Since Serenity and Zachary lived separately, Mrs. Lane went back to Brynfield daily to clean up and water the flowers on the balcony. She was no longer staying there and instead went back to the manor, the place she originally lived.Sam, the housekeeper who had returned from his leave, gave Mrs. Lane a car for her convenience.“Missus.”Mrs. Lane had just finished mopping the floor when she saw Serenity coming. She greeted the latter respectfully.“You can just call me Ms. Hunt like before, Mrs. Lane. Don’t call me Missus. It sounds weird to me.”She did not put on airs in front of Mrs. Lane.Mrs. Lane did not think it was appropriate and said, “Mr. Zachary will deduct my bonus if he finds out.“You’ll get used to it after hearing it more on a daily basis.”Serenity was speechless. All Zachary knew was how to threaten people.She entered the store.Jasmine saw her enter and checked her out from top to bottom.“What? Don’t you recognize me?”Jasmine laughed. “You look good
Serenity smiled. “Mrs. Lane and I should be enough.”The store her sister rented was not large. If too many people went to help, it would look crowded with the customers coming in to have breakfast.While the two friends chatted, two—no, three people walked inOne of them was Noah, Serenity’s youngest cousin. He tried stopping Serenity’s car in the middle of the night last year and wanted to teach her a lesson, but she sent him to the police station.He was released after fifteen days of detention, but he did not repent and instead hated Serenity with a passion.He dropped out of school and stopped studying. His parents spoiled him and felt that his grades were not good enough to get him accepted into a university anyway, so they let him do as he pleased.After dropping out of school, Noah did nothing except play games.He came along the last time his grandfather visited the store to cause trouble, but Serenity did not notice him because there were too many people.“Let me go!
Serenity did not know which car Noah used at first, but since he volunteered the information, she managed to find John’s car. After all, out of all of the cousins, John’s car was the best.Serenity walked over, raised the knife, and slashed all four tires of John’s car.The tires were punctured and deflated. Soon, all four tires were flat.“Oh no, oh no.”Noah looked at the flat tires and seemed frightened. “I don’t have enough money to get new tires for him. Serenity!”He shouted at her, “You need to pay for it!”Serenity looked at him coldly.She walked over while playing with the knife.Noah’s yelling became quiet.Standing in front of him, Serenity patted his face with the knife.Noah was so scared that he did not dare breathe. His eyes were filled with fear.He was terrified that this damned woman would slash his face and disfigure him.He did not have a wife yet.“Whose idea was this?”“W-What idea?”“Following me, taking pictures of me, and slashing my tires. Whos
“Noah Hunt, you know me, right? If you don’t talk, I’ll slash a few lines across your face. You’re already ugly enough with pimples all over your face. It’ll be horrid if I add some blade scars to that. You’ll never get a wife and have to stay single all your life.”Noah visibly blanched and stammered, “I-I can’t say...”With just that, Serenity knew that her relatives were planning something big to deal with her.She said to the two bodyguards, “Bring him in for me. I’ll take good care of my little cousin.”“W-Wait, I’ll go by myself. Don’t let them touch me. They’re too rough.”Noah jumped and followed Serenity into the store.He knew how to behave himself after falling into Serenity’s hands. She would beat him into a pulp if she did not get what she wanted.Back in the store, he moved a stool for Serenity and poured water for her to drink.“Talk. Why did they ask you to follow me? It’s fine if you don’t tell me. You know my identity now. As long as I give the command, I’ll s
However, Liberty was not as valuable as Serenity in the eyes of Old Mr. Hunt and the others.One was a pitiful woman who divorced and lived alone with a child, whereas the other was the eldest missus of the York family, the richest family in the city. Even a three-year-old would know who was more valuable.“Get out!”Noah stammered, “My fare...”As soon as Serenity glared, Noah scampered out.She went back on her word!She tricked him!How could he have a cousin like Serenity?Noah scolded Serenity all the way back to John’s rented house.As for John’s luxury car, he could not drive it back because all four tires were slashed. He could only let John think of a way himself. Fortunately, he brought back the car keys.When John found out that his little cousin not only failed and was discovered, but also left his car in front of Serenity’s shop, he was furious.He kicked Noah and yelled, “Even if you got scared and ran away, you should have run away with the car! How could you
