It was late at night, and only a few cars were on the road. Vermont and Felicity nervously trailed behind the black BMW, afraid of arousing suspicion. Fortunately, the driver of the BMW was in a hurry and did not notice them.They followed the car all the way from the city center to the south of the city. Eventually, the BMW stopped in front of a kindergarten. Vermont and Felicity saw Sophia exit the vehicle while carrying a little boy and enter the school.The two exchanged glances, and Felicity whispered, "What's she doing at a kindergarten with her brother in the middle of the night?"Vermont pressed his lips together and said, "Let's wait and see."After about twenty minutes, Sophia walked out of the building alone. She got back in her car and quickly drove away.Felicity was puzzled. "Why didn't she take her brother with her?"Vermont frowned. Suddenly, his eyes twinkled with realization, and a sly smile spread across his face. "Looks like she just gave herself away," he sai
Although everyone was holding up their phones, the dim light made it hard to see clearly in the darkness. Vermont skillfully blended into the crowd with Felicity alongside him.It was the weekend, and the people in Greenwood Grove were supposed to be having a relaxing evening. However, they could not binge-watch their favorite shows or play any video games due to the power outage. The residents were annoyed and gathered in front of their homes to engage in lively chatter.Vermont whispered a few words in Felicity's ear, and she immediately said, "Hugo, why are you out here?"As soon as she finished speaking, another female voice said, "Hugo! Who said you could come out? Where are you, you rascal?"Vermont grabbed Felicity's hand and led her toward the source of the voice. The woman continued calling Hugo's name, searching outside and inside the building until she finally found him in one of the rooms. Infuriated, she scolded the child for not listening to her and wandering around.
Stella pulled the blanket and said nonchalantly, "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" As she spoke, she realized her voice was a bit hoarse and decided to clear her throat.A hint of amusement flashed in Keegan's eyes as he watched her. "It's the weekend.""Oh," Stella replied while she buried herself under the covers.Keegan checked the time on his phone and said, "It's almost 11 o'clock."Stella contemplated getting out of bed but felt a little embarrassed with Keegan there since she was not wearing anything under the sheets. Seeing that Keegan was not moving, she decided to engage in some small talk. "I wonder how things are going on Albert's side.""Hylda and Sophia tried to hide Hugo away last night, but Vermont caught them..." Keegan informed Stella of what Vermont and Felicity did last night and concluded with, "He's probably busy taking a DNA test with Hugo now."Stella froze for a moment when she heard that. "I can't believe Albert spent his whole life longing for a son
"I promise," said Stella.Keegan finally let go of the topic of Stella's ex-boyfriend and focused on counting the points he had accumulated.Curious, Stella leaned over as Keegan opened the calculator app on his phone. "How many points do you have as of right now?" she asked.Keegan turned his phone away and refused to show her. "I'm not gonna tell you that. You're too calculative, Stella. You might take off some points if you know my total."'Psh. I could still take off some points without knowing your current total,' Stella thought. Suddenly, her phone rang while Keegan was busy with his score. Stella saw that it was Trevor and gestured to Keegan to stay quiet as she answered the call."Hey, Stella. Do you have time for lunch today?" Trevor asked.Stella glanced at Keegan, who gave her an encouraging look. "Is the family coming?" she asked in a low voice.Trevor paused and said, "I won't invite them if you're not ready."Stella fell silent. She thought about the elderly coupl
Keegan only withdrew his gaze after Stella went inside The Deli. Then, he received a message from Carter: [Please pay me and my wife for showing up.]Keegan read it and replied with a screenshot of a medal: [It's being made. I'll send it to your wife's place later.]Carter texted a reply: [A medal worth thirty bucks? Come on, the gifts we brought are worth more than that.]Keegan took another screenshot of their conversation and forwarded it to Lena: [How much do you want? I'll pay you.][Don't listen to him. We didn't bring any gifts.] Lena replied.After that, Keegan sent a screenshot of Lena's response back to Carter.Carter kept quiet for a while before sending him a middle finger emoji. Keegan loosened his tie and asked: [What about the thing I asked you to investigate earlier? Any updates on that?]Carter corrected him: [It wasn't an investigation. You wanted me to steal the information.]Keegan replied with an indifferent face: [Isn't hacking into other parties' security
Carter replied: [According to Lena's remark, the angle of her injection was from top to bottom. However, most people would do it from bottom to top when self-injecting. Also, the injection site was on her upper arm. It just doesn't seem right, even though she had a habit of injecting from up to down.]Keegan frowned: [Why is there no further investigation into this?]Carted replied: [That's because no other person's hair or fingerprints were found at the scene. Her family was not bothered to claim her body either. Cases like these usually go unresolved, and you know it too. Besides, there wasn't even a suspect involved in this case, and there's not much the prosecutor can do.]Keegan pursed his lips without replying. It was terrifying that something was suspicious, but no physical evidence could be found.Carter thought about something and sent another text to Keegan: [Oh, by the way, your wife's disguise last time was pretty good. I can't believe you couldn't recognize her after s
