to look after her children herself. How relaxed her life must be.”The wealth Belinda had left behind was sufficient to afford the children’s education. Ellie still had feelings for Jason. Otherwise, she would have gotten a divorce upon knowing he cheated on her. She would not have reconciled with him with just a little coaxing and advice from her family. Since Jason did not return home the entire night, Hunter guessed his sons’ plan had failed. As he had expected, Caroline was not an easy target. After all, she was Belinda’s biological daughter. Belind
Since the call ended abruptly, Adrian’s girlfriend, Irene, muttered, “Is Mr. Clark unsatisfied with me?”She was almost twenty years younger than Adrian. If he had not been rich and willing to spend his money on her, she would not have wanted to be his lover. Adrian promised to marry her after he was done fighting a legal battle against his sister and claiming his inheritance. He would make her the missus of the Clark family. As for the three children he had with his ex-wife, he had told Irene not to worry about them.Since his mother had left some money behind for her grandchildren, he did not have to pay child support. Irene knew Adrian used to be a young master of the Fishers and that Madam Fisher was extremely wealthy. She did not expect Belinda to be helping her son take care of his children even after her death. Considering Adrian would be able to receive a huge portion of inheritance in the future, Irene decided to be with him. If she did get married to him, and gave