After Noah ran away, Jasmine said to her friend, “Seren, those guys might be trying to replace you.”“It’s not that they ‘might’ but rather they’re already planning it.”Serenity sat down behind the cash register looking slightly exhausted.Her sister and she were really unlucky to have been born into that family.To think they were related by blood!“Is that Harriet whom Noah mentioned older or younger than you?”“We’re the same age. I’m a week older than her.”Serenity thought about her cousin who was only one week younger than her. She had not seen Harriet for more than ten years and had little memory of her. Did Harriet and her look similar?When her parents were alive, she and Harriet went to school together and were in the same class. She seemed to remember her classmates mentioning that they looked alike.Even if they did, they would only look somewhat similar. Did Harriet think she could replace Serenity by just impersonation?Did they think Zachary was stupid?Unles
“There’s always wind blowing from any direction.”Grandma May slapped away Callum’s hand that wanted to support her. “No need for that. I’m still hale and hearty. I won’t die until I see all of you marry and have children.”“Then I won’t marry and have children. I’ll let you live until you’re two hundred years old, Nana.”Grandma May whacked Callum.“You little brat. I followed your big brother back to the office today to talk about your marriage.”Callum was speechless. Was it too late for him to escape now?Of course, it was.He hurriedly helped his nana to the couch for a seat, then knelt in front of her and helped to massage her legs. He asked a little curiously yet nervously, “Who do you have your eye on, Nana? Is it someone I know?”He was aware that his nana had recently set her target on him.It was because he was the second born. Since the eldest got married, it was his turn now.“Nana, I’ll say this first. I’m not interested in getting married out of nowhere. Don’t
Callum pointed to the handsome man in the photo. “So, he’s a she?”“She has a fraternal twin brother, but they look exactly the same. Her family raised her as a boy since childhood, so she acts like a man. People outside of her family think that she’s the eldest son.”“How did you know she’s actually a woman?”Callum heard of Casey Stoll before, and he had seen pictures of her too. At first glance, she really did look like a man, but it was not because she was deliberately trying to come off as the opposite sex. She dressed androgynously, but since she was known for her power and influence, people misunderstood and thought she was a man.The handsome guy in the photo was different from Casey. She was raised as a man and also deliberately dressed like a man. She had thick eyebrows and large eyes, looked grim and cold, and her tall figure was dressed in a suit. Anyone who looked at her would think she was a he.Callum flipped over the photo and read the woman’s profile on the other
Adrian snapped, “Are you saying that I don’t do real work? Caroline, I was working at Fisher Enterprise long before we even knew you existed.”Caroline said neutrally, “Yes, yes, Adrian, you’ve been at Fisher Enterprise for a long time, but what achievements have you made? I mean, achievements that you accomplished on your own.“The results credited to you in the past weren’t actually your doing. You know better than anyone how they came about, so I won’t spell it out. I may have joined Fisher Enterprise only recently, but look at the position I’m in now.“Adrian, I’ve made it very clear. If you want to keep your job, do it well and take it seriously. Stop trying to take credit for other people’s work.”Adrian’s expression darkened. “I only said a couple of things, and you fired back with dozens. Can’t you give me some grace? I have pride, too.”“Adrian, go back to work. I need to get ready to head out soon.” Caroline was done talking to her brother.Adrian fell silent for a mo
