Someone had returned alongside Anthony. He was Silver’s best student, Hawk.He was about the same age as Duncan.Hawk was a serious person. Anyone his sharp gaze targeted would start trembling. “Here’s the evidence Mr. Patrick had gathered, Mom. I found it where he said he kept it.”Anthony handed the evidence to Audrey. She did not look at it immediately but passed it to Patrick first. Patrick had kept the evidence well. All writings were still visible despite it being decades old.“Can you confirm if this is the correct item, Uncle True?” Audrey asked gently. Patrick put on his glasses before taking and opening the box. He checked its contents. He said, “This is the evidence I collected. It isn’t much, but it can be used to put Belinda on the suspect list.”He returned the box to Audrey and said, “Have a look, Drey. Do you think this will be enough?”Audrey looked through the letters, photos, and other items in the box. She told him, “Regardless of whether this is enoug
“It’s been arranged for Dr. Carden to come over in two days and accompany us to Jensburg,” Audrey said. “With her around, we’ll feel a little more at ease too.”Patrick was simply too old. The others worried that the stress of traveling such a distance would leave him breathless and that he would then pass on, just like that. They felt a bit more reassured if Lilian or Doc accompanied them.“Dr. Carden often has to travel to treat patients. Seren won’t suspect a thing if she leaves for a few days.” Audrey continued, “If Seren weren’t pregnant, we wouldn’t be hiding this from her either.”“The baby is more important. It’s better to keep this from her.” Patrick also approved of everyone keeping Serenity in the dark, especially after learning Serenity only managed to get pregnant after a year into her marriage. It was not easy for her to conceive and there was a lot of pressure on her. If she knew it was time for the final showdown in Jensburg, she would definitely be unable to stay pu
Serenity was the Yorks’ eldest daughter-in-law, while Serenity’s biological mother Lisa Hunt was the previous matriarch Tiara Fisher’s younger daughter. Liberty would be the Lewises’ daughter-in-law soon and hold the same standing as Serenity, while Audrey was Tiara’s eldest daughter.That was why the Imperial Force was willing to keep in contact with the Yorks, Stones, and Lewises—out of respect for Patrick. Hawk had not crossed paths with these three families. However, after his master arrived in Wiltspoon, Hawk investigated all the prominent families in Wiltspoon. He learned that the four major families—the Yorks, Stones, Lewises, and Buchams—dominated Wiltspoon, and generally, no one dared to provoke them.The heads of these four families also kept their respective family members in check, preventing them from causing trouble. While they were skilled in business, they did not engage in criminal activities.Besides these four families, there were also the Marshalls, who were less
“That’s right, Grandpa True, another day or two won’t make a difference. How about we accompany you for a walk?” Anthony echoed his mother’s words.Even Hawk chimed in, “Grandpa True, Mrs. Stone is right. We’ve waited decades, so waiting another day or two isn’t a problem. Your health is more important. Lilian should be arriving tonight.”“Since she had the baby, she’s always wanted to go out, complaining that her son cries too much.” Hawk laughed. “Little Oliver is just as much of a crier as Lilian was as a child.”“I remember Lilian was quite easy to handle though,” Patrick said, recalling when Lilian was about two or three years old. At that age, she hardly cried and was very well-behaved, with an exceptional memory. Even if she did not understand whatever she learned immediately, she would remember it and then slowly grasp it herself.Hawk was almost ten years older than Lilian and was already in the first year of junior high when Doc adopted her. He remembered his master bei
Lilian, who had not gone out that day, took her incessantly crying son from the nanny as she asked, “Did he poop?”“No, we just changed his diaper.”“He ate not long ago, so what’s making him cry now? It’s so annoying—he cries all day and night. Can’t he just let us have some peace?” Lilian tried to soothe her son while asking the nanny, “Where’s Tim?”“Mr. Tim is probably with Mr. Ben.”Since Doc and Serenity were coming today, and instead of going to work, Ben and his brothers had stayed at the manor to wait for their arrival along with the elders.Lilian said to the nanny, “Alright, I’ll take him to play with his cousins.”Although Oliver’s cousins were older than he was, they would look at each other and sometimes cry together when gathered. Most of the time though, they still played. However, Oliver was a few months younger and could not sit up yet. He could only lie in his crib, and after lying down for less than two minutes, he would cry for an adult to pick him up.Meanw
Lilian playfully pinched her son’s chubby little face, “So clingy. Do you think we have the time to carry you all the time? It’s all your father’s fault for indulging you. When you were just born, he was always holding you.”When Tim first became a father, he would rush to hold the baby whenever he cried. This habit spoiled Oliver and he would cry easily when away from an adult’s arms.“And your grandfather dotes on you too. He spoils you the most.”Oliver smiled at his mother. Seeing her son’s smile softened Lilian’s heart. She kissed his little face and found his skin so tender that she could not help but give it a gentle nibble. She did not think she had bitten too hard. However, the baby soon pursed his lips and began to cry loudly.Lilian was silent for a moment before she grumbled again, “You little rascal, Mommy only gave you a gentle nibble. Your skin is just so soft that I couldn’t resist. I didn’t bite hard at all, yet you’re crying so much. I see you’re preparing to comp
