“No! No! I don’t want to go!” Melanie started screaming. She struggled and tried to break free from Sherry’s grasp. However, her hands and legs were tied up, so as soon as she managed to break free, she fell on the ground. Sherry chuckled. Sylvia smiled coldly.The grim expression on Odell made him look terrifying. Tara secretly clenched her fists but her body trembled uncontrollably. There was a moment of silence as everyone turned to stare at Melanie. Even a fool could tell that she was feeling nervous and guilty. Soon, Melanie broke down from the pressure and realized that her crimes had been exposed. Not daring to look at Odell or Sylvia, she avoided their gazes and turned to Tara. She panicked and tried to crawl towards Tara as she cried out for her help, “Tara, please help me! Help me! I did all this for your benefit!” Tara took a few steps backwards and looked at Melanie with an expression of disbelief and pain. “Aunt Melanie, even if it was for my benefit, yo
Aunt Tonya wiped her tears away, her voice completely choked up as she said, “You terrible girl... Why didn’t you tell me that you were still alive? I really thought you were gone.” Sylvia hugged her. “I’m sorry that I made you worry.” Aunt Tonya sighed and smiled. “I’m fine. It’s okay, as long as you’re alive.” “I still have something to take care of. I’ll explain it all when we get back home.” Sylvia released Aunt Tonya from her embrace after calming her down. She then returned to Odell’s side and said, “Odell, I’ve already called the police and they are waiting outside.” Odell pursed his lips in silence and simply stared at her with a complicated look in his eyes.Sylvia then pulled her phone out from her pocket. Her phone was already engaged in a call so she said, “Officer Sach, you can come in now.” From the moment she had arrived at the engagement party, she had already connected the call with the police officer. The conversation that she had with Tara and Melani
Melanie was overwhelmed by guilt. “Officer Sach, please charge her with attempted kidnapping after the questioning. As long as she’s prosecuted accordingly, the Carters will donate a handsome amount to every station in Westchester annually to provide aid and help for the officers who are injured in duty,” Odell said. His voice sounded heavier than usual as if he was holding a certain emotion back. If not for the presence of the police, he would have put Melanie through hell. Officer Sach solemnly answered, “We will proceed accordingly. Don’t worry, we will carefully investigate and make sure she confesses to every crime that she has committed.” Then, Officer Sach instructed his men to take Melanie away. Peace and quiet returned to the hall. Sylvia looked at Odell. “Odell, do you really think a woman like Melanie is capable of planning all this alone? Do you really think she’s audacious enough to push Grandmother down the hill without any help or support?” She glanced at
The slap was so powerful that it turned Tara’s face. Before Tara could react and before Odell could stop her, Sylvia raised her hand again. She swiftly slapped Tara three more times on the face. Tara was stunned. Sylvia then said with a grin, “These four slaps are for Aunt Tonya.” Tara widened her eyes in shock. “Sylvia, you—” Thud! Before she could even finish her sentence, Sylvia kicked her on the left shin. Tara’s expression twisted in pain as she cried out and fell to the ground after losing balance. With a cold smile, Sylvia moved closer and kicked Tara again. She remembered the way Tara had kicked her leg while it had been in a cast back at Cloudy Heart Lake, so she felt that she was just returning the favor. Thud! Thud! The force of her kick was strong and produced a loud sound. Tara curled up in pain on the floor but her cries did not stop Sylvia’s furious kicking. Sylvia’s expression remained cold as she was not moved by Tara’s fake acting. She was
His smile was soft but bewitching and also mischievous. Sylvia turned to Sherry for help. Sherry then looked at the bodyguards that she had hired and said, “Guys, you know what to do.” The moment she finished speaking, Cliff stepped up and said to the bodyguards, “The man she just asked you to beat up is Odell Carter. I believe you guys would know the consequences of that.” The bodyguards stopped and exchanged glances with each other.Annoyed, Sherry cried, “I hired you guys at my expense! Don’t you guys want to get paid?” Cliff remained smiling. “Stay put and I can pay you double of whatever she’s paying you guys.” Sherry glared at Cliff. “I’ll beat the crap out of you!” Cliff continued, “I have a black belt in karate, you are more than welcome to try, Ms. Fowler.” Sherry was silenced. She glared at Cliff before shooting a helpless gaze at Sylvia. Sylvia had heard everything. In frustration, she glared at Odell and said, “Odell, you’ve left me no choice but to d
Odell looked at the woman in his arms. Sylvia was also staring at him with her big round eyes. Although the look in her eyes was icy cold, she looked full of life.His deep gaze softened and his lips curled into a smile. “The woman I saw at Lush Heaven, it was you, wasn’t it?” Sylvia tried to break free from his arms. “Let me go first.” “Tell me and I’ll let you go.” Without a second thought, Sylvia replied, “Yeah, that was me.” He then asked, “Was it also you who told them to spread the news of me entering the female toilet to chase someone on the Internet?” “Yeah, that was me as well.” Sylvia grinned. “It seems like you are not all that stupid.” Odell was not angry at all, instead he chuckled. Secretly calling him a psychopath, Sylvia then asked, “Can you let go of me now?” He lifted his other hand to touch her face.“Don’t touch me!” Sylvia tried to avoid his touch. Both her voice and her reaction were filled with resistance. Odell pursed his lips and release
