North really understood him. She even knew what his purpose was here today.Seeing that no one was speaking, North feigned ignorance of the situation and said absentmindedly, “Since this is the Howard family we’re talking about, those shares would mean a huge sum. If you can bid using those shares… Ah, but forget it. I think Mr. Mike doesn’t have that kind of clout. Congratulations, Gerald.”Gerald looked coolly at the auctioneer and asked, “Can we end the bidding already?”The auctioneer came back to himself. “Yes. I would like to announce that this bidding is done and the price is set at eleven billion—”The resentment in Mike’s heart rushed up.He had lost? He had lost to Gerald again!He had said so confidently that he would obtain the land in Southvale and even mentioned that he had the Howard and Bracken families at his back. If he lost to Gerald now, his reputation would be done for!He could not give up this plot of land… If Gerald was so invested in it, then it meant th
Applause rang out in the hall. The surprise, admiration, and other positive feelings made Mike puff out his chest.Patricia gritted her teeth. After thinking about it for a while, she thought that it was still fine. The shares could be bought back, but the land in Southvale could not be obtained if they gave up on it now. Besides, if the land had ended up with Gerald, Mike would have lost yet another battle against Gerald. Although the price was a little high, at least it would not be a total loss.“Congratulations, Mr. Mike! Many experts and corporations have assessed that plot of land. It will definitely be the most valuable piece of land in Peacevale in the coming five years!”“That’s right! Mr. Mike, you have such a great eye. Once the land is developed, your reputation will become equal to that of Mr. Gerald’s!”“The Howard and Bracken families have chosen the right person. Even though you’re only an adopted son, Mr. Mike, you’re very accomplished.”“Mr. Gerald has made a m
Mike was stunned for a moment before he shouted angrily, “What are you talking about? How can we be ruined?! That land is already mine. I have the right to develop it!”After spending so much money to buy that land, it was simply frustrating to hear someone say that they were ruined. The assistant looked pained. “We’re ruined because the land is yours! That land… Under that land…”He paused and then stuttered out, “There’s a mass grave under that land…”There was a mass grave under that land.There was a mass grave under the plot of land in Southvale?!With a silent explosion, Mike’s brain went blank. His face instantly paled as he gripped the assistant by his collar. His gaze was vicious.“What nonsense are you talking about?! How could there be a mass grave under that land?!”“It’s completely true, Mr. Mike. A survey team has already been there. There are at least several thousand graves there…” The assistant said in agony, “Just a little while ago, there was a report about
Patricia’s expression was unsightly. “Gerald, I won’t pursue the matter of you setting us up, but we refuse to buy this plot of land!”North clicked her tongue and said, “Ms. Patricia, the bidding is over. It wouldn’t be right for you to refuse to buy the land now.”Before Patricia could answer, North went on, “Goodness, you can’t think Gerald’s that easy a scapegoat, can you? Just now, you were trying so hard to beat Gerald in getting that land. Now that you know it will result in a loss, you’re trying to make Gerald suffer the losses?“Is it that your adopted son should not take any responsibility when he makes a mistake? Goodness, he really is a manchild.“Mr. Mike is clearly the same age as Gerald. But I see that one of them is a renowned person worth tens of billions of dollars while the other is only capable of wasting his inheritance. I understand now. Sometimes, you just can’t compare between people. I have to accept that everyone is different.”Nathan and everyone else we
Gerald smiled, and his gaze darkened. He hid away the coldness in his eyes, which turned his smile warm.“I’m not lying to you. I really don’t care about the Bracken family. I’m happy as long as a certain someone favors me.”North was taken aback for a second. “...Who?”Gerald’s tone was light as he said, “Mrs. Howard, are you willing to always favor me?”North’s heart was racing wildly.Gerald’s chiseled features were seared in North’s vision. She opened her mouth and said, “I…”A loud noise interrupted North’s words. Hiding in a corner, Nathan was utterly stunned. He felt like he had been struck by lightning.Was… Was this Gerald? What was he saying? Nathan must have heard it all wrong!Nathan looked awkward. Just as he was thinking of sneaking away, he knocked his head against the wall. With a crash, he fell to the ground.He fidgeted a bit. All he wanted to do was to escape as far away as possible.North instinctively turned around. Meanwhile, Gerald frowned slightly. “
This banquet thrown by the South family was not a sincere thing. It was better that North did not attend. However, Connor had heard that Nathan planned to drop in for some fun.…Upstairs, North was in the master bedroom looking for some sheet music. She failed to find it but accidentally nudged a book off the shelf.The book flipped open, and a yellowed note fell from it. It looked like it was quite old but well cared for. The writing on it was very clear.North was stunned. Why was such a note in a book in Gerald’s room?Plus, the handwriting on the note was obviously that of a woman’s.North scanned the words on the paper. [I will think about it. If my answer is yes, I will put a rose in the vase on the tenth-floor window.]There was no context to the note, so North could not wrap her head around it. But the words “yes” and “rose” prompted her to overthink.North pressed her lips together. A feeling she did not understand rose within her. She decided that she would not b
