At this moment, Patricia tugged at Mia. "We're in no rush to do that. The rest of your brothers and cousins are on their way here, so you can head home after you've met them. Home is where your family is, right?"Dominic gave Patricia a grateful look. If not for her love and care for Mia, Mia's life would've been even tougher. He said respectfully, "I've already booked us rooms here. Let's have dinner at the restaurant."Mia walked together with Patricia as Dominic led the way. She noticed he wasn't much of a talker and seemed rather unapproachable. Still, he seemed to be quite rich!They headed downstairs from the hotel's rooftop. The place was lavishly decorated; Mia had never been somewhere like this before.Dominic's heart twisted painfully at the thought of the old, rundown apartment Mia was going to return to.She looked at him. "Are you okay?""Yeah. There's just something in my eye. Mia, do you want to move somewhere else?" Dominic had prepared several homes. He had to pi
The smile on Mia's face faded at the sight of Bob and Mary. "I can't believe you guys have the nerve to say you're my saviors. When I almost starved to death in your home, Aunt Patricia was the one who gave me a bite to eat. Ultimately, you even forced her to raise me."Patricia was surprised. "How did you guys find this place? I didn't tell anyone about this."Mary put her hands on her hips. "How can you say that, Patricia? We're Mia's adoptive parents, but you're trying to take the credit. Dream on if you think you're getting away with that!"Bob spat on the floor. "Exactly. Where is her family? They must be rich since they can afford to stay in such an expensive hotel. We have to make them compensate us."They hadn't expected a child they'd picked up randomly to come from such a wealthy family. They'd struck the jackpot!Mia shielded Patricia behind her as she looked at Bob and Mary coldly. "You're the ones who can dream on. I won't give you a dime. Uncle James got into a fight
This time, Mia didn't say anything. She led Patricia away.Dominic watched them leave, and then he turned back to face Bob and Mary. His expression immediately went from gentle to frosty. It'd been years since he'd personally dealt with these things, but he couldn't sit this one out.How dared Bob and Mary abuse Mia! They had death wishes!The bodyguards circled them, stopping the onlookers from seeing what was happening.Dominic looked at Bob and Mary with contempt, a hint of murderous intent evident in his eyes. "You threw her in the cellar and starved her?""T-That was because we didn't have enough room at home. The cellar was actually very warm.""Yes, yes! We were living poorly at the time. We didn't even have enough food to put on the table!"Dominic didn't buy their excuses. He didn't bat an eye as he made his move. Soon, Bob and Mary couldn't even say a word. They'd lost a few teeth, and their faces were covered in blood.They were now filled with regret. Dominic look
"Your second older brother, Nathan Lane, is a great programmer. He's led his company to win many awards and helped build many important firewalls," Dominic said."Your third older brother, Connor Lane, is a volunteer for a Red Cross Society abroad. He focuses on saving injured animals and helping people to understand the lives of these animals."Your oldest cousin, Claude Lane, is a piano teacher, while your second older cousin, Jason Lane, works at a law firm. Last but not least, your third older cousin, Liam Lane, is currently an extra at a film set."Dominic felt he'd done a pretty good job at explaining things. He hadn't lied to Mia at all.Nathan was an infamous hacker, so he was good at programming, right?Connor was a renowned surgeon—rather than saving people, he preferred saving animals.Claude was a famous pianist—when he wasn't busy with concerts, he would conduct piano lessons at an academy.Jason was a well-known lawyer—he did indeed work at a law firm. It was just
"You're the one who usually handles these things. How is Maya supposed to find it?" Mia snorted. He simply cared too much about Maya, his first love, to let her wait on someone else. Was that why he wanted her to head back there and wait on the two of them?She wasn't interested in going back there and seeing Maya on her bed!"If you can't find it, then wear something else!" Mia retorted before hanging up.Her heart was beating quicker than usual. She never thought she would one day be cutting off Timothy's call.Doing it felt pretty good.…Once the call had ended, the maid asked Timothy hesitantly, "Would you like a different tie, Mr. Barrett?"Timothy went over to the walk-in closet. True enough, he found it in the second drawer, even though he had searched through it earlier. It was quite a mystery to him!Last night, Timothy's men had tailed the helicopter for a while before losing them. Timothy didn't know where Mia had been taken to.It felt like he was losing control
Timothy's expression was a little stiff as he shot back, "You talk too much as an assistant."Heath kept quiet, but he was still puzzled.He recalled the divorce agreement Timothy had asked him to prepare. It clearly stated that Timothy would continue to handle James' medical bills.Why had Timothy suddenly changed his mind?Men were hard to understand."Just do as I say," Timothy ordered icily.He thought he must have been too kind toward Mia all along. That was why she had the audacity to cheat on him!…Mia, who had just returned to the hotel, sneezed. She wondered if someone had been cursing her out.When she went back to the room with breakfast in hand, she found that Dominic was there as well. The table was also laden with an exquisite breakfast spread with all kinds of food imaginable.Mia glanced between the simple breakfast she had bought and the feast on the table.Feeling a little embarrassed, she said, "I couldn't sleep, so I went out and had my breakfast. I boug
Dominic's expression turned cold. "You're talking about Timothy Barrett's grandma, aren't you? He's already married, so why are you still latching onto him?""Tim's getting a divorce, Dominic. He never liked that woman anyway. I'm sure that after three years, Tim has figured out who's right for him."Maya added anxiously, "Dominic, the surgery's a piece of cake for Connor! Help me talk him into it, please? He listens to you."She could use the surgery as her bargaining chip to marry Timothy!"I'm not doing it," Dominic replied before ending the call.Even though Maya was adopted, Dominic didn't want her to marry Timothy, a cold-blooded and heartless man who had been married once before.Dominic checked the One Big Happy Family group chat. It was a newly formed one. For the time being, the family didn't want to let Maya know they had found their biological younger sister.At the very least, they were going to wait until they had won Mia over.Dominic went back into the living ro
The young woman was Shelly Barrett, Timothy's cousin.Mia simply ignored Shelly's sarcastic remarks. Throughout the years, Shelly viewed Mia in contempt. Her comments would always suggest that Mia was only willing to marry a half-dead Timothy for money.In the past, Mia kept putting up with Shelly's ridicule. But now that she had signed the divorce papers, she no longer needed to do so.Shelly strutted haughtily over to Mia and snapped, "Why are you just standing there? Hurry over to the kitchen and start cooking. Remember to make my favorite seafood stew."Mia withdrew her gaze and replied, "Grandma Laura invited me over to have dinner. She didn't ask me to come here as a maid to cook for other people.""What do you mean by that, Mia? You've got the nerve, don't you? You're even refusing to cook! I'm going to tell Aunt Sharon about this!"Mia ignored Shelly and walked into the house. When she entered the living room, she saw two people sitting on the couch.One was her ex-mothe
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,