Keegan frowned, "You sure know how to make words from a scumbag sound refreshing, huh?"The corners of Vermont's eyes twitched. "Since when am I a scumbag? I am just gaining more experience for my future wife. The only way to know how girls are and what they like is to be with different types of girls, okay? I'm telling you, you're inexperienced. I mean, so many girls were chasing you back then. You should at least date two of them. That way, you won't be so helpless when facing Stella."Keegan did not like this theory at all. "You talk about experience, but I don't see any girls you've dated here."Those words stabbed through Vermont's heart. Every time he was in a relationship, it never progressed further. Whether it was him or the girls he's been with, most of their love and care were materialistic.Stella was also one of them. She never went easy on spending Keegan's money, but she was kind to Keegan.Keegan used to flaunt that Stella made his lunch boxes, and Vermont always s
The students in Vermont's class all came from upper-class families, and each was richer than the other. For example, Vermont's parents ran a seafood business and supplied half of the hotels in Rivera.Some children at school whose families owned the hotels said he was a stinky fishmonger. They deliberately formed cliques to isolate him. But a few of them never joined in; one was Keegan, and the other was Marshall. The two were so close that it seemed like they wore the same pair of pants.At first, Vermont did not want to associate with the two guys after being bullied by those so-called aristocrats. 'What a bunch of assholes. You're all just nepotism babies,' Vermont thought.Once, a school bully from the next class maliciously shoved Keegan to the ground while they were on the basketball court. He broke his leg, and Marshall started to fight the kid on the spot.The bully was tall and robust. Marshall had not hit puberty then, so he looked relatively thin and frail. He did not se
The accident caused two deaths and one injury, yet the victims only received one million dollars as compensation. It was strange that they did not press charges. Now with the Jewell family driver on the line, the passengers' side of the story was no longer highly important. As long as Detective Karl could get something out of the driver, he may be able to follow the clues and find the truth. Stella was satisfied with Karl's progress and continued to transfer the second payment to him.When Stella was done with work in the afternoon, Cordelia called. "Stella, Baldwin made a heap of dried mangoes recently. I couldn't finish them, so I delivered some to you. Have you tasted them?"Stella remembered the WhatsApp message from Felicity in the morning, saying that she had received a large box of dried mangoes. 'Oh... Cordelia sent them,' she thought. Her eyes softened as she said in a low voice, "I'm still outside right now, but I'm sure they taste great since Baldwin made them.""That's t
'Of course not! I'm going to fight! She must be delusional to think that I would let her take away the company I worked so hard to build,' thought Albert.Hylda picked the phone up and put it on the table. "Don't get mad, Albert. It's not good for your health."Take a look at this subpoena," Albert said while tossing her the document. "I was thinking about why she was so quiet after the divorce. This is why! She was planning this all along! Does she think she could win the case with the little evidence she has in her hands?"Hylda said, "Albert, the lawsuit is not the most important thing right now. Walter just called me.""Who?" Albert was not paying much attention at that moment."Our previous driver," Hylda said in a low voice.Albert frowned. "Why did he call?""Someone went to his town and looked for him."Albert's face changed slightly. "Do you know who?""No. But think about it, who else would look into Walter?"Albert's expression turned serious. "You mean... Stella?"
Soon, Monday came. Marshall picked Stella up. Since Felicity had an off day from work, she also tagged along. Today's case differed from the previous personality rights case, involving influencers attracting public attention.The property division case was relatively low-key. No one was at the gates waiting for them when they arrived at the court."Mr. Moore, are there any chances of us winning this lawsuit?" Felicity asked.While parking the car, Marshall said, "Yes. The chances of winning are high. Albert's previous method of division was problematic. When Jewell Group was founded, more than half of the start-up capital was provided by Ms. Spade. She also made a ton of contributions to the subsequent operation of the company. Though Albert had transferred her shares to himself, it is not fully protected by law since he did it when Ms. Spade was incapacitated."Felicity was outraged when she heard that. "What a shameless piece of trash. You have to get Stella more of the assets, M
"You won't be charging me any advertising fees, would you?" Marshall raised his eyebrows and asked. "It'll be free publicity!"Today's lawsuit was opened to the public, but the audience was much smaller than last time. There were also no reporters at the scene. Trevor arrived a few minutes before the trial and sat where Keegan had sat previously. He looked like the plaintiff's family sitting there.On the defendant's side were Hylda and Sophia. There was also a six to seven-year-old boy next to Hylda. He looked very similar to her, making it hard to like him. The kid was Albert and Hylda's son, Hugo.'Sophia and Hugo.' If Stella had not opened Rainee's safe, she would not have known that her dear father had these two big surprises in store for her.The three of them looked neatly dressed. Hylda no longer looked submissive as she curled her hair and portrayed a dominant style. She and Sophia were both dressed in luxurious clothes.Stella looked coldly at the dock and saw Albert in
As the defense lawyer revealed that Stella was not Albert's biological daughter, he handed the report to the judge. "This is the DNA test between my client and Ms. Jewell. It clearly shows that they are not related by blood. She was born out of Ms. Spade's affair. Thus, our client has no legal obligation to be supporting her financially. She also does not have the right to inherit my client's property. In other words, she has no right to be suing my client."Stella was furious. "Nonsense! How dare you make up such a thing just to win this case? Did you forget how well my mother treated you? I swear to god, you are going to rot in hell."Rainee was already buried in the ground, yet Albert still tried to dirty her image. 'Is he blind to how much mom cared about him? She tried so many ways to give Albert a son. How could she have had an affair? What kind of fuckery is this?!'"Order in the court!" the judge said solemnly. The judge then allowed the jury to check the authenticity of the
Stella did not lack money since Keegan had transferred a huge sum into her card. Albert was deliberately trying to discredit and dirty her name. First, he exposed that she was not his biological daughter and portrayed himself as a loving husband who his wife cheated on. Then, he talked about how difficult it was for him to raise Stella, that she sued him for money, and added that he had to reveal the truth. He rambled on and on just to push her to the edge.Stella's face was pale. She gritted her teeth and said, "You pig! Did you forget how the Spade family poured their money into supporting you? How dare you drag my mother through the mud now that you had your success?!""Language, Ms. Jewell.""Your honor, my client is unwell right now. May we postpone this hearing?""Are you new to this field, Mr. Moore?" The defense lawyer refused to comply. "Rivera does not postpone hearings. The trial must be done today, or the case will be withdrawn."Marshall's eyes darkened.The situatio