Stella took a deep breath and walked inside slowly.Her back was kept straight. Not only was she nervous, but she was also trying to look more presentable in front of her elders, fearing that she might not meet their expectations.The private room was huge, and four people were sitting at a round table in the middle.An amiable-looking elderly couple sat next to each other, whom Stella had seen on a video call before. They were her grandparents, Wilfred Hall and Edith Wade.Wenham was sitting beside Edith. Although he gained a little weight, he still exuded a graceful presence. The look in his eyes showed a hint of excitement when he saw Stella coming in.Seated beside Wilfred was a middle-aged man with sharp and distinct features. He looked somewhat familiar to Stella and was strikingly good-looking. He seemed to be in his late forties, but his well-maintained physique would make him look only a few years older than Keegan if he changed his hairstyle.Stella took off her mask, a
Edith looked closely at Stella's face. It seemed like she saw a glimpse of her own daughter in Stella as her eyes welled up in tears.Stella got emotional too, but not to the point of crying.She was different from the family in the room with her. She had been carefully taken care of by Rainee since she was a baby and had no idea that she had been switched. She had never personally experienced the pain of losing a loved one for the past twenty years.However, the Hall and Saun families had gone through the death of a grandchild and a daughter, who was also Wenham's wife. It was a tragedy for them.That was the reason why they were so easily overwhelmed by their emotions as soon as they saw Stella, who was well and healthy, appearing in front of them.Stella felt a hint of warmth in her heart, suddenly filling her emotional void that had been empty for the past several years. Edith held her hand and asked gently, "Stella, have you been doing well all these years?"Stella lowered h
Keegan moved from initial resistance to reluctantly listening, and eventually to questioning."Why do these novels portray men as so stupid and brainless, yelling at the female lead as if they have intermittent explosive disorder?""Is the male lead sick? Forcing the female lead to donate a kidney, is he out of his mind?""How many years would they get for calling the police in their world?""Why is he so dumb? The supporting actress claims the female lead pushed her into the water and he believes it? Is checking surveillance footage illegal?""Stella, are you making fun of me?""I can't learn this. It all feels so neurotic. What does the female lead see in him?"Stella retorted, "Who cares if it's neurotic? Just mimic that stupidity, that's how these innocent women like men who protect them like that."Keegan was very reluctant, but his brain was more compliant than his body. Without needing to study deliberately, everything he heard stuck in his mind.So when Keegan mentione
Keegan's expression darkened with anger. "You're being completely unreasonable!"Stella crossed her arms, wearing an expression that seemed challenging. "You let her take it. Let's see if I dare."Jaylene hadn't actually wanted those junk items in the first place; she was deliberately trying to stir up discord between them. Now that her goal was achieved, she put on a sympathetic look."Keegan, I don't want it anymore. Don't be angry. Your health is more important. Didn't the doctor say to keep your emotions stable?"Turning her head, she reproached Stella. "Stella, are you here to help Keegan recover his memory or just to provoke him?""Shut up, you brat! Do you even have a say here?"Acting under the guise of a drama, playing the role of someone lacking in manners, was incredibly satisfying.She’d wanted to curse this brat for a long time!Jaylene's lips twitched, but she held back, tearfully saying, "Stella, if you don't like me, I'll leave. There's no need to humiliate me l
Jaylene understood the situation perfectly. Even though she didn't particularly like these cold, mechanical devices, she put on a pretense of surprise, saying, "Really, Keegan?"Keegan nodded. "Choose one you like.""Keegan!" Before Stella could finish her sentence, she couldn't hold back her sharp voice, "With your pile of junk that I can't even touch normally, she takes a look and now you want to give it to her? What's the meaning of this?!"Keegan frowned, apparently not comprehending her current anger at all. "Jaylene gave me a gift, and I'm giving her one in return. What's the problem?""What problem?" Stella's eyes started to redden. "I can't touch them, so why should she be able to? Have you forgotten, or do you have inappropriate feelings for her?"Keegan's expression darkened. "This makes no sense!"Jaylene secretly delighted in this, hypocritically trying to calm things down, "Forget it, Keegan. Since Stella minds so much, I don't want it anymore. You've strained your r
