“Ignore it. She can bring whoever she wants. I’m not afraid.”Belinda added coldly, “She just wants to tarnish my name. However, other people have been discussing me behind my back for decades. Do I even have a reputation left?”Two years ago, the revelation of Caroline and Celine’s switch at birth had made her and the Fisher family the laughingstock of Jensburg. Thinking closely, Belinda felt her reputation was already down the drain. Since that was the case, she did not care if someone sullied her name further. They did not have evidence anyway. She could simply deny everything. Belinda would kill them all that very night. Adrian nodded. The Clark brothers exchanged glances. Just like Hunter, they thought their mother was confident in succeeding. “Belinda, Belinda.”Hunter suddenly ran in while yelling. Belinda frowned. She glared at him and scolded, “Why do you still get so panicked when you’re already in your seventies?”Hunter pointed at Caroline, then outsid
There would be hope as long as Caroline lived. If Caroline was safe, Belinda’s bloodline could continue being in charge of the Fisher family. Belinda’s body swayed. Hunter pointed at Caroline, who was walking over, and told his wife, “Look! Isn’t that our daughter? The person behind her is Mr. Fletcher, the assistant you assigned to her.“The one inside the house is a fake. She doesn’t have Mr. Fletcher with her. I thought it was weird that I hadn’t seen him today.”It turned out the Caroline he had been seeing all day was an imposter. Even he was deceived. That imposter looked precisely like the real thing. As Caroline’s father, he did not even realize his daughter was fake. “Mom.”Caroline walked up the stairs and stood before Belinda. She said, “I’ve told you I’m your daughter. I’ll brave every hardship with you. No matter the outcome, I’ll stay by your side.“Stop thinking about how to send me away. I won’t go. The word ‘escape’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.”B
Upon hearing the butler’s words, Caroline turned and walked toward the manor’s gates. Darren naturally followed her. Hunter suddenly found his daughter’s walk confident and dominating. Although the substitute looked like her, she was not as commanding as Caroline was in her strides. He was frustrated that he did not realize the Caroline in the house was a fake. If he had known that his wife was going for a plan that involved her death, he would have asked his sons to leave. If they were to leave at that moment…Caroline had told them to leave if they were scared. After waiting for Caroline and the butler to walk away, Hunter told the Clark brothers, “You must know by now that your mom is only protecting Caroline. She doesn’t care about your lives at all.“I’m the only one who truly cares for you three. I’ve told you to take cover in my hometown for the time being or not attend tonight’s banquet, but none of you heeded my advice.“You guys can’t even leave now. What will
Audrey and the rest exited their cars when Caroline appeared. As Patrick was old, he was slow to get off. Zachary and Clive stood by Patrick’s car door. When he opened the door, the two CEOs bent over to help him.“Be careful, Mr. Patrick. There’s no need to rush. Take it slow.”They did not have much sentiment toward Fisher Manor. To them, it was merely the house Belinda lived in. However, to Patrick, Fisher Manor was filled with memories. It was the place Tiara had lived all her life. Tiara was born and raised in Fisher Manor before she eventually became the head of the family and managed the manor. Although Patrick had never lived here throughout his decades of service, he was a frequent visitor. It felt as if he was returning home that day. “You don’t have to support me. I can help myself. I won’t rush.”Despite saying so, Patrick was excited. His limbs were trembling. However, it was due to his old age and not out of excitement, which was a common occurrence among
Patrick smiled. “I’ll try my best. I want to witness the birth of Seren’s baby and Elisa getting married and having children. I only had one wish in the past. I guess I’ve gotten greedy now.”After returning to Audrey’s side, he realized that the little girl he used to carry had grown old and was about to become a grandmother. He had also gotten to know many youngsters who respected him. If Patrick could continue living for a few more years and watch Tiara’s descendants lead a happy life, he could tell Tiara all about them once he met her in the afterlife.Darrell and Audrey stepped forward to take Zachary and Clive’s place. They stood beside the old man and helped him as he walked. The legendary masters were right behind them, followed by the younger ones. “Good evening, Audrey.”Caroline went over with Darren and Elaine. She greeted Audrey with a smile. Audrey and her group stopped. Patrick looked toward Caroline, who was also looking back at him. She smiled and sa
Looking at Caroline’s gaze, it was evident that she was not as evil as Belinda. Belinda had been blessed with a good child. Since she did not raise her daughter, Caroline’s personality and principles were entirely different. If Belinda had raised Caroline, she probably might not have been alive. “Thank you, Mr. Foster,” said Caroline happily. Then, she greeted the people she knew and nodded at unfamiliar faces. Audrey did not look like she was going to introduce the rest of her group to Caroline. Caroline did not mind. Those people were probably Mr. Foster’s friends. Darren had told her that Belinda had sent assassins after Mr. Foster back then. With her mother’s brutality, he would have been long dead if someone had not rescued him.Mr. Foster had probably lived in seclusion after getting rescued, hence the lack of information on him for decades. Belinda thought he was dead after being unable to obtain any news about him for so many years. To her surprise, not only was he
