Nana dragged her luggage and walked straight to the sofa. She sat down and said, “Zachary, I want to move in with you and Seren.”Zachary’s face stiffened. “Nana, you promised me—”“I’m not stirring trouble, so what are you so nervous for? What are you worried about?” Nana rebutted. Following that, she said stubbornly, “I’ve already been chased out of home by your dad and uncles. I have nowhere else to go, so I wanted to seek refuge with my grandson. Is that not okay? Are you going to learn from your dad and uncles and chase me out too?”Nana sighed. “When you get old, you get hated. Wherever I go, I get chased away. What’s the point of raising sons? What’s the point of raising grandsons too? It’s better to raise a sweet granddaughter.”Zachary’s expression was dark. “Nana, my dad and uncles would never chase you away.”Even if she wanted to move in with him, she should not tag his dad and uncles with a giant label of being unfilial.Nana smiled cheerily. “I can’t say it was my
“Who was the one who said ‘I don’t get jealous, it’s unbecoming!’ and ‘I don’t chase after women!’? Zack, do you know who said that?”Zachary’s face did not twitch from its glum expression. His lips were pursed tightly as he kept quiet.Nana laughed until she was content, and only then changed the subject. “Isn’t Elisa Stone waiting for you there?”“She won’t come and disturb me anymore.”Elisa had not come to the office to lie in wait for him for the past two days.She had once told Serenity that as long as Zachary already had a girlfriend or was married, she would definitely stop bothering him.That made Zachary’s impression of her increase in favorability by two points.The unruly young lady was indeed much better than many others just by not trying to break apart a marriage in the pursuit of true love.“Has she found out about you and Serenity?”“Nope. I just showed my left hand off, and she backed off.”Nana harrumphed. “What do you think your left hand is? If she backed
Callum brought Nana downstairs and the two prepared to go to the hotel to have lunch.The moment they exited the office building, Callum spotted Serenity with his sharp eyes.“Nana, now I understand why Zachary asked me to bring you out for lunch.”He pointed at the entrance of the office building and said to Nana, “Serenity’s here and she’s even carrying an insulated lunch box. She brought him lunch.”No wonder Zachary was burning with anxiety about getting him to take Nana and leave. He did not want Nana to third-wheel them.Nana stopped in her tracks and squinted for a while, saying, “That really is Seren. Hurry and give your cousin a call and remind him to change rooms. Let him use yours, and don’t let Seren find out.”Callum hummed in acquiescence and called Zachary.Even without Callum’s heads-up, Zachary knew long ago that Serenity had arrived.There was a pair of binoculars in his drawer. Once he had sent Nana on her way, he had gone to stand by the window, staring down
“I’ve already eaten.”Serenity answered without hesitation, then thought for a second before saying, “Why don’t I accompany you as you eat? Once you’re done eating, I’ll go back.”A light sparked in Zachary’s eyes. “Let’s go to my office then.”Serenity glanced once more at the crowd of people in black and tentatively asked, “I’m not an employee of your company. Can I enter just like that?”“It’s fine since I’m bringing you in.”He reached his hand out to Serenity, and after a moment of hesitation, she put her hand in his.As he held her hand, a hint of a smile appeared on Zachary’s face that escaped Serenity’s notice.With one hand carrying the insulated lunch box Serenity had personally sent over and the other holding her hand, he led Serenity into the building under everyone’s astonished and speculative gazes.“Mr. York.”“Mr. York.”Everyone who saw Zachary would greet him respectfully.They would also smile and nod at Serenity but they greeted her bearing a sense of won
Zachary opened the lid of the insulated lunch box as he said, “If you join my company and work here, you’ll realize that everyone addresses each other this way regardless of position. Our company culture places respect as a priority. Anyway, I’m just an average existence here.”Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. “Luckily, I don’t have the capability to join your company and work here, or else there’d be too many names to remember.”Zachary looked at her meaningfully. “You’re in a pretty good position right now. You have freedom, and you earn quite a bit too. You don’t know how many people would envy a self-employed person with freedom like you.”“I couldn’t get used to being managed by someone, so I opened my shop with Jasmine right after graduation. Jasmine’s family helped a lot, or else we wouldn’t have been able to get the operating rights to our shop.” It was not easy to open a shop right at the entrance of a school.“Was that copper wire tree bought from my online shop?”