“Are you sure that I claimed credit for Melinda’s good deed?” North ruffled her hair as she interrupted. “Aren’t you afraid that saying that will haunt you one day, Dad?”Henry’s whole body went rigid. His eyes widened as he turned around in disbelief. “What are you doing here?!”Why did North come here?! She had definitely not been told about this banquet. How dare she just show up? This event was Melinda’s chance to shine, so North could not be allowed to cause trouble here!Henry sounded righteous as he said, “I am your father. Would I tell such lies? North, you must admit it when you do something wrong. You should not feel bad about owning up to it!”North chuckled. “Oh? Then may I ask where Melinda saved Eiger? How badly hurt was Eiger at the time? What did the kidnapper say in the end? How much money did they ask from the South family?“Do you still remember these details, Melinda?”Melinda’s face turned pale. “North…”“What’s the problem with Melinda not being able to rem
North blinked. “I’m so sorry, Dad. I think you probably won’t want to offend Mr. Nathan, right? I’m going inside now, alright?”Henry was so angry that he panted. He was unable to say a word.North followed Nathan inside, where he haughtily walked up to the front desk and sat down. He was disgusted as he said, “How can you be so useless?”North was stunned for a moment. She pointed at herself. Was Nathan talking to her?Nathan was annoyed with her for not standing up for herself better. “Aren’t you a vixen? Shouldn’t you have better tricks up your sleeve? I can’t believe you got blocked at the door and even got scolded so badly that you couldn’t speak. You’re a disgrace to vixens everywhere!”Goodness, North was simply too weak!North was confused. Did Nathan call her weak? Did he think that she had been scolded so badly that she could not speak?She swallowed. She thought Nathan must have some misconceptions about her.Before she could get to the bottom of it, Nathan suddenly
He moved his wrists and frowned.Did North sleep for the entire day? Was she disoriented?North sat by the bed with nothing to do. She watched as time passed. Strange, why wasn’t she awake yet? Was she that sleepy? Could it be that the advanced exam questions were too difficult and she did not want to wake up?North could not help but think about the questions. Hmm… they did not seem very difficult. She had thought of a solution!Indeed, people had endless potential when they were dreaming. They could even come up with answers to such difficult questions!North was afraid that she would forget and wanted to wake up quickly, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not wake up. She closed her eyes and opened them again, but she was still in the room.North frowned and muttered to herself, “What’s going on…?”Gerald looked at her silently.He also wanted to ask what was going on.“North, do you need my help?”North hesitated. Even though it was a dream, she was still a littl
North exclaimed in surprise.It turned out that Gerald could be sarcastic too!Gerald did not give Patricia any time to react. He was just short of chasing the entire Bracken family out.While the Bracken family was leaving, Gerald heard Mike grumble, “Mom… If you knew this was going to happen, why didn’t you adjust your act earlier!”Patricia was furious. “I did all of this for you. How could you fall for Gerald’s tricks?!”“But Gerald was right. They suspect that I’m not Paige’s son because of you!”…Giselle’s smile became more and more sarcastic. When the Bracken family disappeared, he said, “Accompany me pay respects to Paige. Also, get someone to clean Glass Manor inside and out.”He wanted to get rid of the bad vibes the Bracken family had brought in.…A few days later, when they returned to Royal Sights Residences, the Bracken family actually stopped causing trouble.North was about to graduate, and she had one final exam. She saw the class group chat exchanging adva
“Why? Do you think that I’ve forgotten how Paige died?”Giselle never expected that this shameless family would have the audacity to make an issue out of Paige’s death.“You make it sound so simple. Even if Patricia dies today, you would never disregard her last wishes. Is everything you do for the good of the Bracken family?“Still, the only person the Bracken family has ever had to sacrifice was Paige!”Virgil snapped, “Nonsense! I’m Paige’s biological father, how could I…”Giselle sneered. “Stop putting on an act. You didn’t look for your daughter when she was missing. You didn’t feel sorry for your daughter when she returned. You kept asking her to tolerate the adopted daughter. When she was sick, you even stopped her treatment so that she would die and let your adopted daughter marry her husband.“Virgil, I’m sick. I’m not dead yet, and I haven’t lost my memory. If this happens again, I’ll destroy the entire Bracken family!”Giselle looked at the bodyguards she had brought