“Even if I had really died, it has only been four months since it happened!” Sylvia scoffed. “You can just save your lies for someone else!” Sylvia then turned to the driver and cried out, “Stop the car!” “Do not stop!” Odell said. Clearly, the driver would only follow Odell’s orders, so he drove past the intersection without stopping. Sylvia grit her teeth and tried to forcefully open the door. Odell narrowed his eyes and ordered, “Lock the door!” The driver did as he was told.Sylvia shot a furious glare at the man. The man smiled at her and said, “If you are not comfortable in your seat, you can be in my arms instead.” Sylvia turned aside and sat closer to the door. She turned her eyes to look outside the window, giving Odell the cold shoulder. Odell’s lips curled and continued to stare at her. …After half an hour of a quiet journey, the car finally arrived at Carter Residence. Aunt Tonya was already home with the kids. Isabel and Liam ran out when they sa
After settling down, Sylvia brought the kids and Aunt Tonya to Madam Carter’s room. Violet and Sebastian followed as well. The spacious room got lively for the first time. They were happy that Sylvia came back. They sat down and Aunt Tonya started asking, “Syl, tell me what happened to you in the past four months!” Sylvia knew they were curious, so she briefly explained, “After I fell into the lake, one of my old friends saved me and brought me to Coastrock City to heal. When I felt better, I returned to Westchester City and contacted Sherry and Violet.” She then looked at Violet in gratitude. “I have Violet to thank for making it possible for me to come back this soon.” She omitted a lot of details in her story, such as being bedridden for a long time because of her bone fracture. It was not necessary to tell the kids or Aunt Tonya what she had been through. Violet said, “Madam, we missed you too. If it’s Ms. Avery, neither of us will have a day of peace.” “I know
She was her usual self in every aspect. She put her heart into her job and never started trouble so long as nobody tried to start trouble with her. The crew cycled through their locations during their shoot. The constant travel made her skin break out slightly, but there were no other concerns otherwise. The shoot progressed very smoothly and within three months, they managed to wrap up everything at the mountainous region previously mentioned. It was nearly evening when they wrapped up the shoot. Holding a bouquet in hand, she took a group picture with the crew and celebrated with everyone. After that, she planned to hitch a ride with another crew member and leave for home. To their demise, some men in uniform who claimed to be the road maintenance technicians showed up to break the bad news to them. They mentioned that they had to repair some of the roads urgently and so the way home was temporarily obstructed. The director took his phone and called the city hotline fo
He remembered his first meeting with Isabel. She was sitting all by herself on the floor, in the middle of nowhere. Her vulnerable expression only made her more endearing. So, he managed to get her to go to his place and installed her in his home. He fell for her and paid careful attention to all her needs. It did not take long before Isabel caught feelings for him as well. The two of them got together in no time. Their days were plain and ordinary, but also very fulfilling, that was until he met Clarice. With the help of his father, his power struggle with Roland had reached a tipping point. It was at that opportune moment when Clarice’s father saw something in Roland and planned to wed his daughter Clarice to him to join up their families, which was a cause for alarm for Decker. He stressed over it for an entire night before approaching Clarice himself the very next day. Clarice quickly caught feelings for him as well. Furthermore, Roland had been foolish enough to reject
Decker was smiling quite earnestly at Isabel. Isabel threw a deeply suspicious look at him, then she glanced at the stack of documents laid out on top of the table in front of her. “Transferal of Shares.” She was dumbfounded. "I've gone through the contract, it’s safe to sign so go ahead.” Roland picked up a pen and handed it to her. "Roland, I..." "Sign it first, I’ll explain when we get home.” Isabel frowned and tried to protest. "I—" "Don't make me have to beg." Isabel did not know how to respond. Fine. She briefly scanned through the contract. The contract stated Decker’s agreement to transfer the remaining forty percent of his shares in Rockwell Corporation to her. Roland must have talked to the shareholders of Rockwell Corporation about this as well. They all regarded Isabel with polite smiles. Isabel had flipped through the final page of the document. She signed her name on one of the marked-out sections. She proceeded to sign all thr
