Meanwhile, at Stone Manor, Duncan had arrived a long time ago. The same went for Remy. His future in-laws were about to head to Jensburg. Elisa had wanted to follow them, but Audrey did not allow it. She said Elisa would not be of help even if she went to Jensburg and that her showy personality would make things worse. In truth, Audrey was afraid that they all would die if anything were to happen. Therefore, Elisa and Anthony were prohibited from going to Jensburg, let alone Alice with her young baby. Duncan kept reminding Audrey about things to look out for. He seemed depressed. Audrey knew what he was thinking. She consoled him, saying, “Liberty knows how you feel. She won’t blame you. If you stay home, she won’t have to worry about a thing and can focus on what she has to do.“You can wait for her return in Wiltspoon. Didn’t she say she’d head to the city hall to get a marriage license with you if it wasn’t closed when she’s back? Although you two won’t have a wedding
Lilian said, “Who was the one who started hibernating whenever winter came around? You wouldn’t even leave the house and only eat hot soup every day.“We were the ones who cleared the snow in your garden.”Patrick said, “You should continue eating your nuts in silence.”Lilian chuckled. Audrey said, “Okay. Let’s depart now.”She told Anthony, Elisa, and Remy, “Look after the house when Clive and I are away. Take care of Alice and her baby too.“I’m counting on you, Remy.”Audrey felt Remy had an important role. Having her future son-in-law at home made her feel at ease as she would be away with Darrell and Clive.Remy lived right beside them. Since he lived next door, he could come over with just a call from the courtyard if anything happened. Indeed, Remy was a dependable son-in-law.Remy said, “Don’t worry. Anthony, Elisa, and I will be home. We’ll look after Alice and her baby too.”“It’s reassuring to know that you’ll be here.”Audrey told Duncan, “Prepare your di
It was convenient for Tiara’s in-laws to visit Fisher Manor if they lived in the villa. After Belinda killed them, she buried them in the cemetery next to the Fishers to keep up appearances. She also made an excuse, saying that it would be more convenient for her nieces to pay their respects if they happened to be found in the future. Audrey did not allow anyone to fetch them from the airport. Once she and the rest landed, they got into a few cars and notified the drivers to head to the Fishers’ cemetery by navigation.Initially, the drivers hesitated to drive them when they heard the destination. Although it was in the afternoon, it was gloomy as the sun rarely shone during winter. It felt eerie to go to the cemetery. Ultimately, the drivers only agreed to drive them after they paid double the original price.Two hours later, once the cars were parked at the Fisher family’s cemetery, Audrey told the drivers, “Can you gentlemen wait for us here for a moment? We’re just goin
There was security on duty at the Fisher family’s cemetery. When they saw Audrey’s group, the security shouted, “Who are you? What are you doing here? This is a private cemetery. Not just anyone can… Ms. Audrey?”When they noticed it was Audrey, they were stunned. The head of security said sheepishly, “We didn’t know it was you, Ms. Audrey. We thought someone was trespassing.”Audrey had visited her parents’ graves before. The security knew her. She said gently, “I found Uncle True and brought him here, Uncle Ricky. He said he wanted to visit Mom.”The cemetery’s head of security was Audrey’s distant uncle. Since he was older and she had not been in Jensburg for long, she addressed him politely. “Uncle True?”The security guards in charge of the cemetery were in their forties. They did not recognize Patrick at all. They looked toward Patrick, who was supported by Darrell and Audrey. Uncle Ricky asked, “Who’s this Uncle True, Ms. Audrey? We’ve never seen him before. How’s he r
Ms. Audrey’s identity would have been noble if Madam Tiara had been alive since she was Tiara’s eldest daughter. Unfortunately, Madam Tiara was already dead for decades. Ms. Audrey had also been missing all this while and only appeared a few months ago. So what if Madam Fisher confirmed she was the previous matriarch’s daughter?The one sitting in that position was Madam Fisher. Employees were changed whenever a new matriarch took over. Madam Fisher had been the matriarch for four or five decades. The employees did not think Ms. Audrey could replace Madam Fisher as the matriarch. Things looked hopeless for Ms. Liberty too. How long had she been in Jensburg?She could never surpass the influence Madam Fisher and Ms. Caroline had built over the years. Ms. Caroline would be the next matriarch unless Madam Fisher willingly returned the position to Ms. Audrey’s family line. Therefore, the cemetery’s security suggested Audrey and the rest not head up the hill while Belinda wa
Patrick could knock the cemetery’s guards out when he was young. Now that he was old, he had lost the strength to do so, even if he had been an expert at it in the past. “I want to meet Madam Tiara as soon as possible.”He had not been back for decades.“This has been the only thing keeping me going all these years.”Patrick started panting as he walked. Darrell and Audrey were worried that he would tire himself out. They suggested stopping and taking a break. However, Patrick refused to rest. He said, “It’s just a few more steps away. I can see Belinda’s bodyguards from here. We’ll arrive in a few minutes.”Although he was tired, he did not want to stop. Stopping would make him feel more exhausted and reluctant to move. Audrey looked forward and indeed they could spot Belinda’s bodyguards. Belinda had brought ten bodyguards with her. Two of them had followed her to Tiara’s grave to protect her. Two of the remaining eight were standing guard by the road, while the o
