After a brief silence, Belinda said to her daughter, “Darren is your person, and he will be your man for life. I’ve never said I wanted to transfer him, nor have the authority to do so.”Once an all-around assistant was assigned to the head of the family or successor, only his master could order him around for the rest of his life.“I want to have a chat with Darren. Have him come to the office. I’m still here.”Caroline asked warily, “What do you need to talk to Darren about? Why can’t you tell me first, and then I’ll relay the message to Darren?”“Caroline, don’t you trust me? I’m your mother. Do you think I’d harm you? If I say Darren is your person for life, then he is your person for life. I don’t have the power nor intention to take him away from you. You don’t have to let him come to see me. I can go to the hospital myself and talk to him privately there. But if that’s the case, I’ll be in a bad mood and might do things that will upset you. You have two options. Your call.”
Still, Emma was unwilling to give up what she was entitled to. She insisted on an equal division of marital assets, while Adrian wanted her to leave with nothing. As the one at fault, he still expected his wife to part with nothing, but Emma disagreed and her family opposed it too. As a result, their divorce had not been finalized yet.Caroline speculated that the couple might finalize their divorce before Christmas. Belinda would advise Adrian to get divorced for two reasons. Firstly, to give Emma her freedom and avoid turning their in-laws into enemies, and secondly, if they divorce, their children could stay with Emma, which might preserve Adrian’s line in case of future troubles for the Fishers.Both her parents were currently focused on protecting their grandchildren. Caroline had only been in the hospital for a few days and knew about the situation on the outside. Before she was admitted, Emma had visited her and said that the divorce would definitely happen. She also apologize
After Belinda hung up, Caroline looked at Hunter and her brothers to say, “I’ve spoken with Mom. You can go now.”The four Clark men had overheard the conversation between Caroline and Belinda. They felt awkward and guessed Belinda wanted Caroline to treat her brothers better. However, Caroline was unyielding.Adrian and his brothers already had little sibling affection for Caroline, and their resentment toward her grew even more. If the Fishers were not facing a crisis, they would have found a way to deal with Caroline. However, taking action against Caroline now would mean helping the forces from Wiltspoon. That was the only reason they had not acted. Well, alright, they also lacked the capability. All they could do was hide behind Belinda, take advantage of Fisher Enterprise, and satisfy their own desires.“Caroline, since you’re doing much better now and don’t need us to take care of you, you should take good care of yourself. Your brothers and I will head back. If you need anyt
Caroline asked Darren to go to Fisher Enterprise.Darren expressed his concern. “I’m worried about leaving you here alone if I go.”“What’s there to worry about? The only person who might try to kill me is my mother. My father and brothers might want me dead, but they don’t dare to act on it. If they openly tried, they wouldn’t survive either. Liberty and the others definitely wouldn’t do that and my mother won’t kill me right now either.” Caroline was confident about this. If her mother did want her dead, she would have been dead many times over by now.Darren pressed his lips together. “I’ll go see what she wants then. Call me if anything happens.”“Got it. Go on—get going.”Under Caroline’s urging, Darren headed to Fisher Enterprise. Since Belinda had returned to the office and was in a bad mood, many people were still working overtime even though it was the weekend. Although the office building was brightly lit, it felt oppressive just walking into it.As Darren entered the b
After a moment of silence, Belinda continued, “She’s the successor, the next head of the Fisher family. She’s supposed to bear the responsibility of producing the next generation of heirs. If she doesn’t find a man, how is she going to have a child?“That girl actually said she could just find a man to sleep with a few times, get pregnant, and have a daughter to be the heir. She thinks she doesn’t need to marry or bring a man into the family.”Basically, Caroline only wanted a sperm donor. The younger generation had very different views compared to Belinda’s generation. Although she was the head of the family, her thoughts were still bound by the old belief that a woman must marry or bring a husband into the family. She had not adopted Caroline’s progressive views and was troubled about her marriage. Darren was not sure how to respond and just listened silently.“Darren, after you left the center, did you ever look for your own family or investigate your origins?” Belinda suddenly s
It seemed to Darren that Belinda had called him over for a chat, but it felt like she was trying to arrange a marriage between him and Caroline. However, could Belinda really dictate Caroline’s decisions? And Caroline preferred to have a man marry into the family rather than marry out of it herself. She might only be open to marriage if she was no longer the successor of the Fisher family and would not lead the family in the future.Darren guessed Belinda’s intentions from recent events, though he did not show it on his face. Both he and Caroline were watching, and Liberty’s side was also keeping an eye on things. In the end, who would come out on top?Darren was unconcerned about that. He only followed Caroline’s instructions. Whatever Caroline told him to do, he would do it. Was Belinda preparing for failure so soon? Darren did believe Belinda was likely to lose, but he certainly would not say that out loud.He was loyal to Caroline, but Belinda was still Caroline’s mother and Car
Belinda had arranged for an all-round assistant to be by her daughter’s side early on, originally believing that Caroline was a useless fool and that without a capable person, her daughter would struggle to establish authority.She never imagined that one day, she would entrust her daughter to Darren, and for life, too. If Caroline left the Fisher family, married Darren, and lived a simple life together, it would not be a bad outcome either. Both were capable individuals and as a couple, they could support each other. Their life together might even be better than it was now.Having been in the position for decades, Belinda knew well the current state of Fisher Enterprise and the family’s remaining influence. She entrusted Caroline to Darren because he came from the training center, and those who came from there had never betrayed their masters. They were loyal for life and carried out any tasks assigned, whether good or bad. Even if the family head were to die, their hearts would rem
Belinda continued, “She made me more and more disappointed with Celine, bit by bit. At work, she gradually revealed her skills and decisiveness. I realized that she had already awakened her bloodline long ago—being a Fisher by direct lineage, she was truly, naturally born to excel in business and was a strong-willed woman by nature.“Once I knew what kind of person she was, I continued scolding her for a while at work to maintain appearances and cover for her. When she had gained enough understanding of Fisher Enterprise’s operations, I began to delegate power to her. By the time everyone realized, it was already too late for them to control her.“No matter what, she is my biological daughter. I owe her. I never nursed her, never held her even once. I need to make amends. No matter how she treats me, her biological mother, I will endure it. If it were someone else, I would have taken her life the moment she betrayed me.”Darren remained silent. He could tell Belinda was speaking fro
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