Adrian was sullenly quiet. Was he really that incompetent? He thought he had done a pretty good job.Back when their mother was still around, he had not even needed to lift a finger. He just had to vaguely outline the requirements, and the elite team under him would come up with a proposal that satisfied everyone upstairs.All he had to do was wait for the praise and the compliments about how capable he was.After doing this for so long, Adrian had started to believe that he truly was talented.Then, he found out that Celine was not his biological sister and that Caroline was, but the latter had grown up in the countryside, appearing weak and timid, and seemed useless to the company—a good-for-nothing. Thus, Adrian began to harbor ambitions. He wanted to replace his sister and become the successor of the Fisher family.He had repeatedly expressed to his mother his desire to take over, to become the first male successor in the Fisher family’s history. He even said he was willing
Adrian tried several times to interrupt his sister, but Caroline’s barrage came at him like a machine gun, rapid and relentless. All he could do was glare at her, his face flush with anger. If looks could kill, Caroline would have been torn to pieces long ago.After finishing her lecture, Caroline picked up her cup and took a few sips of her coffee. She then said, “Adrian, look at me, I’m parched from all this talking. I’ve really gone out of my way to persuade you for your own good, just like how you tried to persuade me not to hand over control of the Fisher family. “To be honest, even if I didn’t give it back to Audrey and the rest, do you think I could hold onto the position of the matriarch?“The rest of the family doesn’t support us. They might not necessarily side with the Wiltspoonians either, but they definitely won’t side with us. They’ve long been dissatisfied with Mom and us.“Without their support and unable to win against Audrey, the Fisher legacy would eventually be
“But as time passed, we treated you decently, no? Yet, you’ve never had any regard for us, your brothers, and not even for Dad.“You’ve been back with us for several years now. Even if we weren’t particularly close to you, we weren’t exactly terrible either, but you’ve always shut us out, never treating us as family. It’s you who couldn’t integrate into this family, not us who rejected you.”Every time Adrian saw Caroline, he had a lot to say. He always complained that Caroline was not close to them and that she was not on their side.Caroline wore a neutral expression. “Adrian, you might be much older than me, but you’re only middle-aged. Has your memory already started failing? Do I need to remind you of all the things you’ve done behind my back?“It’s not that I didn’t want to integrate into this family, it’s you who’ve always excluded me. You never treated me as your sister. “In your hearts, Celine was your sister, while I was just an intruder who shouldn’t have come back, wh
Adrian’s housekeeper was long bribed by Darren. Whenever he needed them, they would do his bidding. The video and audio recordings were sent by the housekeeper to Darren, who then forwarded them to Caroline.After reviewing the evidence, Caroline no longer felt like resting. She got out of bed, went into the bathroom, and quickly freshened up. When she came out, she grabbed her phone and left the lounge.She first brewed herself a cup of coffee, then carried the steaming cup to her desk and sat down, leisurely sipping it.Then, a knock sounded at the door.“Come in,” Caroline said.The door opened, and in walked Adrian.Seeing him enter, Caroline’s beautiful eyes flickered slightly, but her expression remained calm. She continued sipping her coffee as she watched her eldest brother approach.“Carol,” Adrian said with a forced smile, his tone somewhat affectionate.Caroline stopped drinking her coffee. She casually placed the cup on the table, straightened up, and said, “Adrian,
“You’re new here, so you wouldn’t know. I’ve been working here longer, and since the eldest son lives here, I’ve been able to hear the latest news about the Fisher family.”After all, family matters like these were not usually spread all over the city. Only major events that caught the media’s attention would get leaked. Adrian had no idea about the two security guards’ conversation. He believed he had executed his plan perfectly and was now just waiting for the final step to be carried out tonight in eliminating Caroline to avenge Celine and his mother, as well as reclaiming all of his mother’s private assets.He could not let Caroline take everything for herself.Adrian blamed Caroline for the deaths of Celine and Belinda, convinced that Caroline was responsible for their demise. However, in reality, even without Caroline, Audrey would have returned to seek justice for her mother, and the Fisher family would still have ended up in the same situation. Belinda’s descendants woul
“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