Mia's eyes were welling up with tears.Timothy couldn't understand her. "I just don't get it. You knew the bone marrow was missing this morning, but why did you proceed with Ginger's surgery so soon?"Only then did Mia calm down. A slip of the tongue would give the game away. She had to stay calm.Now that Sage was in the vacuum chamber, Timothy's bone marrow from yesterday was the only way to save Sage.Determination recentered the focus in her eyes. She had to find that bone marrow!She explained, "The doctor made a mistake. They didn't check the container when they received it."Timothy disapproved, "Fools. You shouldn't have sent Ginger back to Nord City."Mia quipped, "If it wasn't for your mother, none of this would have happened! It's all because of your mother!"Heath came up to them. "Our men headed to the place Mrs. Barrett went, but they couldn't find her. According to them, she didn't go there at all."In other words, Sharon lied.Timothy's face fell. "And what ar
"I know what happened to the bone marrow. I've sent out all the men we have. We should receive news soon," Dominic reassured Mia."Dominic, ask someone to keep an eye on Luna. I think she's involved in this."Luna was always plotting against Mia. On top of that, she was the one who told Sharon that Timothy would donate his bone marrow.Mia reckoned that Luna did something else too.Not long after, Mia received a message from the bodyguard who was in charge of monitoring Luna. "Luna didn't go home after work. She went to a villa."He stayed on watch for a while, but he couldn't find out who else was there.Mia made up her mind. "Send some men over. Keep watching her. I'll make my way there."Her hunch was telling her that Sharon was definitely there. She'd rather make a mistake than miss her chance to discover the truth.So, Mia headed to the villa.The bodyguard next to her asked, "Ms. Mia, should we inform Mr. Barrett?"She smirked. "Don't inform him for now."Because she d
Mia was vexed. Dark clouds were hanging over her head.Once she had confirmed that the duo orchestrated the theft, things would be easier for her.Surprised, Sharon shrieked, "You mad woman! W-What are you doing!""Want to live? Give me back the bone marrow!" Mia yelled.Sharon gulped in fear. Mia somehow turned scary to her.Luna stepped forward, shielding Sharon. The latter was touched by her protective side.Contented with Sharon's reaction, Luna said, "Ms. Monalize, is this the way to speak to Mrs. Barrett? The bone marrow doesn't belong to you, it belongs to her son. Fix your attitude. If you have a favor to ask for, act accordingly."Ego seeped into her voice. She knew that Mia would come begging for her one day!Sharon became confident. "T-That's right!"Mia casually picked up a piece of glass from the table, marching toward Sharon. "Tell me, how should I act?"The aura she carried was strong and the depth of her eyes bore something dark and evil.Sharon was so scared
Luna, who was livid as well, celebrated inwardly when she heard what Sharon said.That was exactly what Luna had hoped for."Still not admitting your defeat, huh?" Mia stomped on Sharon's hand, sending Sharon crying like a swine.Luna gaped at that. She didn't see that coming.Still holding the shred of glass, Mia crouched in front of Sharon. "You lost the right to negotiate with me the moment I stepped into this house. As I said, my daughter means the world to me. But you guys just wouldn't listen. Since you have a death wish, I might as well do you a favor."Pain drained the color from Sharon's face. "Tim… Tim will never forgive you!""Do you think he can do anything about it even if he comes?" Mia taunted.Mia came fully prepared. No one could stop her when her son's life was at stake! No one!Luna begged, "Let her go, Ms. Monalize. Just come at me. It's rude of you to hurt her. She's older than us, we should respect her!"How righteous of her.Mia turned to look at Luna.
