Carrie asked in confusion, “Since you are targeting Mrs. Young-Johnson’s adopted son, why don’t you directly find someone to help you in Annenburg? The distance between Wiltspoon and Annenburg is quite far. Even if she and Serenity are close, they don’t meet often.”Mr. Longbottom sighed. “That’s the unavoidable part.”“There was absolutely no trace of Laurence in Annenburg. We only knew that Laurence was the adopted son of Ben and his wife. However, no one outside knew what the child looked like.“Moreover, Laurence rarely stayed in Annenburg. We did not know where the kid usually hides. “The Johnsons are protected by the Houstons and are in-laws with the Lafayette family from Meadspring. Plus, Tim’s wife is a disciple of a renowned doctor. I dared not provoke them. Previously, we investigated Laurence’s identity, but Ben found out that someone was looking into Laurence's background. “After that, we lost all relevant information about Laurence.”“It was only recently that they
Mr. Longbottom emphasized, “I’m not interested in petty revenge. But if you want to vent, my people can help you with that. As long as you follow and assist me, I won't mistreat you.“Moreover, those who have wronged you, by that time, I can help you deal with them.”Once he obtained the totem and became the true wielder of power, it would be his time to call the shots. On that day, he would not even spare the York family a glance.Except perhaps for the Bucham family.“What exactly is your background?”“I won’t tell you for now. You’ll know later. Anyway, if you stick with me, I guarantee you a life of luxury.”With that, he caressed Carrie’s face.“Alright, I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll leave two people here to protect you. If anything happens, they’ll contact me. I have to go back. There’s too much to handle.”After lightly patting Carrie’s thigh, Mr. Longbottom stood up, instructed two bodyguards to stay, and left Carrie’s rented place with the rest of his entourage.
The two babies were a few months old and they could already roll over and have baby talks with the adults.Laurence said, “I often see Clo-clo. She recognizes me, so of course she smiles at me. You rarely play with her, and since she doesn’t recognize you, she won’t smile at you. You can play with Connor. My little sister is fine with me.”From time to time, Connor’s little legs kicked Sonny’s hands placed on the stroller. This little one was restless; he was either quiet when asleep or constantly moving, crying, and wanting adults to hold him.Even handing him a toy to play with would only last for a couple of minutes before he threw it away and started crying.Chloe, as usual, did not like to cry. If the siblings lay together, Connor would keep crying, and Chloe’s little feet would kick her brother, seemingly disdainful of him being a crybaby.Sonny bent down to kiss Chloe, but Laurence blocked him.“You can’t kiss Clo-clo. Uncle Ben said none of us can kiss her, but we must pr
“Sonny, come here.”Jane waved to Sonny.Sonny walked over to Jane, who pulled him closer and lifted him, placing him on her lap. She asked softly, “Did you fight with Laurence?”“No.”Sonny denied. He spoke with innocence, “But Laurence was right. Chloe really is his little sister. He also calls you Mama, so Clo-clo belongs to him.“Aunt Jane, I really like Chloe and really want a little sister. How about you give your Chloe to me? Please?”Jane chuckled. “We can’t give her away.”Chloe was like a little princess at FC Manor, receiving endless adoration from everyone. People from outside were allowed to hold her for only a short while as the family was worried someone might take their little princess away.“Why can’t you give her away? How about I buy her? I have money, and I’ll give all my money to you, okay?”Jane laughed. “You can’t buy her either. Clo-clo is a person, not an item for sale. Sonny, you are also Chloe’s brother. Don’t listen to Laurence’s nonsense. He is as
Sonny hugged his neck and planted a kiss on both sides of his face. Josh smiled in satisfaction. “You did a good job. Come here, I’ll give you a remote-controlled plane.”“Thank you, Josh.”Sonny happily accepted the large box.Josh set him down at an opportune moment. “Laurence, let’s go play with the plane.”Sonny called out to his friend. Upon a clearer inspection of the guests in the room, Josh remarked, “I didn’t know Laurence was here. I didn’t prepare a gift for you. I’ll make it up to you next time, alright?”“Laurence, I’ll give you this new plane. I’ll get another one, and we can play outside.”Generously, Sonny passed his new remote-controlled plane to Laurence.He had numerous of the same plane, all gifts from his uncles and aunts, Josh included.He also had many remote-controlled toy cars and even more windmills.Dunc often gave him windmills.Recently, since Sonny had shown less interest in windmills, Dunc changed it up a bit. However, when he saw that Son
Jasmine said, “That’s right. Do you think your family owns Wiltspoon? Does a visitor have to ask for the Bucham family’s permission before coming?”Josh smiled. “I didn’t say that. I just relayed what my subordinates reported.”Josh would seldom tell Zachary about any tycoons’ visits but now was a critical period.Liberty had gone to Jensburg. Lisa Hunt was the youngest daughter of the previous matriarch of the Fishers, a special family among prominent families. They knew the true reason behind Liberty’s trip to Jensburg. Now, a tycoon appeared out of nowhere and his background could not be traced. He came and left in a rush, so the Bucham family’s informants reported that suspicious person to their superiors. Julian was still wooing his girl at Summervale, so Josh was left in charge of the happenings in Wiltspoon and any reports would reach Josh. If there was anything he could not handle, he would consult Julian or Walter. “Josh, do you think that person came from Jensb
