“Let’s continue our walk, Uncle True.”Audrey left Belinda behind and went on ahead with Patrick. It was clear that she wanted to ignore Belinda. Although Audrey was born and had lived at Fisher Manor for seven or eight years, she had been absent for decades and had no recollection of the manor. Belinda followed them with a dark expression. No matter what, she had to accompany her guests as the matriarch of the Fisher family. “Why are you following us?” Audrey asked Belinda, unhappy. Belinda replied, “How can you talk to someone older than you like that, Audrey? I’m your aunt.”“While you may be my aunt, you’re also the culprit who killed my parents. Why should I speak to you politely?”“Audrey Fisher!”Belinda could no longer stand the provocation and mocking. Having been the matriarch for decades, she had a terrible temper. “You all are saying that I’ve caused my sister’s death, but do you have evidence? Show it if you do. Why are you speaking in riddles?“Let me
However, Belinda was chanting in her heart, ‘Quick, Gordon. Pour the gasoline and light the fire. Burn them all.’Unfortunately, nothing happened despite her strong wish. Did Mr. Gordon think the time was not right yet? Or were there other reasons?Belinda thought the best time to start the fire was when everyone was distracted by the evidence. In truth, Mr. Gordon did want to put the plan into action. However, while he was ordering everyone to douse the manor with gasoline, they realized that the tanks of gasoline they had prepared had been switched to water at some point.When they opened the tanks, there was no smell of gasoline. Mr. Gordon asked them to empty one tank and try setting it aflame, but it failed. It was certain that their gasoline was swapped. Mr. Gordon broke into a cold sweat.Since he and Madam Fisher were the ones who thought of the plan, no one other than his most trusted subordinates, who were carrying out the plan with him, knew about it.Even the s
“Are you trying to let Mr. Fletcher kill your daughter? Since you’re suspicious that we assistants will harm our masters, your assigning Mr. Fletcher to Ms. Caroline is equivalent to handing her a death sentence.”Belinda was speechless.Patrick’s words were still as sharp as ever. He used to have a lot of patience with her. Looking back, it had probably been because of Tiara.Patrick looked at the audience gathered around them. He said, “That year, Madam Tiara got into an accident. Her entire family passed away, save for her two daughters, who were unscathed because they were in school.“There was a mechanic who would always check Madam Tiara’s car daily before she headed out. After she returned, the mechanic would inspect the car again to ensure nothing was amiss.“However, on the day of the accident, the mechanic suddenly had an upset stomach. He was severely dehydrated from diarrhea and had no energy to inspect Madam Tiara’s car. She headed out after a simple check conducted
“No matter how strong I am by myself, I couldn’t handle group after group of assassins coming after my life. No, they didn’t just want to kill me. They also wanted to destroy the little evidence I had painstakingly gathered.“There was once I got severely injured after many rounds of attacks. When I thought I was about to die, the heavens blessed me. Someone rescued me. I believe the heavens must’ve thought Madam Tiara and her family’s deaths were unjust and sent someone to save me to seek justice for Madam Tiara.“Not only did my savior rescue me, but he also spent lots of precious medicine to heal me. Although I was brought back from the brink of death, some side effects remained. I could never recover from them. I stayed alive for decades with my broken body solely for the sake of avenging Madam Tiara.“Later, I secretly returned to Jensburg to retrieve Madam Tiara’s daughters, Audrey and Lisa. However, I only discovered they had gone missing after arriving in Jensburg. At that t
Patrick looked around again. He said, “Belinda said I had escaped and she refused to admit she wanted to kill me. She even accused me of killing Madam Tiara. But I have witnesses. They can prove that I was being hunted down. “They can also verify that the assassins sent after me were by Belinda. The people who rescued me that year are here with me tonight. They’ll be my witnesses.”Patrick turned around. Silver and the other legendary masters stood behind him. “They’re my saviors. If it weren’t for them lending a hand, I would’ve been six feet under now.”Belinda suddenly laughed out loud. She then said sarcastically, “You said they’re your saviors, Patrick. Can their words be trusted? What if Audrey had paid them to act as your saviors?“You kept saying that I killed Tiara and Alivia. You can ask them to confront me directly and see if I was the one who killed them. If the victims don’t sue me, then there’s no truth in your words.”Everyone looked toward Belinda with a weird
Belinda sneered. “Can you prove that they are the elders of the Imperial Force, Mr. York? Who here knows these old-timers of the Imperial Force and can verify their identities?”Zachary was rendered speechless.Aside from their group, no one had met the legendary masters before. Not only that, they had just recently met the masters in the flesh. Their families’ elders would be able to confirm the masters’ identities. However, they only had Audrey with them. Even if they could vouch for the masters, it would not be convincing enough. “I’ve met them before. I can verify their identities.”An old voice came from the direction of the manor’s gates.The place was silent. Therefore, the old voice could be heard clearly. Everyone looked toward the source of the voice. It belonged to an elderly man in his nineties. He was in good health. Although he had a cane in one hand, he did not need support from anyone else. It seemed he had spoken right after getting out of a car and was