They ended the call shortly after that. Isabel glanced at Martha and was hesitating if she should break the news right away. Martha seemed to have sensed her staring and suddenly turned to her with a flash of concern. "Isabel, what's wrong?" Isabel took a deep breath and broke the news. "Auntie, Master Rockwell just passed away." Martha's eyes widened. After a lengthy silence that lasted more than ten seconds, she started to break out in tears. She covered her face with her hands and expressed amid bouts of tears mixed with laughter, “Wonderful! About time! I hope he enjoys life in the underworld. God knows that someone like him will never deserve a spot in heaven!” Isabel did not know whether she should celebrate with Martha or console her. Soon, Martha began to collect herself. She briefly wiped away her tears and joyfully took Isabel's hand. "Isabel, let’s go shopping! I’m in such a good mood today, I’m going to go on a shopping spree!” "Okay. But Roland w
Isabel held onto Roland's hand firmly during the entire drive home after leaving the hospital. It was because Roland’s hands were cold and rigid. Isabel sat with him and tirelessly rubbed his hand to keep them warm. After one hand was warm, she would shift her attention to the other. By the time she managed to warm the other hand, the original hand would turn cold again. She decided it was easier to take both of his hands and caress them with the warmth of her palms. Roland looked at her with a gentle glow deep within his eyes. “Thank you, Isabel,” he said softly. Thank you for loving him, and for sticking by his side all this time despite circumstances. Isabel smiled. “I’m just warming your hands, it's no big deal. Still, you’re welcome." Roland smiled faintly and left it at that. Soon, his hands began to warm up off of the heat of Isabel’s palms. When Isabel felt that his hands were no longer freezing, she prepared to pull her hand away. That was when
Decker looked nothing like his usual self. The pompous, arrogant man who held himself far above others and who expected everyone around him to kiss up to him because he was superior to them all. It was as if he had been plunged not only to Earth but a pile of swamp. He had completely lost his usual grace. Isabel said crossly, "Decker, have you gone mental? Is everything going on too much for you?” “Yeah, could you help me?” he said with a coy smile, “Just one hug should be enough to take care of it all.” Isabel rolled her eyes. Without warning, he suddenly braced himself and lunged right at Isabel, stepping past Brandon who was caught off guard by this sudden attack. Isabel barely had time to react. Just when it seemed like his hand was about to graze Isabel, a long pair of arms seized Isabel from behind and jerked her backward. It was swiftly followed by a long, muscular leg shooting outward right next to Isabel. Thump! Decker was kicked to the ground.
"How did you and Roland meet?" Decker suddenly asked. Isabel turned away, fully intent on ignoring him. "Did you meet each other at Carter Corporation? Or did you meet him outside of work and gradually fell in love with him, then you decided to set him up with a position at Carter Corporation?” What did he mean by that? Was he insinuating that Roland was relying on her to snake his way into Carter Corporation? She threw a sideways, belittling look at him. "Do you think Roland is anything like you? He wouldn’t latch on another woman to further his goals.” Decker was not upset by this as he continued with a smug smile. "Oh? Then how did he get into Carter Corporation?" “He proved his worth.” Isabel realized that she had been roped in by Decker again. Nevertheless, she continued, “He passed the interviews himself. I was one of the interviewers and initially planned to dismiss him, but he managed to leave a very good impression on my father and the rest was history.” "
"I never meant to kill him! Roland, you have to believe me. Why would I still try to deceive you when I’m in this state?” “In that case, you can go ahead and explain things to him in the afterlife.” Master Rockwell was taken aback by this, his demeanor tightened. "You...you..." Roland looked at him calmly. "Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. It was Grandma and my parents who raised me. They instilled morals and virtue into me and made sure I’d grow into a decent man.” Master Rockwell was briefly relieved to hear this, but before he could rid himself of his trepidation, Roland continued in a dark voice, "But I won’t forget about you and Decker bribing all those media outlets to defame Isabel. I know you manipulated the stock prices to try to kick me out of the corporation. I’ll make sure to settle our score through the legal system.” If convicted guilty, they would have to rot in prison. “Roland… listen to me, Roland. Decker is your uncle. If you want revenge, you can come
Master Rockwell must have heard their shifting movements and opened his eyes. When he recognized the faces of Roland and Isabel, there was a brief glow in his murky eyes. He motioned to the nurse to have her help him sit up from the bed. After he managed to position himself seated up against the head of the bed, he asked the nurse to leave. Then he cast a loving, tender smile on Roland and Isabel. “Roland, Isabel, please have a seat.” Roland said disinterestedly, "We have things to get to, just hurry up and tell us what you have to say." Isabel stayed silent. A look flashed in Master Rockwell's eyes. Then, he turned to Isabel and expressed regretfully, "Isabel, I’m a foolish old man, it was me who told Decker to leak pictures of you two. He had no choice because I forced him to do so. If you have to blame someone, blame me!” Isabel frowned. She was somewhat impressed by how smoothly the old man switched his mask from one to another. From a forlorn and sad state t