Ben nodded. The twins’ naps could last up to two to three hours as long as their stomachs were filled. Once the wives were out of earshot, Zachary told Ben, “You guys are probably being watched. To be specific, someone is after Laurence.”Ben’s gaze turned serious. Josh was confused. Zachary explained, “Josh said a suspicious man came to Wiltspoon with bodyguards and only stayed briefly. You and your family just happened to visit Wiltspoon with Laurence today. I think these incidents may be related somehow.”Ben was FC & Co.’s owner and a well-known figure in Annenburg. Anyone who dared set their eyes on Ben could not be underestimated. More importantly, they knew there was a totem on Laurence’s back and the vengeance he sought. Laurence’s family was murdered. He only escaped because his nanny fled with him to Meadspring. Those who had wiped Laurence’s family out had been hunting him down since. However, Jane found Laurence and adopted him as her son. He was safe becaus
“Laurence will be leaving in two days. He’ll only be back again next year. Let’s just let him enjoy himself while he’s here.”Zachary and Josh nodded. They promised to keep the secret. Laurence was still young. He knew nothing about the responsibility of avenging his family. He did not understand why his teachers were particularly strict with him too. No one expected him to kill, but they had to make sure that he did not get killed. Laurence needed the ability to protect himself. As for his revenge, the law would take care of that. Once Laurence grew up and gathered enough evidence, all of his enemies would be brought to justice. After the Lafayettes’ case, they learned how to use the law to seek justice. They get their revenge while keeping their hands clean, otherwise it could affect the rest of their lives. The Lafayettes had been doing well since. Those who had hurt them had received their punishment. Perhaps death would have been a better choice for them, as l
Austin was extremely patient with the boys. Although they occasionally caused trouble, most of them were minor issues. They would never do something they were not allowed to do.After breakfast, Austin brought them their bags. With a boy in each hand, he left the house. It was to prevent the boys from saying he was playing favorites. Dominic was used to that scene. Initially, Austin was simply Ms. Isabella’s private chef. However, he gradually took on more responsibilities.He would take the two young masters to school. If he had time in the evening, he would also fetch them from school. Austin also made sure Louis and Phillip did their homework, supervised their hobby classes, and played with them. Sometimes, he would even teach them martial arts and train with them. Dominic felt Austin was an all-rounder. It seemed like there was nothing Austin could not do. No wonder Ms. Isabella thought highly of Austin. However, Austin was a young master of a wealthy family. He w
Louis and Phillip were downstairs having the breakfast Austin had prepared for them. The food was different every morning, and everything was delicious.Having gotten used to Austin’s cooking, Louis and Phillip could no longer stand the food provided in the school. They thought the food there was terrible. Louis was enrolled in an elementary school not far from home. As he was a first grader, he did not need to stay in the dormitories and could have his lunch and dinner at home. Phillip, who was a year younger than him, was still in preschool. He would have breakfast and dinner at home. Actually, the preschool did provide breakfast, but Phillip refused to eat in school and insisted on having breakfast at home. In order to eat the breakfast Austin made, he would get up early in the morning without the adults waking him. After putting on his clothes and washing up, he would head to Louis’s place with his bag. “Austin.”Louis suddenly asked, “Did my sister come back last n
Isabella had always thought Tati was teasing her. Therefore, she did not take her words seriously. She thought it was completely normal for Austin to treat her well as she was his boss. From Austin’s perspective, she was his source of income. Now that Isabella pondered about it deeper, she realized perhaps Austin did come to Satbury for her. It was not just to be her chef. He always said Grandma May only gave the York lads a year to pursue their fiancées. However, Austin had never left since he started working for Isabella. Even if he did, it was to accompany her on business trips. He was busy feeding and taking care of her every day and had never gone to pursue his so-called fiancée. He did not even try to gather information on her. Was he not anxious?A year would go by pretty quickly. Although it felt like it had not been long since Austin started working for Isabella, three months had passed. Time really flew. Three months had gone by in the blink of an eye. Neve
