Raymond elaborated, "I've been working with your family for many years. Guess we can say that we're old friends. Ms. Mia, do you really think Dominic has a clean record?"A cold glint glowed in Mia's eyes. Of course, she knew that Dominic didn't have a clean record.After all, their family almost went bankrupt due to various blows after their parents passed on.Dominic was the person stabilizing the company's footing until today. He had it rough.She reckoned he had used many illicit methods in the beginning. After all, business would always be as fierce as war, a war free from blood.Mia had never expected Raymond to use this to threaten her, but she actually had it coming. She threatened him with his position as the mayor.It didn't take her long to regain her composure. Smiling, she responded, "But whatever he does has nothing to do with me.""Ms. Mia, do you really not care about your brothers' reputation? Actually, we can make a deal to make peace.""I refuse.""Think a
However, Mia would never give in.Her tone was cold. "You're underestimating me, Mr. Shelbert. Do you think that the life and death of the Barretts would bother me?""I dared not underestimate you, Ms. Mia. But there's no point for both our families—or even the three families—to be on bad terms because of such a trivial matter. It won't do anything good to us.""So how would you like to settle this?"Raymond suggested, "I know that my daughter is at fault, but I can hand over the project to you to make up for it. For future projects, I will consider your family first. How's that? You won't lose anything from this.""Do you think I need that?""Ms. Mia, if you have other conditions, tell me. I will do my best to fulfill them.""Simple. Let Luna pay for the price." Mia turned around, looking at the bodyguards by the door. "If you insist on not letting me leave the room, I will call Dominic right now. Since you have something over his head, he might as well talk to you personally.
Mia recalled the past of how Sharon misunderstood that Asher was Timothy's son and treated the boy well.It wasn't only Sharon. Mia also assumed that Asher was Timothy's son.After all, she had seen Luna's pictures on Timothy's laptop before. Back then, she thought that Luna was the woman he liked.The truth was completely beyond her imagination.Timothy said, "No, she doesn't know about this. I don't want her to know either.""I understand." She nodded.If Sharon found out the truth, she would be devastated. No woman could tolerate having the child of their husband's illegitimate child staying under the same roof.It was abhorrent.Mia blurted, "Why did you have Luna's picture on your laptop back then? Did you already know that your half-brother was seeing Luna at that time?""When did you use my laptop?" questioned Timothy seriously."Let me explain. I wasn't sneaking or peeking. I had to sketch a design urgently, so I had no choice but to use your laptop in the study. And
Mia said solemnly. "It's been four years, Timothy. The orphan Mia might need you to take care of something, but I don't need it now. I can take care of it myself."The elevator door opened and she walked out.Now that she knew Raymond was meeting Luna and the relationship between the duo, there was a need to devise a proper plan. She mustn't act recklessly.Winning the project wasn't the main objective now. It was to make Luna pay the price for her deeds.Timothy followed Mia. "Mia, hear me out.""I don't want to hear any explanation from you."At that moment, Sharon scurried over. "Son, what are you doing here?"Veronica quickly said, "Tim, look at me! This woman slapped me! You have to teach her a lesson!"Mia was surprised that Sharon and Veronica hadn't left.Stopping in her tracks, Mia flashed him a meaningful smile. "I slapped her because she kept saying how Ginger's a burden and trying to steal her custody rights. "You know how vile my temper has always been. I neve
Sharon avoided eye contact upon hearing that. "I came to take care of your uncle's issue."Timothy frowned. "I will take care of that. You don't have to come all the way here yourself. Besides, you're on probation. If the police find out you're here, your punishment will be more severe."He didn't expect her to sneak to Nord City.Veronica defended, "Tim, if we keep this a secret, no one will know that Sharon sneaked to Nord City. Still, you have to be careful that someone else might snitch on Sharon to intensify the severity of the punishment."Mia noticed that Veronica was implying her to be a potential snitcher.Well, the fact that Veronica pointed it out might provoke Mia to do so.A pristine smile was plastered on Mia's face. "You're right. I will call the police from Bern City immediately, reporting to them that you've sneaked to Nord City during probation."Sharon became jittery. "How could you be this evil, Mia Lane? I came here just to take care of something personal, n
Sharon could never be as pitiful as she was right now.Mia watched the middle-aged woman before her. Never in her wildest dream had she dreamed of the prideful Sharon apologizing to her.Nevertheless, Mia didn't wish to have a prisoner to be Ginger's grandmother.If words got out, there would be someone making fun of Ginger because of this.Mia took a deep breath. "Fine, but on two conditions.""Say it. I'll agree to anything.""Simple. I will never hand over the custody rights, so don't dream of it anymore. Don't bring it up in front of my child either. If I find out you break the promise, I will never let you go twice."Despite the reluctance, Sharon didn't have the right to negotiate given the situation.Unwillingly, she nodded. "I promise you that I won't bring it up again."The main reason she came to Nord City was to take care of Ralph's matter to bail him out of prison, not fighting for Ginger's custody rights.Sharon knew that it wouldn't be easy to steal Ginger's cus
Sharon's eyes widened when she noticed Luna. "W-What are you doing here?"Veronica was shell-shocked as well. "Luna Maynard, aren't you supposed to be in prison? How come you're here? Are you her doppelgänger or what?"The similarity was too much to be called a doppelgänger.Luna smirked at Sharon. "Surprised to see me here?"It was unfair that Luna was the only one imprisoned when both of them conspired in the theft together. Having mixed feelings, Sharon asked Timothy, "Tim, what's going on here? Did you release her in secret?"She felt annoyed to think that he actually released Luna secretly. He didn't even help her when she was threatened by Mia!Luna scoffed, "I'm able to stand here not because of him. Stop taking all the credit."Sharon continued questioning, "How are you able to come here then? Did you perhaps escape from prison?""Escape my ass. Say, what are you doing here? Aren't you on probation? According to the law, you shouldn't be leaving Bern City however you
"That's not exactly right. All I can say is that it became complicated.""Ms. Mia, you don't have to worry if the project will belong to us or not. Back then, your family said that you could run a company to kill some time. If Mr. Dominic knows that you're all upset because of this project, he'll be worried."Mia massaged her temples. "This has nothing to do with the project. I met that woman in Mr. Shelbert's room. Guess who it was.""Who?" Peyton asked."Luna Maynard."Peyton was shocked. "Didn't we personally send her to prison? How is she able to show up in Nord City? Getting so close with Mr. Shelbert at that! Is she his mistress? Is Asher his son?""I had the same guess, thinking that Asher was surely Mr. Shelbert's illegitimate child. But it turns out that Luna is his illegitimate daughter."Peyton paused momentarily. "What a surprise. Ms. Maynard has always been a show-off. If she's actually his daughter, she'll surely brag about it. Weirdly, she has never talked about i
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,