Belinda’s bodyguards blocked Audrey and her group’s path. Audrey got furious and scolded, “Don’t you know who I am? How dare you block my way when I’m here to visit my mother? Get lost.”The bodyguards felt guilty. Audrey was the previous matriarch’s daughter. If Tiara had not passed away, the current matriarch would have been the noble-looking middle-aged woman before them. Although she was close to sixty years old, she had maintained her appearance well and looked like she was only in her forties. Besides, she used to manage Stone Group and had a commanding presence in the business world. The bodyguards thought Audrey was more fearful than Belinda. Nevertheless, they remembered Belinda’s orders and said, “We apologize, Ms. Audrey. Madam Fisher is paying her respects to her sister now. She told us not to let anyone disturb her without her permission.”“I don’t wish to hurt you. Do you all prefer leaving yourselves or me knocking you all out?” Audrey said coldly. She wa
Lilian rushed forward. The rest of the bodyguards saw their comrades defeated by a young woman. They had also been watching earlier. However, everything happened in a flash, and they next saw their comrades lying on the ground. Was that woman a master in martial arts?When they saw Lilian charging at them, they approached her as a group without hesitation. However, before they could even get near her, they fell to the ground after feeling a tinge of pain and numbness in a few areas of their body. Just like the earlier two, their bodies convulsed. The only ones left were Belinda and her two personal bodyguards. Lilian did not hold back. When the remaining bodyguards charged at her, she unleashed her poisoned needles. Even Belinda crumpled to the ground and started twitching. It seemed like Lilian had used her poisoned needles on Belinda as well. She had used up all the needles she had brought. Later, she would have to collect the needles back and lace them with poison
Austin quickly left the CEO’s office. Just as he stepped out, he ran into Tati, who was looking for Isabella.“Ms. Tati,” Austin greeted politely.Tati nodded and waited for Austin to leave before she knocked on the office door and entered.“Austin came early today to cook for you,” Tati said, holding a folder in her hand and opening it as she walked toward Isabelle.She sat down at the desk, handed over the folder, and said, “Isa, this is urgent. Please take a look.”Isabella took the document, glancing through it as she replied, “He comes around this time every day, neither early nor late.”“That Longbottom fellow came by again?” Tati asked.It was only after Mr. Longbottom had directly asked to see Isabella that Tati found out the old lecher had come again.“Yes, but I didn’t meet him. He brought some gifts, claiming they were holiday presents for us. I had them sent back. He’s too ambitious, and he has bad intentions. We’re absolutely on guard against him. Why would we give
Isabella turned her head to look at Austin.Austin stopped the massage and asked in a gentle voice, “Are you feeling any discomfort? I can work on it. I don't give people massages often, so I don’t have much experience. I'll keep giving you more massages as practice so I'll be able to serve you better.”“It's not that,” Isabella smiled. “It's actually very comfortable. It’s just that I really want to meet your grandmother every time you mention her.”In Isabella's mind, Austin's grandmother had already become something of a legendary figure.Austin thought to himself, ‘Nana’s already met you. You probably met her before, you just didn't know it was her.’His nana had surely spent a lot of time observing Isabella, getting to know her, and confirming that her character and abilities were suitable for him before choosing Isabella for him.“When you’re less busy, if you’re willing, you can come visit us in Wiltspoon. Lots of flowers bloom in spring, and there’s beautiful scenery ever
When Isabella first took over the family business, many of her grandparents' and parents' friends and relatives openly tried to sabotage her. They played dirty tricks, schemed, and tried various ways to undermine her.They wanted to take advantage of her, and they also did not want her to take control of the family’s legacy. They tried to prevent her from establishing herself in the company, even going as far as to collaborate with outsiders to trap her.She had suffered countless setbacks, faced numerous conspiracies, and even experienced several so-called accidents, nearly losing her life. It was only after all this that she truly understood the treachery of human nature. From that point on, she learned to arm herself with cold indifference.Though she was taking over her own family’s business, it felt like she had to fight through a bloody battle to secure her place, as if she were a king striving to ascend the throne. It was exhausting and disheartening.However, she endured an
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