Bringing it up, Stella suddenly perked up. "This money is from my betting winnings. Jaylene put in nearly a hundred thousand, so of course, I'm happy to make some profit off her. I'm not keeping it all to myself; I'll transfer half to you.""Mrs. Kane is quite generous," Keegan chuckled, sending a screenshot of the transfer and then refunding the money. "Hold onto it for me for now. I'll ask for it when I need it.""Then I'll just spend it all for you."Keegan smirked. "Then you're now 'pawned' to me."Stella paused. "Keegan, cut the cheesy lines."Keegan was struck speechless.Aldor Hart was driving and couldn't help but chuckle at Stella's remark.Keegan shot him a glare.Stella said, "See, even Aldor finds those lines cheesy."Aldor quickly clarified, "No, I think it's nice. Mr. Kane speaks from the heart."Stella said, "I know. He says it to my face, and I can see from his expression that he means it. But when I don't see his face, I can't help but feel harassed and want
Larry knelt there, his shoulders drooping, making his already gaunt body look even thinner. He heard the door open and lifted his head, his eyes brightening slightly. He shuffled over to Stella and said in a hoarse voice, "Ms. Hall, please punish me."Stella clenched her hands, her expression somewhat grim. She didn't immediately help Larry up but said sternly, "Larry, stand up."Larry didn't move, his shoulders trembling slightly, his voice hoarse, "Ms. Hall, I’ve caused you so much trouble, and yet you still protect me. I feel so ashamed. Please punish me; I'll accept anything."Stella closed her eyes briefly and raised her voice, "I said, stand up! Are you kneeling outside my office to make a spectacle of us?"Larry's face turned paler. "I didn't mean to...""Then stand up!"Stella had always spoken to Larry gently, considering his age, even defending him downstairs just moments ago. He had never seen her so angry.Larry rubbed his fingers together, suddenly feeling uncertain
"Secondly, you caused trouble during your side job. Instead of telling me right away, you let others find out and point fingers at you. If Sonia hadn't managed to concoct that bottle of essential oil today, do you realize how much responsibility you would have to bear?"Lastly, you shouldn't have knelt at my office door to beg for leniency. I really dislike people kneeling, whether it's to apologize, show remorse, or for any other reason. It's undignified and inappropriate! A person can kneel to the heavens, to their parents, or to benefactors, but we have an employer-employee relationship, and you're much older than I am. I can't accept your kneeling. To me, it feels like you're trying to force my hand."Larry couldn't speak. His face turned paler with each point Stella made, each one well-founded, leaving him no room for rebuttal. After a long pause, he finally muttered weakly, "I'm sorry."Stella pressed her lips together and after a moment said, "Choose one. I'll try to negotiat
Darcie's office."What am I going to do with you? With so many eyes watching, you docked Wren's bonus just because she accepted a set of clothes from Stella?"Darcie, who had been holding in her anger outside, couldn’t contain it once they reached the office.Jaylene was indifferent. "Mom, she's in the finance department. She accepted something from Stella right in front of me. Doesn't that make us look bad? If I don't do anything, won't others follow suit? I was just giving them a little reminder for your sake.""A reminder?" Darcie snapped. "Over a set of clothes? Is that all the tolerance you have? When you saw Wren take something from Stella, why didn’t you find out why? She’s struggling to pay for a family member's medical treatment. If you had helped her out, not only would she have remembered your kindness forever, but others would have seen your generosity."Instead, you docked her bonus, adding insult to injury. Now, when she eats in the cafeteria, she has to endure snide
Her voice trembled with sorrow as she spoke. "Mom, is Dad still mad at me?"When she was hospitalized after being injured by Keegan’s aunt, Wenham Saun visited her every day. But he no longer treated her with the same warmth and intimacy he had when she was a child. There was a newfound distance and coldness.She had been deceived by Dahlia because she couldn’t let go of Keegan. Wenham had already warned her once when he noticed her feelings, but she had knowingly ignored his warning. He was utterly disappointed in her.Jaylene didn’t think it was wrong to love Keegan. She believed the fault lay with Stella. If she had been lost for over twenty years, why did she have to come back and disrupt everything? Why did she have to come back and steal her father and brother?Their family of four had been so happy. Stella’s return had caused her parents to fall out of love, her brother to shift his affection toward his biological sister, and her father to no longer dote on her as he once di
Darcie looked away and asked, “Is there power downstairs?”Someone replied, “Yes, it seems only our floor is affected.”Darcie glanced at the surveillance camera above and said calmly, “Call someone to check it out. Everyone else, go back to your workstations.”She then looked at Jaylene. “You should go too. Don’t forget to review the materials I gave you. I’ll be testing you.”Jaylene pouted and said softly, “I know, Mom.”After everyone left, Darcie glanced around and pursed her lips before heading to the stairwell.The stairwell had no windows, and there was a faint smell of smoke. The sensor light didn’t turn on, leaving the area dimly lit. As soon as Darcie entered, she saw someone standing against the wall on the stairs, holding a cigarette.She closed the stairwell door and hissed, “This is the company. Are you out of your mind?”“If I didn’t, the cameras would have caught me. How would you explain that?” The man’s voice was deep and raspy, tinged with sarcasm.Darcie’s
The man stayed quiet until he finished his cigarette. Then Darcie spoke up again, “If you hadn't let such a big threat hang over us, Jaylene and I wouldn't be in this tough spot.”Of course, by "threat," she meant Stella.Bringing this up made the man's face darken subtly.He only found out about the fact that the baby girl hadn't died shortly before Stella was recognized by the Saun family.Back then, the woman had shown him a dead baby, claiming it was Freesia's. It turned out the baby wasn't the Saun family heiress; she had taken a dead infant from elsewhere and falsely claimed it was Freesia's.He hadn't seen his own daughter being born, but he had seen the baby who would soon replace his daughter in life. He had felt deeply guilty at the time, so much so that he didn't dare to look too much, thinking that once death was confirmed, his purpose was achieved. But he never expected that one of the people he bribed would have a soft heart.If Stella hadn't died, the Saun and the
Stella glanced at Aldor. "You don't seem well. Have you been overworking lately? Work has calmed down, so you should take a break. If Aldor gets burned out, you'll be the one dealing with the consequences down the line."Keegan handed her the thermos. "Do I seem like the type of boss who doesn't care about my employees' well-being? If Aldor needs time off, I can grant it anytime."Aldor quickly responded, "That won't be necessary, ma'am. I'm perfectly fine and don't need time off."Normally, Keegan would have approved Aldor's leave request without hesitation, but after what had just occurred, Aldor didn't dare to ask.Keegan didn't react much when he found out about Aldor’s night fishing plans with Aurora during his call with Stella.After they hung up, just a few hundred meters later, Keegan asked, "About your night fishing... How many people are there?"Aldor replied, "There's a night fishing group, about twenty-something people. Depending on everyone's schedule, there could be