'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
The man was startled, and his face immediately turned grim. 'Who the hell is he? Why is his tone so rude?'When the man's colleagues recognized Trevor, they whispered, "I think that's Mr. Saun from Wings Group."The words thundered in the man's ears. The editor-in-chief of Tangerine Media had made countless appointments with Wings Group for an exclusive interview, but Trevor never responded. The man did not expect to bump into him today. What originally was supposed to be for show became the last sentence he would say before losing his career. The man's face turned pale. He looked suffocated and had an aggrieved expression. He was angry, but he did not dare to speak.Trevor was impatient and said coldly, "Get out of the way!" The few reporters surrounding him finally cleared the way. Trevor turned around to look at Stella, and the coldness on his face instantly faded. "Let's get out of here," he said softly.Stella finally recovered from what had happened in the courtroom. She coll
"That's impossible," Stella immediately denied it. She continued, "If I were adopted, how could they shut everyone else's mouth when there's a child involved? Besides, Albert didn't have to wait till today to reveal the DNA results."Trevor was silent for a few seconds, "Maybe they got the wrong baby at the hospital.""That's even more unlikely. When my mom was healthy, she took me for checkups annually. So why wouldn't she know if I weren't her child? Besides, I've still got the ultrasound image from her maternity checkup when she was pregnant with me; I'm definitely her child."Trevor fell silent.'This is also what he I'm confused about. From Stella's blood type, it is obvious she is not Rainee and Albert's child, so how could Rainee not know? Since Stella has deep feelings for Rainee, bringing up her true identity at such a time might be counterproductive,' he thought."Mr. Saun," Stella spoke, interrupting Trevor's train of thought. "My true identity might end up as damaging
"Mom, why are you only taking out such an important thing now?!"Sophia had been a little resentful since she came out of the courtroom.'All these years, I've always been hiding because of my identity. I've even lost my dream job because I'm an illegitimate daughter. In the end, I found out that Stella is the one who isn't Albert's biological daughter. If they had said this earlier, I wouldn't have lost my job! Stella had been occupying my position and even constantly bossed me around. How infuriating!' she thought."If we had taken this out sooner, how would we make use of her?"Hylda glared at Sophia in annoyance.Whether or not Stella's an illegitimate daughter, Sophia's identity cannot be revealed. However, exposing Stella's identity after Sophia's is advantageous to us. Everyone focuses on that divorcee—Stella's—true identity. Nobody will care about Sophia anymore. Besides, Stella will be busy for a while after this sudden exposé. Be it the lawsuit or investigating the incid
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