“It won’t make Nana any happier if it’s just her and me. Nana moans that I’m not much of a talker. She prefers you.” Serenity nonchalantly said, “We can take Nana for a vacation together.” Having gotten what he wanted, Zachary responded, “Sure.” “There’s a resort in the western suburb. I’ll take you and Nana there tomorrow for some fresh air,” he added.Liberty and Hank would begin the divorce proceedings the day after tomorrow, so as Liberty’s side of the family, they must be there to have her back. Hence why Zachary only had a day to have a date with his wife. The resort was one of the Yorks’ many estates, but it was a profit-making business that was open to the public. There was always a high influx of vacationers, there for a getaway every year. “I heard the place is beautiful and fun.” “I’ve never been there. I wonder what it’s like.” Serenity whipped out her phone to search for pictures of the resort. After looking at the pictures, she began to look forward to to
Nevertheless, the piece of paper was not on her dressing table anymore. She seemed… to have drawn something on the back of the contract… Yikes!Serenity glared at the sleeping man. Zachary did not just unwittingly destroy her drawing but also the agreement between them. No, hers may be gone, but the contract in his hand must be locked away somewhere safe. Zachary was unresponsive when Serenity poked him in the face, so she jabbed him again and said, “It’s unfair that you accidentally destroyed mine while you still have yours. It puts me in a precarious situation.”Maybe she should steal his contract and get rid of it. It would put them on a level playing field. No one had the contract to restrict anyone. Serenity would feel much more at ease. The thought that she did not have access to his bedroom was a hurdle though. How could she steal the contract to destroy it? Should she get him drunk? Knock him unconscious? Or seduce him? Serenity ran through many scenarios in h
Forget the eight younger brothers and cousins after Zachary, Zachary himself was a source of Grandma May’s distress. Grandma May’s husband once broke down to her about the grandsons’ characters. He said Zachary would be the world’s greatest grandson to Grandma May, but also the one she could not take her mind off. Grandma May’s husband even predicted that with Zachary’s personality, the boy would be single all his life if Grandma May did not meddle in his marriage. Now it appeared her old man was right on the money. “Old Mrs. York, you can’t rush relationships. Marriage is a lifelong milestone. Serenity doesn’t want to end up with the wrong man like Liberty. Although divorce is common nowadays, it’s a high price to pay to waste all the years in a relationship for nothing.” The sound of the door unlocking was heard. “Mr. Zachary and the missus are back.” The old lady reminded Mrs. Lane, “Be careful how you address me.” Mrs. Lane nodded her head. Zachary and Serenity wal
“If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, come to us. If we can help, we will. If we can’t, then there’s nothing we can do,” Adrian said.The Dott brothers pretended to decline the money, but after some back-and-forth, they eventually accepted, repeatedly expressing their gratitude.“I’ll call a car to take you back,” Adrian said, pulling out his phone to arrange transportation for them.Of course, they were not actually leaving Jensburg. They planned to start their operation tonight, aiming to deal with Caroline quickly to avoid any complications.“Thank you, Mr. Clark. You've already done so much for us,” the Dott brothers said, continuing to play their roles. They had come this far in their act and did not mind keeping up the charade a little longer.Soon, a black car really did arrive and stopped nearby. The driver stepped out and approached, respectfully greeting the three Clark brothers.“Take these two gentlemen home. They are Ms. Celine’s biological brothers,
Justin returned to the dining room and packed up all the leftover dishes they had not finished, along with the opened but unfinished bottle of wine. He stuffed everything into several bags and carried them out. Handing the leftovers to Jacob, he said, “If we’re going to keep up appearances, we need to make it look like we’re really giving you our charity, so take these leftovers back with you. You can heat them up for dinner tonight, otherwise, just toss them in the trash after you leave, but don’t throw away the wine—only you two had it. We haven’t touched it.“This wine is really good stuff, too. Where you’re from, even if you had the money, you wouldn’t be able to buy such fine wine. And if you did find any, it’d probably be fake.”Jacob took the leftovers and the unfinished bottle of wine from Justin. The wine was indeed excellent. In fact, he would have asked for it himself even if Justin had not offered it. In all his life, he had never tasted such good wine.“Once you’re re
Adrian beckoned Celine’s brothers closer in a low voice. The two had had some alcohol, and it was going to their heads. Their faces reddened in excitement and they hurried over.Adrian handed the suitcase to Jacob by the handle. He watched as Jacob laid it on the ground and opened it, exposing the thick wads of cash within.The Dott brothers' hands were trembling from excitement, for they had never seen so much cash before. At the thought that the bagful of cash was theirs now, wide smiles broke out across their faces. They each took a bundle and kissed it a couple of times.“I love this the most,” Jacob exclaimed excitedly. “The more, the better, and the more, the merrier.”“Me, too. Jacob, we’ll take ten bundles each. Let’s just keep the cash in this bag for now and when we get home, we’ll secretly divide it. For now, let’s not tell Mom, your wife, or any others.”The more people knew, the more talk there would be, so it was better for as few people as possible to know.Actuall
Ever since Belinda passed away, they were worried their cruel sister would cancel their bank cards. Therefore, they withdrew all the remaining money from the accounts from which they received their monthly allowance. Adrian rarely used the money on that particular card of his because it was a meager sum to him. Tens to hundreds of thousands a month was not even enough to buy a high-quality watch. In the past, he would only transfer the money from that card to another account every one or two years. Otherwise, he would withdraw the money and use it to flirt with women; cash could always draw many gorgeous women to him. Not many people could resist someone who could take out bundles of cash. Adrian recalled that he had withdrawn a few million dollars. He kept it all in a safe. When their mother was still alive, they spent money extravagantly. When they switched cars, they would get cars that cost millions and pay for them in full. They also made full payment when buying houses.
