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
Belinda knew Darren was worried about Caroline. She said confidently, “Don’t worry. This drug won’t take her life. It’ll only put her to sleep for a few days. When she wakes, she’ll feel groggy for about half a month.“I won’t take my only daughter’s life.”Darren accepted the drug and put it in his pocket. He said, “I take this, but I can’t guarantee that I can make Ms. Caroline eat it.”If he did not take the drug, Belinda would simply ask someone else to drug Caroline. He would take the drug and have someone investigate it. That way, Caroline could keep her guard up.“I know you won’t kill Ms. Caroline, but she’s an adult with her own thinking. You shouldn’t keep her out of this. If I do as you say, she’ll definitely be angry at me.”After a short silence, Belinda said, “Her opinions aren’t important. I just need to get her out of here.“You must cooperate with me for Caroline’s sake this time. We’re doing this for her own good.”Darren thought, ‘But have you thought whethe
Darren stood and left. Belinda watched him walk away. He stood tall and straight. His back alone was pretty charming.Darren was actually good-looking. He suited Caroline in many aspects. Belinda turned her gaze to the photo frame at the corner of her desk. It was a family photo taken after Caroline had returned to the family. Caroline was right beside her but with no physical contact. At that time, the mother and daughter were like strangers.On the other hand, Celine stuck close to Belinda and even held her arm intimately. It looked as if she was trying to prove a point to Caroline.Belinda stared at the photo for a long time. She caressed the photo where Caroline was, and murmured, “You’ll live a much happier life than me, Carol.”Then, she moved to Celine. She still held some feelings toward that child. However…When did she and Celine start walking on separate paths?Belinda sighed and muttered, “If I become a mother again in my next life, I hope you’ll become my daugh
If it were not for Tiara, Patrick might not have even spared her a glance. Everything was related to Tiara. Belinda thought that she must have killed Tiara out of resentment back then. Whatever she did, Tiara would be mentioned. No matter how outstanding she was, Tiara would be praised for having taught her well. Belinda admitted that she was jealous of Tiara for being better. Tiara had a weak constitution and had asked Belinda to manage the company and family matters in her stead. Whenever Belinda ran into a problem, Tiara could think of a solution as soon as she told Tiara about it once she got home. With Tiara’s advice, the problem would be solved perfectly. She was not as clever or charismatic as her elder sister. However, she was unconvinced and thought she would become as great as Tiara when she reached her age. Belinda did not want to be shrouded by Tiara’s brilliance. She wanted to live out her life and become greater than Tiara ever was. She could do whatever T
After a moment of silence, Mr. Gordon reminded Belinda, “If Ms. Caroline isn’t willing to be the matriarch, your sacrifice will be in vain.“Even if your plan was a success, the position of matriarch will still go to other people if you don’t have someone to inherit it.”Belinda said without hesitation, “If it comes to that, Caroline will take over. She may have made up her mind, but she won’t abandon everything.“Besides, not everyone from Wiltspoon will be here. Serenity won’t be here. Elisa might not come either. Our enemy is set on training Liberty to be the matriarch.”She and Tiara had descendants. It would be a competition between whose descendant could become the matriarch. Belinda was confident that Caroline would win. Caroline had been managing Fisher Enterprise and the family matters with her for two years. She was far more experienced than Serenity and Elisa. Besides, Belinda heard Elisa had no thoughts of being the matriarch. Elisa’s personality was not suited
“My mom gave you this? Was this the drug she spiked my drink with the last time?”Darren looked toward Caroline and answered, “That was what she said. I don’t know if it’s the same drug. The hospital didn’t give us an answer. I suspect Madam Fisher might’ve used her connections to stop the doctors from divulging the true results.“I won’t drug you. I’ll send it to other hospitals to investigate the drug’s properties.”Caroline proceeded to open the packet of powder. She lowered her head to smell it and said, “This does smell like the drink I had last time.”Darren reminded her, “Don’t get too close. You’ll be asleep for a few days again if you accidentally inhale it.”Caroline folded the packet carefully and returned it to Darren. She said, “You should take it to a hospital outside Jensburg. My mom has been building her influence for decades. She definitely has connections. If she finds out, we won’t be able to get our answers again.”Darren put the packet back into his pocket.