In Beatrice's eyes, Lilian might as well be a dog. She had a tendency to bite people, especially babies, and the smooth and soft baby skin was irresistible. When she could not control herself, she would end up biting them. Lilian followed her mother-in-law into the house."Mom, when will my master and the others arrive?""They already have. Ben and the rest went out to meet them."Lilian sighed with relief when she saw that her son had stopped crying. She was really worried that the baby would keep crying until Doc arrived."Stop biting Oliver," Beatrice chided. "Even if you really can't help it, don’t bite so hard. The baby is so young, and his skin is tender. Even a gentle bite can leave a mark for a while. Plus, he's your son, and instead of doting on him, you’re behaving like a dog. Did you eat dog meat while you were pregnant?"Lilian awkwardly replied, "He smiled at me. I found him too incredibly cute and gave him a few kisses, and couldn’t help but give him a gentle nibbl
Lilian smiled and said, "Connor, I can’t hold you right now. Why don’t you sit and play with your toys for a while?"Connor stretched his arms but was not picked up, so he complained loudly at Lilian. "Wow, now you know how to shout when you aren’t picked up too." Amused, Lilian freed a hand and lifted Connor to hold him as well. Once in Lilian’s arms, Connor noticed that his sister was still holding a toy and tried to grab it from her. Chloe clung tightly to the toy and would not let him take it. Even when Connor persisted, Chloe managed to wrest the toy back and hit him with it. After being hit a few times with the toy, Connor pouted, his eyes welling up with tears as he prepared to cry."Antonia, quickly, take Connor. He’s about to cry."Lilian was most afraid of children crying, as evidenced by her attempts to comfort her own son. She wanted to escape the moment a child started to cry. Antonia took Connor from Lilian’s arms and picked up one of Connor’s toys from his crib
Austin said, “He’s definitely here to discuss a potential partnership with your company.“He's just the acting head of the Longbottoms. He doesn’t truly control the family. If the real head returns, everything he’s worked for will go to someone else.“The downfall of Belinda Fisher probably gave him a wake-up call and he doesn’t want to end up like that.“He’s definitely seeking to cooperate with you regarding his personal business. He’s just using the Longbottoms’ name, since their influence in Windermere is enormous.”In terms of wealth, the O'Connors and the Longbottoms were on equal footing, but the O'Connors had fewer members and did not have the same level of influence in Windermere as the Longbottoms.Isabella said, “He’s very ambitious. A partnership would only just be the beginning. Once it’s established, he’ll start thinking about how to cheat us and steal our business.“Plus, he’s very lecherous. Nobody can put a number to how many women he’s toyed with. Some even lost
Tony was aware that whenever his wife had to play the villain, it was always to protect him. He said, “You're right, I misspoke. Your mother isn’t that kind of person.”“Manny, I’ll be leaving soon. You stay here, and I’ll leave half of my men with you. If anything comes up that you can't handle, contact me. I’ll be waiting to hear good news from you.” Tony decided to fly to Wiltspoon in the afternoon. He would only stay for two or three days before returning to Havenmill to handle business.However, as he thought about how he was working like a horse for Longbottom Corporation when many of the benefits did not even belong to him personally, Tony felt a bit disgruntled.“Got it.” Manny did not reject his father’s arrangement.As the Longbottom father and son were discussing how to deal with the O’Connors, Austin entered Isabella’s office.Isabella was busy, so Austin did not disturb her. He quietly sat at the tea table and made some tea.“It seems you’ve learned the art of tea-
Manny had never been to Wiltspoon, but he knew from his father that several prominent families in Wiltspoon had close ties with the Johnsons from Annenburg. It was possible that the child adopted by the Johnsons’ young missus was Laurence. Unfortunately, he could not meet that child, so he could not be a hundred percent certain. The child was currently out of sight and well-protected, hidden so effectively that even the Longbottoms’ information network could not find anything. The other prominent families in Wiltspoon were also helping to keep the child hidden, so Manny deeply disliked the people from these families. Even though they were thousands of miles away, they were still an obstacle to him and his father in their pursuit of becoming the true head of the family.“That's right. If we can conquer the O’Connors, we’ll have a backup plan,” his father said. “You must put your all into it, son. If you need help, just let me know, though this is also an opportunity for you to ge
