Mia observed Connie with a sardonic smile, noticing her lack of refinement and tendency to react impulsively, reminiscent of someone with no class.Besides, Connie had never regarded Mia highly, so witnessing her frustration brought Mia a sense of gratification.Connie stammered, "B-But didn't Mia mention that she didn't want our apology?""Whether Mia desires your apology is irrelevant. What matters is the sincerity behind it, which will determine the fate of the Bowen Group," Caleb interjected.Indeed, Connie and Lewis formed an odd pair, often abusing their authority to intimidate others yet faltering when faced with resistance.Mia deliberately glanced at Connie and remarked, "Did you catch that? Can't any of you from the Bowen family understand basic language?"Although Mia wasn't particularly interested in receiving an apology from the Bowen family, witnessing Connie in such a sorry state brought her some satisfaction.Meanwhile, Lewis exchanged several meaningful glances
"Mom, please, just stay quiet! Our family's partnership with them is already over. Do you want to make things worse for me?" Lewis cautioned."Who said anything about canceling the partnership between the subsidiary and the Bowen Group?"Just then, a middle-aged man entered the hotel lobby. He addressed Lewis directly, saying, "Apologies for the delay. Traffic was a nightmare, and I had some last-minute tasks to handle. But just because I'm late doesn't mean our collaboration is off the table."A wave of relief swept over Lewis as he caught sight of Ralph. "You made it after all. I was starting to worry you wouldn't show up."When Lewis first encountered the CEO of the Barrett Group, he had mentally prepared himself for the inevitable collapse of their collaboration.With the head office seemingly unwilling to cooperate, Lewis had little hope left. However, Ralph's arrival sparked a glimmer of optimism.Perhaps there was still a chance to reverse the situation, especially given t
Standing nearby, Timothy stated firmly, "I've made it clear before—there's no possibility of a partnership between the Barrett family and the Bowen family."Connie quickly stepped in, saying, "Mr. Barrett, please remember that this contract was set by your uncle. As a younger member of the family, it might not be suitable for you to go against his decision."Without missing a beat, Timothy pressed on, "Since you all seem so keen to work with Uncle Ralph, he will no longer hold the position of general manager at the Barrett Group subsidiary. I'll instruct the HR department to issue his dismissal notice immediately."Ralph responded with a cold scoff, "Timothy, don't think for a moment that threatening to dismiss me will have any impact. The position of subsidiary general manager was never my ambition anyway."Remember, I entered into these negotiations after careful consideration. If you fail to see the value in this opportunity, there are plenty who will."Lewis hesitated before s
Observing with concern, Connie exclaimed, "Why are they fighting? Are all of you guards useless? Can't you step in to help Mr. Bowen? What if he ends up with severe injuries?"Mia, too, watched the unfolding spectacle before her. She had expected Ralph's arrival to bring about some unexpected turn of events during the signing ceremony, but everything seemed to proceed without any unforeseen incidents.As long as Timothy stepped forward and declared the partnership termination, Ralph's actions wouldn't alter the outcome.Nonetheless, Mia hadn't anticipated Ralph accepting numerous favors from the Bowen family. The urgency with which they demanded their return suggested substantial benefits were involved.Mia couldn't shake the memory of Ralph's expulsion from the Barrett Group for corruption and bribery. It was Sharon who had to use her own funds to conceal his misconduct, ultimately sparing him from imprisonment.After all these years, it was astonishing to see that Ralph hadn
Ralph gazed at Mia in disbelief, struggling to comprehend the situation.While he had heard rumors about the long-lost heiress of the Lane family being discovered after many years, she had always maintained a low profile and seldom made public appearances.Consequently, Ralph had no idea what the supposed heiress looked like.Besides, his social standing in Nord City was far from that of the Lane family, and he had never crossed paths with the rumored heiress.To Ralph, Mia was merely a woman who had been expelled from the Barrett family.Now, she had suddenly risen to the position of heiress in the influential Lane family of Nord City!This sudden transformation left Ralph feeling somewhat embarrassed.Unable to swallow his pride, Ralph attempted to assert himself, addressing Mia, "Even if you're the heiress of the Lane family, what does it matter? You're still a daughter-in-law in the Barrett family. You should show me some resp—"Before Ralph could complete his sentence, Pey
The rest of the Bowen family members joined in, echoing Connie's plea, "Exactly. Ms. Lane, you're a prominent figure. Please, don't lower yourself to our level.""Ms. Lane, if you drive our entire family to ruin, it will tarnish the Lane family's reputation as well."Mia observed as the Bowen family's members gathered on the ground, tears streaming down their faces in an attempt to sway her emotionally.However, Mia remained unmoved, finding their actions somewhat amusing. She turned to Peyton and inquired, "Are they here?"Peyton respectfully confirmed, "Yes, they've arrived."Facing the hotel lobby, Mia spotted three women striding in with determination.A faint smile tugged at Mia's lips as she remarked, "Ah, the debt collectors have arrived. Every action has consequences, and accountability must be taken. Don't come looking for sympathy from me."Recognizing the trio, Connie's face turned pale. "What... what are you doing here? You're not even qualified to attend an event
Mia smiled faintly upon hearing that from the lawyer.This legal team was affiliated with Dominic's company. As a loving brother, he would always ask them to deal with the case whenever awful rumors of her spread online.The high frequency of such instruction was enough for them to know that Dominic was protective of Mia.Meanwhile, Caleb was at a loss of words after hearing that.He finally realized that one characteristic that ran in the Lane family—the Lane brothers were overprotective of Mia!If that was the case, Timothy might lose his ground!Timothy's expression darkened, as no one had ever spoken that way to him directly.Sensing the shift in his mood, Mia turned around to stand next to the lawyers.She faced Timothy. "Mr. Barret, I think my lawyers have straightened things out with you. I don't have time to have dinner with you."She stared at the man standing before her. Although her emotions were swirling on the inside, it was completely different from four years ag
"Who says I'm leaving? Let's head to the hospital now," Timothy responded.Frustration gnawed at Caleb. "What for?"Timothy got into the car. "To check Ginger's medical record." His tone was monotonous."Tim, are you suspecting that Mia is hiding something from you?""Yes." Timothy gave Heath a brief look. "Any updates from the guy investigating in the hospital?""Nothing yet. I'll call him for follow-ups now.""It's fine. Tell him to meet me outside the hospital. I have something to ask him."Clouds of doubt were shrouding Timothy. He had to look into the matter in the hospital in person.Heath said cautiously, "But the earliest flight back to Bern City is an hour later. We still have time to rush back to the airport now. Otherwise, we will have to wait for two hours."Reclining in his seat, Timothy responded, "Who says that I'm going to the airport?"Caleb arched his brow. "Is it a feign so that the Lanes will assume that you're going to leave soon? But in truth, you're not
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,