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’
“Although Caroline is our biological sister, she doesn’t treat us as her brothers. We only recognize Celine as our sister. I really wish we could turn back time.“We shouldn’t have allowed Caroline to return to the Fisher family. Ever since she came back, the family had been declining. Many things had happened. My mom’s dead, and my dad’s crippled. All of these are related to her.“Caroline’s an ungrateful bitch. I can’t believe she sided with the people from Wiltspoon. Even now, she’s constantly in contact with them and giving away Fisher Enterprise.“It should’ve belonged to Celine.”Jacob and Michael stayed quiet. They had known for a long time that their biological sister was not Caroline but Celine, the then-successor of the Fisher family. Therefore, they treated Caroline badly and often abused her.Although Caroline had learned to put up resistance after growing up, she was still bullied by Jacob and Michael.She hated them. She did not know the truth in the past and
The two men were Celine’s biological brothers, Jacob and Michael Dott. Adrian nodded. “That’s good to hear. Grieving is useless. Avenging Celine and seeking justice is more important.”Jacob and Michael remained silent. They could not do much. When their father was still the Fishers’ butler, he received a high salary with excellent benefits; the Dotts were the wealthiest family in their town. Since their family was rich, the brothers never put effort into studying. They spent time with questionable friends and led a life of debauchery. Jacob and Michael only matured after marrying and having kids. However, their father was already in prison. Meanwhile, Caroline, whom they used to abuse, had returned to the Fisher family. Celine had refused to return to the Dott family and simply gave them some money. Jacob and Michael had built houses in their town and furnished them well. The money they used was from Caroline and their parents’ savings. Since then, their financial crisi
In the afternoon, Duncan fetched Liberty from Fisher Enterprise for dinner. Caroline stood at the building entrance, watching Liberty and Duncan leave. She was envious. She missed Darren. Although he was still following her, he could not expose himself before others. She was not used to it. Nevertheless, she had to endure it to lure the Clark brothers into her trap. She thought, ‘Please make your move soon, brothers. Don’t keep me waiting.’At that moment, Adrian and his brothers exited the elevator. They were discussing something as they walked. When they saw Caroline standing at the entrance, they paused for a moment. However, they quickly pretended they did not see her and walked past her.Soon, three cars left the company.Caroline stood there for a few more minutes before heading to the parking lot. Her personal bodyguards were waiting at her car. They quickly went to her when they spotted her, while one of them opened the door for her. After Adrian left the com
“I’m used to him being by my side. Now that he’s hidden, it just feels weird.”Caroline added, “Even if I want to kiss him, I can only do it in my dreams.”Liberty was speechless. Seeing Liberty being at a loss for words, Caroline smiled. “Did I renew your impression of me?”“Yes. I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”Caroline giggled. “Darren’s too serious and respectful. If I don’t take the lead, we might sleep on opposite ends of the bed after getting married. He probably won’t even dare to turn in bed.”Liberty thought of Darren’s face, which constantly had a stern expression. He only looked normal around Caroline. He indeed treated her respectfully and never dared to offend her. Liberty said, “You’re still his master. It’s only natural that he’s acting that way.“When you two become husband and wife, he’ll change. However, you won’t have to doubt his love and loyalty for you.”The next thing Liberty knew, Caroline asked her private questions regarding married lif
Caroline moved first, exiting the elevator.Adrian blocked her path, refusing to give way.Caroline did not want to argue with her brothers, so she simply sidestepped and continued toward the CEO’s office. The Clark brothers watched her leave.“Let’s go, Adrian.” Justin entered the elevator first.Adrian withdrew his gaze and led Jason into the elevator.“I heard Darren’s out on a business trip and has been sent to another province to handle some matters, so he won’t be back for at least ten days to half a month,” Jason shared in a low voice. “And for the past few days, Caroline’s only been accompanied by those few bodyguards of hers. There really hasn’t been any sign of Darren with her. I’ve asked someone to look into it and verified Darren left Jensburg by flight a few days ago. What do you think, Adrian?”Adrian replied under his breath, “We’re at work. Don’t talk about that here. We’ll talk about it when we get home tonight.”Justin and Jason immediately shut their mouths.
“I’m in charge now, not your mother. If you can’t do the work, then don’t cling to your positions and collect a salary for doing nothing.”Liberty had no intention of tolerating their laziness any longer.The three brothers had tried investing and running their own businesses, but they mostly ended up losing money. The only stable income they had was from renting out the properties and shops they owned.That was why Hunter had advised his sons to return to Ashford, buy more properties and shops, and live off the rental income. It was much more stable than their business ventures.If the properties were hard to rent out, they could always sell them and recover some money, but with their business investments, not only did they lose money, they often ended up in debt by the time the businesses failed.It was a mystery how much of Belinda’s personal wealth had been spent helping her sons pay off their debts while she was alive.However, there were times when they made money. They wou
They had taken a few days of sick leave, but after receiving the news, they miraculously “recovered” and returned to work.However, their behavior did not improve. They continued strutting around the company, acting as if they owned the place, just as they had before.While others completed the tasks Liberty assigned on time, the three Clark brothers always dragged their feet. They only ever barely managed to finish them after repeated urging, and the results were still always far from satisfactory.“Look at the plans and reports you submitted. They’re a complete mess! What kind of work is this? You all sit in the positions of vice president, earning high salaries, and this is how you perform?“Do you think your work justifies your pay?”In the CEO’s office, Liberty sat behind her crescent-shaped desk. The three Clark brothers stood in front of her, having been summoned.Liberty slammed their work results onto the desk in front of them and her face was filled with anger as she be
Darren stopped walking.Caroline stopped as well.“What’s wrong?” Caroline looked at him. “You don’t want to follow my plan?”“I’ll do whatever you ask of me. It’s just, could we delay it for a couple of days? I’m worried…”“Darren.” Caroline’s expression turned serious. “Trust me! And trust yourself. I have the ability to protect myself, and you have the ability to protect me too. I might get hurt, but I won’t be in any life-threatening danger.”She glanced at Liberty and Duncan walking ahead, both had not noticed that the two behind had stopped. The distance between them had widened.Taking advantage of Liberty and Duncan’s oblivion, Caroline quickly cupped Darren’s face, tiptoed, and kissed his warm lips.Darren immediately tightened his arms around her, turning his passiveness into action, and deepening the kiss. The two were clearly in love, but Darren never took the initiative in intimate gestures. It was always Caroline who made the first move.In Darren’s eyes, Caroline
Among the younger generation of the Fisher family, very few could work at the headquarters of Fisher Enterprise. Most of them worked in subsidiaries, no different from ordinary workers.They worked themselves to the bone for a monthly salary of four to five thousand dollars as being part of the Fisher family did not guarantee them high-paying jobs. Those without ability and who were lazy could not even get into the subsidiaries.When Belinda was alive, she had made it clear that the Fisher family’s companies would not support idle people. Those who wanted to slack off and collect a paycheck for doing nothing were dreaming!The biggest benefit of being part of the family was that during holidays, they could receive gifts and a generous bonus from Fisher Enterprise.These holiday gifts and bonuses were distributed uniformly, regardless of age or seniority. Everyone received the same amount—a newborn baby received the same as an eighty-year-old elder.After some thought, Liberty said