“She said… She said that if Ms. Reina dared frame her, she should have been prepared to die as a result. It’s true! I wasn’t even at the resort this morning, so I had no idea what happened in that restaurant. Ms. North was the one who told me everything!”Everyone looked at each other.“That coach did actually arrive after breakfast time…”“Does that mean someone told him about what happened, then?”“I think it may actually be Mrs. Howard. After all, she was unfairly accused of being a mistress this morning and slapped. It’s only natural that she wants revenge.”“But this is too much! Ms. Reina had no idea what really happened, and it wasn’t like Ms. North would die if she got yelled at. But she got this man to assault Ms. Reina and even push her into a snow pit.“What if she had frozen to death before Mr. Howard found her? No matter how mad she is, she can’t just endanger someone’s life!”Ms. Hertz’s gaze started shifting again. “What do you have to say for yourself, Mrs. Howar
There was no sign of turmoil at all in Gerald’s clear gaze. “Or do you think I can’t even cover up such a small matter?”Ms. Hertz froze immediately.Reina understood what he meant too, and that made her face fall.What he meant was that even if North did actually hire someone to harm Reina, he was there to suppress any news of the scandal. He did not need to lie to save her reputation at all.Reina’s expression twisted grotesquely, despite her best intentions. Even after all that scheming, she had forgotten to account for Gerald’s bias toward North!Why?! She was the one who lay in the snow for two whole hours! Why was he still biased toward North?!She was his “savior”!Reina gritted her teeth and suddenly put on a dramatic expression. “I knew North would be innocent. I’m fine, Gerald. Just get everyone to leave me. Don’t let me ruin your mood.”Gerald looked at Reina calmly. “I will send someone to find the real culprit and handle it properly.”With that, he led North out.
Ms. Hertz helped up a frail Reina, hatred burning in her eyes. “How dare a certain someone still show her face in front of Reina?”North narrowed her eyes. “Gerald already said he’d find the culprit. What are you being this hasty for?”“Don’t you act smug! Our Reina—” Before Ms. Hertz could finish her sentence, someone screamed in terror behind her.“Oh, god! Stop! Everyone, look out!”North quickly looked up to see the ski coach charging over, holding a knife in his hand!The place erupted in chaos. Everyone was running away, for fear that the coach would stab them in his state of madness.“Reina!”“Ms. Reina!”“What do we do, Ms. Reina?!”Suddenly, the coach grabbed Reina with a precise grip and held the knife to her throat, snapping, “Everyone, shut up!”Ms. Hertz panicked. “W-What are you doing? Don’t make any rash decisions! Put that knife down!”“What am I doing? I’m taking this b*tch down with me even if I go to jail! I told you I wasn’t the mastermind, but you all di
Gerald got in the car as fast as he could, and the car sped off soon after that.North instinctively tried to follow him, but found herself in an awkward situation. What was she even following him for?Reina and Gerald were a marvelous pair. He would kick the ski coach for her, and she would take an injury for him. It seemed like no one else could get between them.“You see, Mr. Howard still cares about our Reina the most,” Ms. Hertz said passive-aggressively. “I think someone thought that just because she’s hogging the title of Mrs. Howard, she could hog his heart too. What a joke!”North narrowed her eyes. She was a bit sad just now, but she was not the type to let random people make fun of her.So, she shot back, “I’m sure Gerald would’ve carried you into that car too if you were dying, Ms. Hertz. Would you like to test that theory?”Ms. Hertz froze. “How dare you!”Nathan immediately kicked her out. “Is there anything else, Ms. Hag? If not, please get out of here, OK?”Nath
After some searching, North realized there were seven to eight different trending terms related to the incident alone. She clicked on one at random and noticed that the comments were initially made in support of Reina. However, the situation gradually morphed into a one-sided call for North to be punished.She frowned. “Did Reina hire online trolls?”Marlin nodded. “She must have. All of Reina Studios’ promotional accounts are joining the fray. By the time I noticed, it was too late. It’s not a good idea to suppress something once it’s already started trending, but I’ll do it if you don’t want to see that.”North narrowed her eyes. “Don’t waste your money. Even if you stop it from trending, Reina can spend more money to make it trend again.”North skimmed through the comments section. [Reina got injured on a skiing trip. I heard she froze in the snow for almost two hours and even got stabbed. She’s still unconscious!][What do we do? Let’s pray for Reina. How did a skiing trip g
The comments section blew up.[Wait, what? Really? That trip only allowed family members as additional guests?!][Yeah, Nathan Howard owns that resort, and he was the one who enforced that rule. Every other guest brought their spouses, children, and parents, but Mr. Howard brought Reina. Doesn’t that mean Reina’s his wife?][It’s confirmed, then! But how did North get there?][I bet she mooched off Reina. She’s Mr. Howard’s wife, which makes North his sister-in-law. If North said she wanted to tag along, who was he to refuse?][North is so shameless…][North almost got Reina killed by going there. Surely, Mr. Howard would avenge her? North’s doomed!]…After looking through several trending topics, North noticed they were largely talking about the same things. In response, her lips thinned into a straight line.Why were Reina and Ms. Hertz deliberately influencing the trending topics? Gerald had instructed them not to leak any news about the incident since he was trying to f
North suddenly felt a little lost. She was waiting for Gerald at the hotel, but where was he?Reina was already awake, and yet he was not back yet. Why? Did he not know she was waiting for him?Something that had been supporting her this whole time seemed to shatter immediately. North could not bear to stay there anymore.Grabbing her suitcase, she got to the airport and hopped on the very next flight to Peacevale that very night.She needed to spend a few days calming down in a place that felt familiar and safe to her.After getting off the flight, she somehow made it back to Royal Sights Residences.At the time, it was already 3:00 a.m., so the entire place was completely dark. North was feeling a little dizzy, so she stood at the entrance for a while before finally going in. When she reached the second floor, North was about to go back to her room when she noticed the lights were on in the study, and she could hear Steward’s voice. “Youngsters have their own way of figuring
Reina had always thought Nathan was a useless idiot who was easy to fool, so she answered, “Of course I do. You’re the youngest Howard son and Gerald’s brother.”“No,” Nathan said slowly. “I’m an illegitimate son. The confirmed kind.”Reina froze. Had this guy gone mad? Who even cared if he was illegitimate?Before she could say anything, Nathan replied passive-aggressively, “My mother was a mistress, so I know what a mistress is like before they usurp someone’s wife. Ms. Reina, you act just like my mother.”The ward fell into dead silence. Everyone’s jaws dropped.Hold on, what did Nathan mean by that? He was an illegitimate son, so he knew what mistresses were like, and Reina reminded him of his own mother—who everyone knew was a mistress who usurped her predecessor.Did Nathan mean that Reina’s actions were a mistress’s actions?!Did he just call Reina a mistress?!Reina’s face twisted into something indescribable, but she could not show her anger. Instead, she said, “You’
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?”