Jacob said, “Add one more million to it and make it six. My brother and I will get three million each. We won't do the job if you offer anything less than this.“After all, we’re the ones solving a problem for you guys. The benefits you’ll obtain from this are more than ten times the amount you’re offering us.“Besides, you three are adamant about killing Caroline, not us. We might even go to prison for this.“If we get three million each, we can consider helping you out.”Michael added, “That’s right. We may be poor, but our lives aren’t worth any less. There’s no such thing as wanting us to sacrifice our lives for you without giving us money.”Adrian went to take a fine bottle of wine and poured a glass each for Jacob and Michael. Meanwhile, he took a sip of his juice and told them, “We won’t be drinking alcohol since we have to drive and go to work. This is a precious wine I’ve been keeping. It’s sold for a high price outside.“Help yourselves to it. If you think it’s good,
It could not satisfy their appetites. After all, the Clark brothers were asking them to commit a crime. If they were caught, they had to pay the price and go to jail for several years. Losing their freedom for a few years in exchange for a million dollars was not worth it at all. “Mr. Adrian, we do hate Caroline, but she won’t do anything to us if we remain in the countryside away from Jensburg and avoid offending her.“We can still live a peaceful life. Although we’ll face financial difficulties, we can still afford basic necessities and be free.“You guys are the ones in a rush to eliminate Caroline. Her existence affects your benefits the most. Of course, you can choose to accept reality by resigning from Fisher Enterprise, selling your assets, and leaving Jensburg.“If you flee to the countryside like us, you can enjoy a comfortable life away from Caroline’s control. You won’t have to reward us for doing your bidding and can save that money.”Jacob could accept not gett
Twenty million dollars!It was the Clark brothers’ turn to exchange glances. They did not expect Jacob and Michael to name such a high price. While they could pay that amount, they did not want to hand the money to Jacob and Michael. After all, it was no longer a small sum to them, given their situation. Adrian was nervous that he would have to fork out the money himself. While he had significantly more assets than an ordinary person, most were fixed assets, and he only had a few tens of millions of savings. Therefore, he was unwilling to pay twenty million dollars out of the blue. After exchanging glances, Adrian said, “Twenty million is too much. We don’t have that much. We may be wealthy people to you, but it’s all fake. We aren’t as rich as you think.“You’re aware of the Fishers family rules—only daughters can be the successors. Sons can’t even take on the Fisher surname, let alone inherit the family assets.“When my mom was alive, she would support us financially in
“If the plan fails, we have a backup plan—hit her bodyguards’ car and force her car to stop. That way, you two can take Caroline away and leave the rest up to us.”Adrian was prepared for various scenarios.If the car accident did not succeed, then they would first eliminate Caroline’s bodyguards. Without them, and with Darren on a business trip, they could easily take down Caroline, who did not know how to fight. After kidnapping her, they would kill and cut her to pieces before throwing her into the sea. No one would be able to find her. If Caroline were dead, the inheritance from Belinda would belong to the Clark brothers. They still could not take over Fisher Enterprise and the Fisher family or do anything to Liberty. However, with Caroline dead, there would be no one to teach the new and inexperienced Liberty. Whether Liberty could hold her ground was an unknown variable. After a discussion between Adrian and his brothers, they set two goals. Firstly, they would kill Car
“Caroline will definitely receive retribution for this.”Adrian said with spite, “I shall see how she meets her death. The people in Wiltspoon will kill her sooner or later.“Does she think they’ll treat her well just because she betrayed her family? They despise us. She’s still my parents’ biological daughter. There’s no way she can be spared.”“You’re absolutely right.”The three men kept cursing Caroline throughout their journey. Upon arriving at Adrian’s villa, he parked the car. Jacob and Michael looked around after getting out of the vehicle. They thought Adrian’s place was luxurious. Adrian mentioned it was a small place, but it was already a lavish place to them. It was many times bigger than their house in the countryside. Adrian invited Jacob and Michael into the villa and they followed suit.Jacob whispered to Michael, “The Clark brothers are fighting with Caroline for the inheritance, Michael. They must be up to no good, calling us here.“No matter what request