Roy then shook hands with Silver, Dan, and the other two masters. He said, “I never thought I’d be able to see you lot again. I could never forget the days when you fellas deceived me. Even if you turn to ashes, I’ll still be able to recognize you.”Silver said, “We didn’t deceive you. You wanted us to do something but refused to pay. Were you trying to mooch off us?“You’ve always been a people-pleaser, Roy. How could you do something like that?”Roy laughed. “Leaving money aside, there were still many instances where you all tricked me and put me in a difficult spot.”After a short reunion, Roy said resoundingly, “I can prove that these old men here are the masterminds of the Imperial Force. However, they retired decades ago. The leaders of the Imperial Force are now their disciples.“I never thought I’d be able to see these people again in my life.”Roy looked toward Zachary and said, “You have the aura of your grandfather, Mr. York. However, how you do things resembles your g
“Have you no conscience?!” Patrick harshly reprimanded Belinda.Belinda suddenly exploded in anger and confessed, “That’s right, I don’t have one! I caused my sisters’ deaths—what can you do about it? What should I feel guilty about? My sister loved me so much that she would have agreed if I wanted her position as the matriarch. She wouldn't have blamed me, and if she hadn’t had her daughters, she would have given the position to me. Why did she have to get married and have kids, taking away my chance for power?“Why should she receive your love and affection? Just because she was the matriarch? Since being the matriarch was the only way to have you, then I wanted to be the matriarch! Patrick, I wanted power, but I also wanted you, and I wanted you to be loyal to me like you were to my sister,” Belinda roared even as her eyes reddened.Did they think she truly felt no pain at causing Tiara and Alivia’s deaths? Not long after Alivia was born, she was orphaned and only had her sisters
Chelsea muttered, “Even if you do that, Sonny isn’t close to you, Mom.”Olivia was speechless for a second. She said, “Even if we aren’t close, he’ll call me grandmom when he sees me. He doesn’t even greet me now.“Sonny may be young, but he’ll be four years old next year. He knows everything he needs to and is clever. He must’ve inherited Hank and Liberty’s best genes because they used to be smart people.”Liberty was not stupid. She even had a better career than Hank before she got married. What were they thinking back then?The Browns wanted to suppress Liberty to ensure she was less dominant than Hank. Therefore, Liberty was persuaded to leave her job after marriage to stay home throughout her pregnancy. She ended up becoming a housewife and lost the sharp edge she had in her workplace. Her world only revolved around her husband and son, causing her to lose her identity gradually. The Browns were changing Liberty bit by bit, yet they were not treating her well. Ultimately
“I’m not using Sonny. Since Hank and I are siblings and he only has one son, Sonny and Lucas can get along as cousins. If Sonny hangs out with his cousins more often, he’ll have brothers who have his back in the future.“If he runs into any problems, we can help him. He won’t be alone.”Chelsea guessed Hank must have told their parents something to have caused the change in their mother’s attitude. Olivia favored Sonny and no longer wished to work toward the future of Chelsea’s children.Olivia glanced at her daughter and chuckled. Then, she looked toward Lucas, the grandson she raised. Lucas was a naughty boy. He would never stay still and had already made a mess of the house in a short period. “Look at how Lucas behaves now and compare it to Sonny’s personality. Although Sonny can get mischievous sometimes, he’s more mature and sensible despite his young age. He’ll only be more composed in the future.“Even if he does run into trouble, he won’t require your help. You guys
“Even if my husband and I work tirelessly for another decade, we can never achieve the wealth of the Lewises.”Chelsea was mentally cursing Hank for being ignorant and not mending his relationship with Sonny. He even brainwashed their parents until they stopped siding with her. She could only imagine Sonny’s bright future, where he would be living in a large villa, driving luxury cars, and inheriting a megacorporation. Meanwhile, her children could only get a decent nine-to-five job. Their monthly salary could even be lower than the price of one of Sonny’s meals.Chelsea was jealous. She was anxious about getting her son to build a close relationship with Sonny.“Why don’t we file a case to regain Sonny’s custody, Mom? Liberty and Serenity won’t ignore us so long Sonny is in our house. They’ll help us so that Sonny lives a good life too.“That way, Sonny will have a deeper connection with us. He won’t forget us when he becomes a capable person.”Chelsea had a pipe dream. O