Darren stared at her silently. “What? Is it something you can’t tell me?”Darren suddenly blushed.Caroline was fascinated. She laughed. “I can’t believe you can blush. I thought you had skin thicker than the walls.“What did my mom say to make you blush this hard? Did she promise a beautiful lady to serve you forever if you drugged me?”“Madam Fisher did say something like that. However, she wouldn’t arrange but entrust someone to me.”Caroline met his gaze. Her smile faded a little. She asked, “Did my mom really say that?”If they were talking about entrusting, it would mean that her mother had entrusted her to Darren.Darren fixed his gaze on her and said, “Madam Fisher said since we’re of similar age and I belong to you forever, she’ll allow us to be together if you have feelings for me.“She told me to leave this place with you if you’re unable to be the matriarch. She also set aside money for you to go somewhere no one recognizes us.“We can choose to hide our identiti
“It’s normal not to know Mr. Foster’s full name.”The only person who would remember it was probably her mother. Caroline would not give in to her curiosity and ask Belinda about Mr. Foster’s full name.Hunter had said that Belinda loved someone else.That person was Mr. Foster.Mr. Foster was probably about a century old, over twenty years older than her mother. Despite him being a middle-aged man while Belinda had just become an adult, she still fell in love with him. It meant that Mr. Foster had been a handsome man when he was young. Another possible explanation was that Belinda was unable to experience fatherly love since her parents had passed away when she was very young. Therefore, she craved fatherly love and preferred older men.“Is Mr. Foster going to come over when he’s already that old?”After speaking, Caroline felt like she had uttered nonsense. How could he not return to Jensburg after finally finding Audrey and the rest?He also had the evidence of Belinda’
It was already two in the morning by the time she returned to the Doyle residence.Fox changed her clothes in the car, the one she frequently used that always carried several outfits, multiple hyper-realistic masks, and various makeup supplies.Sometimes, she would simply wear a mask and transform herself into someone else.Other times, she would change her outfit and use her exceptional makeup skills to alter her appearance.However, makeup would sometimes reveal small flaws, so wearing a mask was much safer.Imogen moved as quietly as possible when she went upstairs, not wanting to wake her family.Although it was the holidays, her mother was still exhausted from all the preparations.Imogen no longer felt the same anticipation for the holidays as she did in childhood.When she was little, she always looked forward to the holidays when she could take a break from homework. Receiving gifts was secondary.Children of the Doyle family, whether boy or girl, faced extreme pressur
“Sugar is a young and beautiful woman like you. She’s also skilled in self-defense.”Dylan walked toward her.“Little fox, are you Sugar? Silver once had ‘Fox’ as his nickname too. You’re one of Silver’s disciples, right?”Dylan did not know if Imogen was Fox, but he had long suspected Sugar was.That was because Sugar had small details that mirrored Fox’s.He was not able to confirm it because Sugar noticed that he suspected her and no longer gave him the chance to test her.That only made him more certain that Sugar was Fox.“Does he have to be my master just because his nickname used to be ‘Fox’? There are plenty of people with nicknames like that.“I’m not Sugar, so stop guessing. However, I’ve heard of Silver before. The York family is quite impressive to know of him even though he’s been in seclusion for decades. That means your family is quite close to him.”Dylan stared at her intently.Her expression was calm without a trace of guilt.The more she acted like that, t
“Dylan York, are you trying to pursue Ms. Doyle again?” Fox asked.Dylan denied it. “No. I made it clear to Ms. Doyle before. It’s my fault for not being able to love her. That was months ago, so she should’ve moved on from me. I won’t go looking for her again just to stir things up. Little fox, the person I like is you. You’re the only one I’ll marry in my lifetime.”Dylan declared that he would not marry anyone other than Fox.He had only set his eyes on Imogen because he suspected that she and Fox were the same person.Imogen never noticed, but Fox did.She was sharp as ever.Dylan did not mind that his future wife was better than him. He was confident in himself as a man. Besides, there was nothing embarrassing about being defeated by his wife.For example, Hayden was more capable than Kevin, but was Kevin embarrassed about it?Not at all. Kevin doted on his wife like she was the center of his world.Hayden was an amazing woman who lived more than two decades as a man, but
“Yes, it’s her.”“What’s wrong with her? Why don’t you pursue her? I remember you did for a while.”Dylan looked at her and said, “Ms. Doyle is great. I deliberately approached her and pursued her at first because of Nana’s arrangement, but later, I realized I kept thinking about you. I never felt any true affection for Ms. Doyle before. Even though she’s wonderful, and I trust my nana’s judgment, I can’t force myself.“Marriage is a lifelong commitment, and the men of the York family never divorce. I don’t want to marry someone I don’t truly love and end up being the first York man to divorce. Nana would break my legs for bringing shame to the family.”Grandma May allowed them to choose freely before they were married.However, once married, they had to fulfill their responsibilities as husbands and adhere to the York family’s unwritten rules—to remain loyal to their families and marriages, loving only their wives for life.If any dared to have an affair, they would be expelled
“Little fox, I did take your stuff, but it was retaliation. Think about why I took your stuff. I wouldn’t have done it if you hadn’t made the first move. Don’t think you can deny everything you’ve done just because I took back what you took from me.”Dylan defended himself innocently. “Honestly, I thought of returning it to you, but you’re so elusive. You’re like a ghost sometimes. Even if I wanted to return it, I wouldn’t know where to find you. If you’d just told me your name, where you live, or given me a way to contact you, I would’ve returned it long ago.”Fox laughed coldly. “Is it my fault now? How many times have we met after you took back your stuff? You had plenty of chances to return it to me. I even went to your house to ask for it, but did you give it to me?“Dylan York, your shamelessness has reached a new level in the short time we haven’t met. Does your grandmother know how brazen you are? Does your mother know?”Dylan chuckled. “Whether my mom knows doesn’t matter.