A deep cut appeared across Luna's face, sending Sharon into a shriek of cry.Sharon didn't expect Mia to actually hurt Luna!The fresh blood oozing out of the wound on Luna's face completely freaked Sharon out.Luna looked at Sharon, feeling the warm sensation on her face.However, her limbs were tied so she couldn't check what happened to her face. Then, she saw the blood dripping onto the floor.Why was there so much blood?Luna's face fell and she screamed at Mia, "You ruined my face! Do you think you can get that bone marrow? I'll destroy it and your daughter will die in that vacuum chamber!"Mia wasn't angered by the provocation, but her expression grew more solemn.Her hand moved to the other side of Luna's cheek, the glass resting against Luna's skin."How about you die first?" Mia said, her voice dripping with malice.Luna zipped her lips in fear, not daring to utter a single word."Why the sudden silence? Keep running that mouth of yours." Mia's tone was monotonou
"Didn't you say you're Ms. Lane? If you're really that powerful, you might as well look for it yourself!" Luna retorted.Mia grabbed Luna's neck. "If you don't tell me by the count of three, your face is going to be ruined. Let's see. What should I draw? A turtle or a cat's face?""Don't you dare!" Luna growled. Mia began counting, "One… two…"At the third second, Sharon couldn't put up with it anymore. "Don't hurt her. I know where it is."Mia turned her attention to Sharon. "Finally, there's a smart one here. Give it to me and I'll let both of you go."She would only be this lenient today.Right when Sharon was going to reveal where the bone marrow was, a group of people barged into the place all of a sudden.Timothy, marching at the frontline, headed straight to the kitchen. His face turned grim after he took in the situation. It was chaotic.He didn't expect Mia to be a step ahead of him."Tim, you're finally here!" Luna's eyes shone with a glimmer of hope. "Son, you
Things were getting tense.Timothy looked at Mia. "I will find out where the bone marrow is. I promise.""On what grounds? If I don't know where the bone marrow is by today, I am not going to let them go. You can try me, Timothy Barrett." She stood in front of him daringly.Feeling helpless, he revealed to Sharon, "Mom, Ginger's my daughter. How could you hide the bone marrow? She's your biological granddaughter."Sharon froze for a moment, clearly doubting what she heard. "Don't try to fool me. How could her child be my granddaughter?"Perhaps this woman was really Mia Bowen?"She really is Mia Bowen, Mom. She was pregnant when she left, and I am the father of the child," Timothy explained."What? She's Mia Bowen? Didn't you guys say that she simply looked a lot like her?"Timothy sighed, "I have no reasons to lie to you, Mom. She is Mia Bowen. I did suspect her identity at the beginning. You know what happened between her and us. She lied because she doesn't want to have anyt
"You want the bone marrow? Sure. Tell Mia to get on her knees before me and admit her mistakes. Then, take that little girl away and never return to Bern City! If she can do that, I will give her the bone marrow," Luna laid out her conditions.Mia said, "You'll never learn your lesson, will you?" She glanced at her bodyguard, who promptly took his phone out to make a video call.Then, Mia showed the phone screen to Luna. "Look who we have here."On the screen, there was a boy tied up with his mouth taped shut. It was Asher.The sight of her son getting kidnapped sent Luna into a frenzy. "You despicable bitch! What are you trying to do to my son!""I'm not trying to do anything to him. As long as you give me the bone marrow, he'll be fine."Luna turned to Timothy right away. "Tim, look at what she's doing to Asher! What if he gets hurt? You promised me you'll protect him forever."Yanking Luna's hair, Mia quipped, "Don't put your hopes on a man. Timothy doesn't have a say in th
None of the major shareholders was a fool.After that, Mia was busy handling Barrett Group affairs and barely had time to rest.With an exhausted look, she returned to the hospital.Mia looked at Timothy and said, "I'll run away if you don't wake up soon.""No… Please don't go…" Timothy grabbed her hand. His gaze was deep.Mia's eyes reddened as she gazed at the man who had just regained consciousness. Timothy finally came out of his coma.After that, everything was back to normal. Those who caused trouble quieted down.Sharon visited Timothy and told him that she was going to settle down overseas and would not come back anymore.Timothy bought her a property and gave her a huge sum of money before sending her away from Bern City.As for Maya, it was discovered that she was not the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island but merely his caregiver. Yet, she had been deceiving people outside.After Maya was exposed, she ran away dejectedly. Nobody knew where she was
Sage stood beside Timothy in silence.Soon, news that Timothy was hospitalized spread, and Barrett Group's stock plunged.The relatives of the Barrett family requested to hold a board meeting to elect another CEO.On the day of the board meeting, Mia brought her two children to Barrett Group.They managed to keep everyone on a leash as Sage bore a striking resemblance to Timothy.Mia marched into the meeting room, sat in Timothy's chair, and glanced at everyone present. "Let's begin. Didn't you all want to have a meeting?"One of the middle-aged men said, "Ms. Lane, this is the Barrett Group board meeting. It's not appropriate for you to be here.""That's right. Though the kids are Mr. Barrett's children, they're still young and do not have any shares. You all shouldn't be here."Mia flung a document onto the table. "This is an agreement signed by Grandma Laura to authorize me to manage Timothy's shares.""Anyway, we still need to elect a CEO to handle our company affairs.""