The standoff lasted for over twenty minutes before Keegan grabbed a book and knocked the beetle off Jaylene's neck. The beetle fluttered twice and suddenly flew up, landing on Jaylene's face.Jaylene screamed, rolled her eyes, and fainted.As she collapsed, the bug flew off again."Jaylene?"Keegan called out to her.He looked up at Stella and said, "You go start the car, I'll carry her to the hospital."As he spoke, he signaled to Stella.She understood and coldly grunted, "So troublesome."Walking over to Jaylene, she squatted down beside her and slapped her face twice.Jaylene immediately opened her eyes and reached out to push her away. "What are you doing!"Stella was prepared and had already moved back before she could be pushed.She shook her tingling hand and innocently said, "Jaylene, you fainted because of the bug. I was just saving you. Don't believe me? Ask Keegan."Jaylene nearly ground her teeth. Did she think she hadn't heard? She was intentionally exposing h
Her fingertips trembled with a mix of horror and excitement. Just as the teapot was about to slip from her grasp, Keegan suddenly said, "Jaylene, don't move."Jaylene froze, instinctively thinking Keegan had regained his memory. She had barely twitched when Keegan loudly stopped her again, "Don't move, absolutely don't move."Jaylene wanted to say something, but then felt an itching sensation on her neck, as if something was crawling slowly. Goosebumps erupted all over her body.By now, Stella had turned around and saw Jaylene standing stiffly with the teapot in hand. Her eyes quickly assessed the situation and then she noticed the beetle crawling on Jaylene's neck.It was an unknown species, not overly tentacled but as long as a little finger, its mouthparts slightly twitching, genuinely alarming in appearance.Stella murmured, "It's so big."Jaylene couldn't see what was on her neck, unsure if it would bite or if it was venomous. She stood frozen in place, her voice trembling,
Seeing him, Stella even lowered her eyes and softly praised, "Mr. Kane, you acted very well."Keegan glared at her, his voice low and intense. "If you keep watching like this, Coco will cut ties with me tomorrow."Stella replied confidently, "No, she won't. After accepting the red envelope, she can tolerate you a little longer."Keegan asked sharply, "Did you teach her to ask for red envelopes like this?""Don't falsely accuse me; I didn't teach her.""You may not have taught her directly, but you set an example. Have you forgotten how you always make me buy things for you?"Stella was speechless. Whenever she wanted Keegan to buy her something, she would often say, "Gifts are only surprises when given voluntarily. If reminded, it shows they don’t like me that much."It had to be said, Coco had learned the essence of it.Stella also felt a bit awkward, thinking that in the future, she needed to avoid such flirtatious conversations between spouses in front of the children. They
Could she figure all this out?Keegan frowned, casting a disappointed look at Coco. "Are you not listening to me now?"Coco raised her gaze defiantly and stated, "Aunt Stella taught me that if I don't want something someone gives me, I can say no. I don't want this hairpin.""Didn't she teach you that even if you don't like something, you should still say thank you?"Coco fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly said to Jaylene, "Thank you, Aunt Jaylene, but I don't want it."Jaylene hesitated with her hand extended, unsure whether to retract it or leave it there, managing a strained smile. "Then what do you like? Next time, I will get you something you do like."Coco asked, "Do you want me to do something for you?"Jaylene was taken aback. "What?"Coco replied seriously, "Aunt Stella says offering help without reason is either deceitful or thieving. Since you don't like me, why else would you give me something? You want me to do something for you, right?"Jaylene forced a s
Leighton's incident did indeed revive their suspicions.Jaylene was gullible, but Darcie might see through this scheme. "Keegan, why didn't you go to work today?" Jaylene chose to ask directly at first.Keegan remained composed. "I've been busy with the press conference lately and haven't had much rest. Now that things have slowed down, I thought I'd take a break and relax."Jaylene spoke gently, "You should rest well. Since you came back, you've been busy, and you've been postponing Dr. Stone's follow-up appointments. Keegan, I'm really worried about your health. Since you're resting these days, I'll arrange for Dr. Stone to give you another check-up. Stella has been living here to assist your recovery for so long. We need the doctor to give a clear assessment of whether there's been any improvement. Otherwise, it's not good for Stella's reputation to stay here so long, unmarried and under one roof."Keegan nodded. "Okay, please arrange it. Thank you."His response was decisive,
Stella had just descended the stairs when she heard that remark, causing her eyelids to twitch as she thought to herself, “Damn it! He really knows how to come up with excuses!”Upon hearing this, Jaylene's eyes briefly flashed with disdain, but she ultimately accepted the shoe covers Keegan handed her. As Keegan led Jaylene into the house, her eyes continued to scrutinize every corner.There were a couple of pillows on the sofa, couple mugs on the table, wedding photos of Keegan and Stella on the walls, and even headbands and hair ties scattered on the table. The house exuded an unmistakable feminine touch.Jaylene's expression darkened, but when Keegan turned to ask if she preferred tea or coffee, she adopted a gentle, harmless demeanor. "Tea would be perfect."Keegan invited her to take a seat and called for Maria to prepare tea. Jaylene spoke softly, "Keegan, I heard from Stella that you brew Dragon Well tea better than anyone else. Is there a special technique?"Stella paused