David Hunt was the first to react, and he immediately turned to run after his wife and check on her.“Honey, are you alright?”Abigail was dragged out by Zachary and was pushed down to the ground without pain, but she looked like a wretch and felt like Zachary had held her face down and rubbed it against the ground.“Are you dead? Is this how you act as my husband? You didn’t even stop him when he dragged me out of the shop! You didn’t help me either and just watched him bully me, drag me out, and push me to the ground!”Abigail immediately pushed her husband away and started yelling at him while pointing at him after he helped her up.“After bullying my kid, you’re now bullying me! Is there any reason in this world? God, open your eyes and see. Strike these unfilial and vicious people who are disrespectful to their elders down with thunder!”David Hunt was the youngest of his brothers and sisters and had always been doted on by his parents and older siblings. And after his wife
Over the years, they lived a luxurious life and grew lazy. Even a little movement would leave them breathless from the effort. They could not afford to start a fight with Serenity and her husband, not when Serenity knew martial arts.It was a mystery how Liberty brought up her sister that she let Serenity learn martial arts.Luckily, they had the foresight to take Serenity’s father’s life insurance payout for safekeeping, or else it might have been thoroughly wasted by Serenity and her sister. “Serenity, you’d better not go too far! I’m telling you, if you don’t get Noah out of jail and something happens to him in there, you’ll never hear the end of it from me! Don’t assume that I’d be afraid of you just because you have a husband now!”Abigail yelled while pointing at Serenity. Zachary finished washing his hands and turned his head. With just a sweep of his sharp, icy gaze over her, Abigail’s curses immediately softened.She was pretty scared of this cold, taciturn man.“Sere
“Come on, thank me. You’d better buy more gifts for me to thank me profusely for saving your son’s life.”Serenity’s words made the corners of the Hunt elders’ mouths twitch.Abigail was so mad her eyes and veins seemed as if they were about to burst out of her head, her expression grotesque.However, she still did not dare to raise her hand against Serenity.A hint of a smile flashed in Zachary’s eyes as he watched how Serenity managed to rebut the elders into silence without even lifting a finger. This woman was interesting!“Serenity.”Serenity’s eldest aunt Katelyn could not help but say, “We didn’t say you were at fault. Noah was in the wrong. It’s just that you guys are cousins—very closely related, at that. We’re all one family. If there’s a conflict, we’ll deal with it behind closed doors. As long as you told us about it, we’d have scolded him. There’s no need to put him in jail.“We wanted to bail him out, but our request was denied. Did you say something to that backer
Serenity was a very reasonable person and was very respectful of her elders. Of course, she would only respect them depending on whether those elders truly acted like elders.“Serenity, were those people earlier your relatives? Are they causing trouble for you again? Are they still asking you to pay up for your grandmother’s medical bills? Those people are really shameless! They drive their own cars and live in villas. They have a million—maybe even millions—in savings, but they don’t want to pay for their own mother’s medical bills and instead are trying to force their orphaned nieces to pay.”“I’ve seen shameless people, but I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as they are. My horizons have been broadened.”“That’s right! Serenity’s parents died in an accident and the life insurance payout was divided between them too. Fifteen years ago, six hundred thousand dollars was worth a lot! The reason why they live such good lives now is built off of Serenity’s parents’ life insurance mone
Serenity smiled in embarrassment as she said, “The next time I encounter a situation I can’t handle alone, I'll consider giving you a chance.”If Serenity could deal with it herself, she would not ask for his help as she did not want to owe him.“What sort of situation would you need help with?” Zachary asked.Serenity laughed. “Tons and tons of stuff. It’s just that I can’t think of anything right now. So Mr. York, you can go about your day.”Zachary looked at her in silence for a long while, then said mildly, “I’m going back to the office then. What time are you closing up tonight? I’ll come over and wait for you so we can go home together. I’m worried those trashy people will try and block your car again.”“They won’t. It’s the kind of thing only Noah would do, being young and aggressive. They’ve already suffered a loss once, so they won’t dare try a second time. They might look very aggressive, but they’re cowards to the bone.“You go ahead with your work. There’s no need to
Fatty liver could develop into cirrhosis, and Liberty did not want that to happen.Having left the walls of the community, Liberty walked as she pushed her son’s stroller toward the store to buy formula.In the past, it was always her sister who helped her buy the formula and brought it home.It was a little bit far to go there on foot, but she just thought of it as shopping and taking a walk.“Daddy.”Sonny suddenly called for his father.Liberty looked around frantically but did not see Hank Brown.“Sonny, did you see Daddy?” she asked her son.Sonny pointed at a car parked by the roadside as he called for his father.What he meant was that the car was his father’s car.Liberty looked at the car her son was pointing at. It was the same make and model as her husband’s but the number plate was not Hank Brown’s.She smiled. “Sonny, that’s not Daddy’s car. It’s just the same make and model. The number’s different, so it’s not your daddy’s car.”The kid rarely interacted with
Liberty had just put the phone to her ear when she heard Hank Brown scolding her through the phone, “What do you normally teach Sonny? You’ve taught Sonny to have no respect, no friendship, and no spirit of sharing with his cousin! I said I’d buy him some toys and he said he didn’t want to give them to Lucas.”Liberty’s anger sparked too after that tongue-lashing by her husband. She said coldly, “What do I teach Sonny? Is that Sonny’s fault? Lucas always tries to snatch Sonny’s toys and even hits him! Do you think Sonny’s some sort of dough ball for others to knead and pinch?”“It’s clearly Lucas’ fault. As a father, you don’t protect your own son—fine! But you’re even blaming him for not being understanding? Should we just let Sonny give up all of his toys to Lucas, and just let Lucas hit him again?!“Lucas has been thoroughly spoiled by your sister and your parents. He’s always bullying Sonny. Are you guys all blind? Can't you see that? Hank Brown, Sonny is your son. Your own son!
Jessica Yates was not repulsed by it and seemed like she could not be happier.Hank thought Jessica was truly in love with him and was not after his money. He thought she truly wanted to grow old with him and was not playing around—that was why she kept her last line of defense and would not have sex with him. She was serious about it, so Hank got even more serious about it. He also promised Jessica that once he saved even more money, he would give her a new car.Jessica was so grateful that she fiercely kissed him a good number of times, dazing him into forgetting which way was up and which way was down.Liberty still wanted to say something but Hank had already hung up and promptly transferred the thousand two hundred dollars to Liberty for her to buy formula with.Although she did not manage to get the full amount of two thousand dollars and four hundred bucks and had only gotten half of that, Liberty immediately accepted the money he had transferred.“What’s wrong? Was it yo
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