When Austin reached the door, he stopped and turned to say, “Ms. Isabella, I only care about my future wife. Other young women are simply strangers to me.“I’m polite to other women when I need to be. If they’re unimportant, I’ll ignore them. Even if that woman is my boss, I won’t cross any lines. If I do, there must be a reason behind it.“Get some rest, Ms. Isabella. You might have a headache when you wake up tomorrow. I’ll prepare a warm honey drink for you in the morning.”After speaking, Austin left. Isabella turned to look at where he last stood. What did his words mean?He said he only cared about his future wife.Aside from this lady, he would not step out of line with any other young woman, even if she were his boss. What did he mean by crossing lines?Was it showing concern? Did he mean that if his boss was a young woman but not his fiancée, he would simply do what was required of him without any personal feelings involved? Was that what he meant?If so, was
Isabella was cold sometimes, but that was not her true personality. She was a reasonable person. Austin was not worried that he would be mistreated as a live-in son-in-law. “Ms. Isabella.”Isabella looked toward him and waited for him to speak. He asked, “This may be abrupt, but may I ask what your ideal type is?”Isabella was stunned. Why did the question come to her? What was the type of man she liked?‘Someone like Austin,’ she thought. After a moment of silence, she said, “I like men who are capable, responsible, and have correct values. Even if his family isn’t as financially well-off as mine, I don’t mind so long as he’s honest, competent, and sincere about his feelings for me.“Of course, it’ll be great if we have the same social status. That way, we’ll have similar perspectives and more common topics. If we get married, we’ll be joining forces instead of it being a one-way financial aid.”“Although you can accept someone who isn’t from a similar family backgrou
After a moment of silence, Isabella said, “It’s okay. I know I was forcing it.”There was no point in asking Austin if he did not want to reveal anything. If he wanted to tell her, he would do so without her asking. However, her curiosity spiked with his silence. She was eager to know who his fiancée was. He was already so protective of his fiancée even though he had not met her before. It made Isabella jealous. It was her first time feeling that kind of emotion throughout her life. Although it was not a strong feeling, she still felt it. “You weren’t forcing me to tell you. You were simply curious. Most people have a curious side. It’s only natural for you to be inquisitive as well.”Austin said gently, “It’s not just you. Those who knew that my nana had chosen fiancées for my brothers and me were also curious about who the ladies were.“To be honest, we didn’t even know Nana had been choosing fiancées for us since a few years ago until she handed their pictures to us
“You can drink it now. It’ll turn cold if left aside for longer.”Isabella took the ginger ale and drank it with elegance. She put it down after drinking half of it. “I’m drunk, but only slightly. I can walk, and my brain is still alert. I know what I’m doing and saying.“I’ve had enough ginger ale.”She did not want to consume too much liquid late at night. “Which family is your fiancée from, Austin? Where is she? Do you mind telling me?”Isabella was insistent on getting answers. Austin had never told her when she had asked him about it before. He kept saying he would focus on working and that he was not in a rush to get married. After all, he was only in his twenties; Zachary only got married at thirty years old. If he was unsuccessful in wooing his fiancée that year, he did not mind waiting for a few more years. Isabella suddenly felt jealous of Austin’s fiancée, having had his heart without even doing anything. She wondered what Austin’s fiancée had done to cat
Austin stared into Isabella’s eyes. He could detect some feelings in her gaze, but it was not obvious enough. What she felt for him was still mostly admiration. It was not the right time for him to confess yet. He would continue to wait. “You’re the best and most outstanding lady in my heart, Ms. Isabella. I admire you more.”Austin added gently, “You give off a strict and cold aura sometimes, but you’re always a nice person in my eyes.”Isabella had treated him well ever since he became her private chef. It only got better after she discovered he was a young master of the Yorks. Austin believed her when she said she viewed him as a friend because her actions reflected it as well. However, he was not content with being just friends. He wanted to be her husband. He wanted her to trust him and love him forever. He would also reciprocate her feelings and trust. Isabella smiled. “Even my parents are scared and avoid me when I’m in a serious mode. Louis and Phillip w
Austin responded, “Don’t worry, Ms. Edith. I’ll take good care of Ms. Isabella.”Edith had come in a hurry and left just as quickly. The hidden meaning in her cousin’s words was not lost on Isabella, but she did not comment on it.She allowed Austin to accompany her into the house. The lights were still on inside, but the first floor was empty. Everyone else had already gone to bed.Since Isabella had not returned yet, the housekeeper had left the lights on for her.The house was warm, so once inside, Isabella took off Austin’s coat and handed it back to him.Austin accepted the coat and followed her to the sofa. After she had sat down, he asked gently, “Ms. Isabella, would you like some ginger ale for a hangover remedy?”Isabella rubbed her temples and said, “Yes, please. I don’t want to wake up with a splitting headache tomorrow.”Austin immediately went to prepare it for her.Isabella leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes to rest. After some time, she heard Austin’s