Therefore, she left Wiltspoon.Although she did go to Wiltspoon again as Sugar, it was purely because of Silver and not Dylan.Imogen did not expect Dylan would be interested in her again a few months later.Unlike last time, he had been secretive and observed her every move. Did he think she did not notice him?Imogen wanted to know what Dylan was up to.Was he trying to pursue “Imogen” again?Were the York men not loyal forever to the women they fell in love with?Why was Dylan acting differently?It seemed he was going for his previous target since he had failed to pursue Chameleon Fox.“I came here for you.”Dylan told the truth.Indeed, he was in Huntington for his little fox while suspecting she was Imogen.He wanted to confirm whether Fox was both Imogen and Sugar.Dylan observed his little fox closely. She did not look like Imogen or Sugar. Well, she did have some similar habitual movements as Sugar.That was why he suspected that Sugar was Chameleon Fox.He ev
Dylan closed the door.He did not walk over immediately.Instead, he stood there and watched Chameleon Fox quietly.He missed her to the point he was going crazy.That girl was cruel.She had not looked for him for a long time.Did she not want him to return her stuff to her anymore?If the answer was no, Dylan would keep it as a symbol of their love.When he took the little fox’s item away, he had no thought of returning it.While he admitted that he was being petty, it was Fox who bothered him first. He was simply counterattacking by taking her item.“It’s cold and late. Are you here because you miss me? Or do you have some other business?”Dylan walked toward the little fox. He smiled as he spoke and focused his gaze on her. He could not bear to take his eyes off her, not even for a second.“Why are you here in Huntington on this cold day instead of celebrating the new year with your family?” Chameleon Fox asked.Dylan stepped forward and placed his car key on the table
Dylan had a stare-down with the dogs.He said in a low voice, “Why do they all like having large dogs?”Many wealthy families in Wiltspoon liked keeping large dogs to guard their houses.Some of the dogs were even Mastiffs. Anyway, they were all aggressive breeds.There were designated people to care for the dogs. The dogs were usually leashed during the day. They could also walk freely in the backyard at night, which also allowed them to guard the house.Dylan was not confident that he could deal with the dogs. He turned and escaped. It seemed he had gotten off on the wrong foot.The dogs thought they had prey to play with, but the burglar ended up running away.Therefore, they started barking.The barks soon alerted the Doyles.The male worker in charge of looking after the dogs was the fastest to arrive.However, they did not spot Dylan. They simply saw the dogs barking in the direction of the wall and guessed that someone must have tried to trespass.What a bold move. Ho
By the time Zachary was done with his shower, Serenity had already fallen asleep.He had wanted to spend some quality lover’s time with her. Since she was asleep, he had no choice but to lie beside her and kiss her face. He said softly, “How could you fall asleep before I came out?”His gaze landed on her baby bump again.He caressed the bump lightly but dared not do it for too long. He did not want the baby to wake up and start kicking, which would affect Serenity’s sleep.“I love you, Seren,” whispered Zachary in her ear.Although they had been married for quite some time, he still loved expressing his feelings for her. Those words came from the bottom of his heart.Serenity did not reply to him. She was in a deep sleep.Zachary would not wake his beloved wife. Soon, he fell asleep with her in his arms.Meanwhile, in Huntington, Dylan secretly went to the wall surrounding the backyard of the Doyles’ manor late and dark into the night. He looked up at the high walls and wond