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.Virgil found it hard to breathe. “Let go! Are you crazy?!”“I’m asking you a question. Where is Paige buried? Tell me!”Virgil’s brain was deprived of oxygen. Without thinking, he roared, “How would I know? Let go, you crazy woman!”Patricia screamed, “Madam Giselle, what are you doing? Let go of him. Do you want Dad to die?”Gerald’s second uncle also shouted, “Madam Giselle, why are you doing this to us? Don’t treat your husband like this!”“You don’t know? You don’t know at all, do you?” Giselle ignored everyone. She looked unremorseful. She scoffed.“You claim to be severely depressed about your daughter’s death,” Giselle retorted. “Despite that, you actually don’t know where your daughter’s grave is!”As soon as she finished speaking, the entire place fell silent.When Virgil realized what he had just said, his face turned pale and he stopped screaming. He trembled as he spoke to Giselle hatefully. “You did this on purpose…”That wa
Mike said weakly, “North, we paid our respects to my mother before we went out today. We didn’t say anything because we were afraid that Grandpa wouldn’t be able to accept it.”As expected, Virgil clutched his chest and looked like he was about to faint.Patricia cried out, “Gerald, are you satisfied now that your grandfather is trembling in anger? We’ve kept it a secret for so many years. Despite that…”Everyone sighed. So, that was how it was.It was indeed Ms. Paige’s death anniversary today. However, the old man had fallen into a state of depression from the intense guilt. He then mistakenly thought that his daughter had passed away in May.As his family, Patricia and Mike could not bear to make the old man feel more guilty. Thus, they maintained the facade.In fact, they would pay their respects to Paige every year.This made sense. After all, Virgil was old and could not stand such harsh emotions.The people from the Bracken family jumped on this chance to scold Gerald. “
Everyone was dumbfounded. North was really bold!North blinked. “What’s wrong, Mr. Virgil? Why are you so angry? Did I say something wrong?”“What nonsense! Paige is my daughter! How could I intentionally let her die?!”North widened her eyes. “I didn’t say that you intentionally let her die! It’s just that the Bracken family didn’t like her and looked down on her. The medical staff didn’t care about her either. In the end, they didn’t even treat her and let her die.“I know. It’s not your fault. After all, you were so busy. How could you have the time to take care of a daughter you don’t love?”Virgil clutched his chest. “What nonsense…! Shut up!”“North!” Patricia screamed. “Gerald, are you just going to watch her anger your grandfather? Your grandfather’s health isn’t good…”“What did I say wrong?”North sighed. “Look at what Mr. Virgil said. Ms. Paige passed away at the end of May, so why didn’t he treat her for two whole months from the end of March to the end of May?“Th
Mike knew that he had fallen into North’s trap and was speechless!He was so anxious that his expression changed. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and huge beads of sweat dripped down. “Um… I…”“Mike!” Patricia saw that the situation was not good, so she hurriedly interrupted Mike and pulled him behind her.Then, she took a deep breath and pretended to be helpless and upset.“Gerald, what nonsense are you talking about?! We’re family. If you have anything you’re upset about, just tell me. There’s no need to cause trouble at the banquet and make an issue out of Paige’s death anniversary!“We’re all Paige’s family, and Dad is also Paige’s biological father. How can we not know when her death anniversary is?“Paige’s death anniversary is at the end of May. It’s not today at all. You… You’re too much!”Virgil looked aggrieved. He nodded and said, “That’s right. Paige’s death anniversary is in May. Gerald, I know you don’t want to give up her inheritance. Moreover, I didn’t fo
Everyone’s eyes fell on Gerald.Gerald looked up slowly and said calmly, “Ms. Patricia, why did you choose today to hold a banquet for Mike?”“It doesn’t matter what day I chose!” Patricia roared.“So, you did choose the date.”Gerald looked down at Patricia from above. His cold gaze made Patricia suddenly feel suffocated.Her “son” had a murderous look in his eyes. “Any other day would have been fine, but not today.”Patricia hated the look in Gerald’s eyes the most. Why was he so arrogant? Why was he looking down on her? Why was he like that b*tch?She screamed, “Gerald, I’m your mother! Mike is your brother! It’s fine if you don’t love me, but you keep finding fault with me. What right do you have—”“Today is the anniversary of Paige’s death.”Gerald interrupted her.Patricia’s face turned pale, and the words that she wanted to say were stuck in her throat. The scene instantly fell silent.What did Gerald say? What day was it today?Today was the anniversary of Paige’s d
Patricia felt a lump in her throat. “You…”“Connor, come out.” North interrupted her.Then, a group of people dressed in black walked out of nowhere and played mournful music. Connor walked in the middle and placed a memorial tablet on the table.Everyone looked at the memorial tablet curiously, wanting to know whose memorial tablet it was. When everyone saw the name “Paige”, they instantly fell silent.North and Gerald paid their respects. Then, they placed the bouquets beside the memorial tablet.Their actions stunned everyone.Had they come to pay respects to Paige?Patricia was trembling. She stared fixedly at Paige’s name on the memorial tablet. She clenched her fists.Paige!Gerald had paid his respects to Paige at a banquet for Mike. Was he crazy?! She was so unlucky! Paige was already dead, but she was still the center of attention at Mike’s banquet!After paying her respects, North turned around. “What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to pay your respects?”