“Nice to meet you, cousin.”The Clark brothers greeted Audrey. She only glanced at them briefly. Patrick guessed they were Belinda’s sons. He simply observed them and said nothing.Adrian, Justin, and Jason were not angry or surprised by the cold reception. After all, their statuses in Jensburg were awkward.They could not call themselves young masters of the Fishers because their last name was Clark. However, being part of the Clarks was nothing to be proud of. If the Clark family were strong, their father would not have married into the Fisher family. Everything the Clarks enjoyed was the benefits obtained from the Fishers. In other words, Hunter had gained those benefits by enduring the humiliation and faking smiles throughout his time with Belinda. Adrian and his brothers followed the crowd from behind after they had walked past them.Soon, Elaine came out again. She ushered the reporters into the manor grounds. However, they were not allowed to enter the main h
Zachary said, “Don’t worry.”Liberty exchanged glances with him. She also saw Clive's gaze and nodded. Audrey chatted with the Fisher family members and introduced her fellow visitors, especially Liberty.They smiled. “We know Liberty very well.”Liberty smiled back.The Fishers were aware of her actions in Jensburg. Some of them even secretly expressed their interest in joining her side. “Since everyone’s here, why don’t we head inside? It’s a little cold out here.”Belinda’s voice rang. She and Hunter had been waiting for Audrey and the rest in the house. However, they did not come. After asking, they learned that Audrey and her group had been strolling in the garden. They even said they were afraid of her burying bombs or dousing the house with gasoline. They also mentioned it was safer and easier to escape if they were in the garden. Belinda was exasperated. She did think of burying bombs. However, Mr. Gordon said they could get caught easily if they used bom
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
The Queen family was well-educated and had few members. Sophia had heard of other families fighting over power, but Caroline’s experience shocked her the most. Maybe it was because the Queens was close to her. Sophia quite liked Caroline as well. “How could they… You’re their biological sister!”Caroline smiled bitterly. “Are you having a fever, Carol? Your face is red.”Sophia touched Caroline’s forehead. She said, “You’re burning up. Have you informed the doctor, Mr. Fletcher?”Darren replied, “The fever started at dawn. Ms. Caroline caught a cold. Her fever subsided after taking medication once, but it returned.“It’s time for her to take her medicine.”Sophia spotted the lunch boxes. She told Darren, “Go have your lunch, Mr. Fletcher. I can look after Carol.”“It’s okay, Mrs. Queen. I can eat on my own,” said Caroline embarrassedly. It was her first time feeling cared for by someone her mother’s age. Although Sophia was not part of her family, the lady treated her
Caroline looked toward Darren. She said, “In my younger days, I often caught colds and coughs when the weather was too cold. The coughing will last throughout the changing of seasons. Therefore, I’ve been looking after my health since I grew up.“My immune system strengthened a lot. I haven’t been coughing for years.“I’m not worried.”Caroline stared at Darren lovingly. “I have nothing to be worried about with you here.”Darren pinched her face lightly with affection. “I’m still sulking. I didn’t want you to risk yourself, yet I couldn’t stop you. I’ll only feel better once you recover.”He was Caroline’s assistant and had to heed her orders. Even if they were dating, he still had to follow her arrangements.“Okay. Don’t be angry. I won’t take risks like this again in the future. You’ll age quickly if you get angry frequently. If that happens, your hair might turn gray before I even grow old.“We promised to grow old together.”Under Caroline’s gentle coaxing, Darren’s expre
Darren became an orphan when he was only a few years old. After losing everything, he was collected and trained by the training center to be an all-rounder assistant. He could not remember how he lost his parents as he was too young back then. Since he had no memories, there was no pain.Nevertheless, he had seen others interacting with their parents. He knew parents should love their children. There were not many parents who would not shower their children with love. Ms. Caroline was too unlucky to have met one. “I don’t care. I don’t care about my dad at all.”Caroline asked, “Has my dad asked you to give him money? He doesn’t need money. He just wants to know about his sons’ conditions.“Having lived for so many years, he was probably aware of the consequences of his sons’ plan and had advised them not to do it. They didn’t listen to him, so he’s just hoping to get lucky and waiting for some news.”Hunter must have known that her brothers were going to murder her. Sinc