Hank’s parents had always been biased toward his sister, Chelsea. It would be difficult to change them. Their father, Luke, was a slightly better case because he had felt regretful ever since knowing Serenity was the York family’s missus. He regretted letting Hank date Jessica. After going through so much, he was more convinced that Liberty suited Hank better. Unfortunately, it was already too late. Hank could no longer return to the past. On the day Serenity and Zachary brought Sonny to the Browns’ place for a meal, Chelsea also brought Lucas back to visit her family. When Chelsea entered the house, Olivia was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She said, “I heard Liberty and Duncan getting married soon, Mom. The Lewises are preparing for the wedding. The couple will most likely get their marriage license after she returns from Jensburg.”Olivia looked indifferent. “That’s bound to happen sooner or later. Why are we still talking about her?“Even if she gets a boost in her
Next, she posted the pictures on social media. Many of her followers were her students’ parents. Only a minority of them were her friends or ex-classmates. She was flooded with blessings from them as well. One of Zoey Crawford’s worries was finally resolved. Since her daughter had gotten married, she would continue urging her sons to do the same. Zoey had been anxious that Quinn could never find a suitable partner because of her easy-going personality and proficiency in martial arts. Although she was introduced to a few men through matchmaking services, the men usually refused to show up. They were scared of the potential domestic abuse they could face since Quinn was good at fighting. They had heard of her countless accomplishments as well. Therefore, no one was interested in Quinn despite her decent figure, looks, and family background. This was where Zoey’s constant urging for her to find a life partner came from. Quinn had felt frustrated about Zoey’s nagging. She did not
Julian said gently, “You can meet Serenity, Jasmine, and Elisa often in the future.“By the way, don’t trust anything Elisa says. Take her words with a grain of salt.”Quinn asked, “What will Ms. Stone say to me? Why are you specifically asking me not to listen to her?”Julian cleared his throat. As he drove, he said embarrassedly, “I pretended to pursue Elisa for some time to help Remy back then.”Quinn said, “I didn’t know I had a love rival.”“Elisa isn’t your love rival. She and her family don’t fancy me anyway. When they knew I was pursuing her, Mrs. Stone immediately changed her mind and agreed to Remy and Elisa’s marriage. To her, I’m like a fierce beast unsuited for her baby daughter.”Quinn got invested and asked, “Why did helping Remy involve pursuing Elisa?”Julian came clean and recounted everything to Quinn. He did not want her to misunderstand.“Even your parents fell for your acting. I didn’t think you’d do such a thing.”“Don’t misunderstand, honey.”Quinn smi
Fortunately, Quinn herself was strong, and her family was not pushovers either. She turned to look at Julian.Without asking, Julian knew exactly what she was thinking, and he quickly reassured her, “Quinn, you don’t have to worry. That kind of thing won’t happen to us. I’m your rock. As long as I’m around, no one can bully you. In my family, apart from my parents, everyone else has to accede to me, and you know how my parents feel about you. They’re so grateful to you that they practically worship you like a goddess.“You’re familiar with the York family now and have seen the way they operate, right? Well, my family and the Yorks are old family friends. Birds of a feather flock together. The reason our two families are so close is we have similar family values.“Setting aside the fact that your family is powerful enough and supportive of you—even if you were like Serenity in the beginning, my family would never look down on you or mistreat you. They would only love and cherish you.
Stacy was actually hoping that Julian and Quinn could get their marriage license today and hold the wedding right away. However, the date they had picked was after Christmas and they still had to wait over a month for the actual wedding. At least once they signed the papers, there was no need to worry about Quinn changing her mind. Stacy was afraid that Quinn and her family might have second thoughts, especially since her son was afflicted with a disorder.“Hey, sweetie.”When Stacy addressed Quinn, her tone was very gentle. Quinn thought that her future mother-in-law was even kinder and more considerate than her own mother. Her father had looked into the Buchams' character and knew that Stacy was actually quite formidable. To Quinn though, Stacy appeared so gentle and kind that she did not seem like the kind of person who would be overly strict or tough. Of course, anyone who could hold fast the position of the Buchams’ head missus and secure her husband’s love for decades as if
Quinn could not stop laughing when she saw him.Julian blushed a little in response. He asked, “What are you laughing at? Is my outfit ugly? Does it not look good?”He was used to wearing black clothes all the time. Although he had a white suit, he rarely wore it. Today, for the special occasion of legally getting married to Quinn, he had specifically chosen to wear white, a color symbolizing purity, to proclaim how his feelings were as pure as snow.“It’s not ugly, it looks great! You look even more handsome than usual. I’m just not used to seeing you in a white suit. Now, you look like a prince from a fairy tale—my prince.”Julian smiled indulgently. “That’s right. I’m your prince charming and yours alone. You look great in white, too, my dear wife.”It was Quinn’s turn to blush slightly. She was not used to being called his wife, especially since they had not even registered yet. Since they were about to go get their marriage license though, she might as well start getting used