"Because to me, you're my family too," Timothy said.When Sharon heard the word 'family', her eyes turned red. Then, she turned around and left the ward.Mia walked out and asked Peyton to send Sharon to the hospital for a checkup.Looking at Sharon's back, Mia said, "I hope you don't let him down since he regards you as his family. He's the only one you can depend on now."Sharon did not turn her head around. Mia did not know if Sharon would listen to her advice.Mia immediately called her brother. "Dominic, I met Maya."She then told him everything about Maya.Dominic frowned. "I never thought she would go to Yellow Island.""Do you think she's really the granddaughter of the Prime Minister of Yellow Island?""Don't you know how good she is at lying?" Dominic said.Mia nodded. "Yeah, you're right. But I still don't know whether she's related to Yellow Island.""Don't worry, I'll find out."When Mia returned to the ward after ending the call, she saw a doctor bustling arou
Mia went straight to the hospital to ask Timothy about the matter.But when she arrived, someone had reached there earlier than her."Timothy, what do you mean? All I did was pull a few strings, but you want to humiliate me publicly. How am I going to maintain my standing in the company?" Sharon said.Mia went in with a frown. "This is funny. It's not just about pulling a few strings, but it's aimed at me. Mrs. Barrett, your actions have leaked confidential commercial information.""Stop trying to scare me. It's my son who opened doors for you. It's the Yellow Islanders who wanted to collaborate with us, and they are much better than you," Sharon retorted. Mia said with a half-hearted smile, "At first, I didn't want to pursue this matter. But since you put it this way, wait for my lawyer's letter then.""Such big talk, huh?" A mysterious-looking woman wearing a hat and a mask walked in from outside.Mia felt that the woman looked somewhat familiar. "Are you the rumored granddau
Mia glanced at the person on the screen. Without answering the woman, she turned off the laptop.After all, there was no need for Mia to explain anything.After Mia turned off the laptop assertively, she turned around and looked at Timothy. He did not say a word but started eating.Soon, Heath received a call. He left the ward and said to the woman on the other side of the phone, "She's Mr. Barrett's ex-wife. You'd better not mess with her."While Timothy was eating, Mia finished reading the proposal in her hand.She had to admit that the document was very valuable.Mia was about to leave the ward when Timothy almost finished eating, but his voice sounded behind her. "What did you say when you met her at the cafe earlier?""Did you follow me?""I followed her, to be exact. After all, the Hopkins are not good people."Mia totally agreed with that.She paused briefly before she said, "Grandma Laura asked me to talk to her because she doesn't agree with you about giving her all
"You don't know anything," Sharon said.Mia retorted, "I might not know everything, but Timothy is innocent. Before he knew the truth, he always regarded you as his mother. Even after he found out the truth, he has never mistreated you."Besides, when you said you wanted the Barrett family's wealth, he agreed. Tell me, who else could do what he did?"Mia felt that Timothy might have been hurt by Sharon's words.He seemed impressive on the outside, but his identity was a dark secret.Therefore, his relationship with Sharon became awkward.Sharon's eyes reddened. "But I also treat him like my biological son.""You're also his foster mother. Now everyone related to him is dead, and you're the only one he has. What are you afraid of?"Sharon wiped off her tears. "I'm not afraid of anything. It's just that I felt that I can't trust anyone.""Timothy is a man of his word. However, Grandma Laura said that if you remain stubborn, making the will public is her only option," Mia said.
Mia noticed Sharon's expression changing slightly when she mentioned Laura.Sharon took her cup of coffee and said, "What? Does Mrs. Barrett Senior still want to lecture me even when she's on her deathbed? She must have known Timothy's identity all along, but she conspired with her son to keep the truth from me. "She and the Barretts are birds of a feather. What else does she have to say?"Mia was not surprised by her words. She had expected that Sharon would certainly think this way.Fortunately, she managed to stop Laura when she said she wanted to meet Sharon.Sharon was emotionally unstable now. What if Laura said something unpleasant and Sharon retorted? Her words might upset Laura.Mia took a kraft envelope out of her handbag and placed it in front of Sharon. "I hope you won't regret saying those words after reading this.""What's this?""This is the will that your husband left behind, as well as the divorce agreement."Hearing that, Sharon quickly took the document out
Mia hesitated to risk exposing Laura to Sharon's potential agitation.Due to Sharon's emotional vulnerability, she often spoke impulsively. With Laura's delicate health in mind, any disruption was simply out of the question.As Laura recounted past events, Mia remained silent, absorbing her words.Upon hearing Laura's story, Mia was taken aback. She hadn't expected there to be hidden aspects to Timothy's family history.Taking a moment, she asked, "Does Timothy have any knowledge of this?""He doesn't. Some things are best kept from him," Laura replied calmly.Mia harbored some lingering questions in her mind. Unable to suppress them any longer, she asked, "Considering your knowledge of Timothy's background, what is your opinion of him?""Tim is a commendable young man, and he has never let our family down. He has achieved remarkably well for himself. To be honest, I feel indebted to him as well."At first, I only kept him around for the sake of preserving the Barrett family li
Despite her initial reluctance, Mia eventually found herself making her way to Timothy's ward.As she entered, she couldn't help but notice Timothy's expressionless demeanor as he lay there.Carrying a tray of food, Mia approached him. "The doctor pointed out your extreme fatigue. It's crucial that you increase your food intake and prioritize proper rest to reduce the risk of sudden complications."Upon hearing Mia's voice, Timothy lifted his gaze to find her seated beside him. His lips moved slightly as he asked, "What did you tell Luna?""Not much," Mia responded. "Just a sprinkle of salt on the wound and a dash of psychological pressure to make sure Luna doesn't have it easy in prison."Placing the tray of food in front of him, Mia urged, "Please, just a few bites.""I'll eat later. By the way, the kids have been here at the hospital for quite a while. You should take them home," Timothy suggested.Frowning, Mia insisted, "You should eat something first."As her words faded,