Tony Longbottom was the only person who would put on such a parade. The big shots in Satbury usually had entourages of their own, but none would put on a spectacle as big as Tony would.As they departed in their car, Tony’s gracious demeanor utterly shattered.His face twisted into an ugly, cruel expression as he said, “I’ve never been treated like this before, even when the legitimate branch of the family still lived, and those two ignorant little girls actually refused to see me multiple times.”Manny was very angry too and he said, “Pops, since they refuse to go about this the easy way, we’ll have to show them the hard way. We can approach it from other angles, and once they’re completely out of business and they have nowhere else to turn to, they’ll be at our mercy.“Won’t they have to do as we please then? I want to marry them, they’ll have to marry me, and if I don’t, I’ll just make them my mistresses. Don’t the O’Connors have plenty of daughters? I’ll fuck every one of them
“Isabella O’Connor is so outstanding, so why are you asking me to go for Tati O’Connor instead?” Manny said under his breath in puzzlement.He had seen photos of the two ladies and Isabella’s appearance was more striking. She had a cold and aloof aura that easily triggered his desire to conquer her, and after just a few glances, he was captivated.If it were up to him, Manny would choose Isabella.Tony looked at his son, smiled, and said, “You can’t control her. Of course, if you manage to make her fall for you, we can talk about switching. But for now, focus on Tati O’Connor.”Tati was also beautiful. However, she did not have Isabella’s cold demeanor. She seemed much gentler, like she smiled often.“Marrying Tati O’Connor would be a big advantage for both you and our family.”Manny thought for a moment and then nodded in understanding. “Got it, Dad.”Manny’s good looks, wealth, honeyed tongue, and generosity toward girls made him good at winning them over. Pursuing a rich youn
After testing the O’Connor sisters and realizing they were not like other women, Mr. Longbottom thought of having his son marry Tati.He knew that his son would not be able to handle or control Isabella, so he set his sights on Tati. Tati probably did not realize she was considered an easy target. Most people underestimated her because she had always kept a low profile.At that moment, a young man got out from the other side of the Rolls-Royce. He resembled Mr. Longbottom. Indeed, he was Mr. Longbotton’s eldest son, Manny.“Dad.”Manny went to his father’s side and glanced at the building before him. He asked, “Aren’t we driving inside?”In Havenmill, Manny could do whatever he wished because his father was the interim head of the Longbottom family. While he had no respect for ordinary people at all, he was clever enough not to offend people he should not.He never parked his car outside the places he wanted to go and simply drove his car through the gates. However, Manny
Meanwhile in Satbury, a few luxury cars stopped at the entrance of Costa Corporation. The door of the first car, a Rolls-Royce, opened. A bodyguard came out of the car.He waited for his boss, who was sitting in the backseat to exit.Mr. Longbottom got out of the car. Although he was over fifty years old, he looked like he was in his forties as he maintained his appearance well.He wore a white tailored suit with a tie, which made him look more youthful.The bodyguards in the other cars alighted as well.They quickly stood behind Mr. Longbottom to protect him. It was also his display of power.A few bodyguards grabbed many gift boxes from the trunks. Mr. Longbottom stood in front of the company and raised his head to look at the sixty-eight-storey office building. It was a symbol of the O’Connor family’s abilities.Costa Corporation was not the family’s only business. They were involved in many industries and were successful in all of them.The O’Connors were wealthy and powe
Jasmine added, “In some cases, the divorced women can get married to a better man, while the divorced men can’t even find a new wife. There are many single men now.“Isn’t there a saying nowadays that men who have wives are extremely lucky?”When Jasmine was at the bookstore, she would also visit the neighboring stores to listen to juicy gossip. Many of the store owners were not locals and they had many stories to tell. Someone said there was an evil mother-in-law in a rural area who looked down on her daughter-in-law. She would egg her son on to abuse his wife and get a divorce. She would also tell her son that she could find a better and younger wife for him. However, once the divorce went through, news of the mother-in-law’s evil deeds and the son’s domestic abuse spread far and wide. Who would dare marry off their daughters to a man like that?Besides, holding another wedding would require a lot of money. The cost of a wedding had increased a lot compared to the past.Whe
“Sonny’s fine. He has recovered. You want to get Sonny from school?”After thinking about it, Serenity agreed and said, “Okay. I’ll message Sonny’s teacher later to tell her you’ll be taking him.”“Okay, Serenity. Thank you.”Hank was thankful that Serenity did not make things difficult for him. Serenity and Liberty had great character. Liberty had a new relationship and already let go of her resentment for Hank. She could coexist with him peacefully. On the other hand, Serenity still held grudges against Hank. However, since he and Liberty had divorced, he could no longer hurt her. He was also Sonny’s father. Serenity was willing to tolerate him for Sonny’s sake. Therefore, she always said yes whenever Hank requested to meet his son. “You’ll be taking Sonny out to eat after picking him up, right? Remember not to let him eat too much fried food, especially fried chicken and fries. He’ll get a sore throat.“He got a fever that day due to a throat inflammation.”“Got it. I’ll