When Cedric got a hole-in-one in the end, everyone cheered for him. There were 36 holes on the golf course. Nearly 300 caddies lined up so that he'd tip them. He casually pulled out his card and asked someone to withdraw some cash. Tens of stacks of cash were withdrawn just for him to tip the caddies. Once again, Celeste viewed him in a different light. How could he possibly be so rich? His salary wouldn't be high enough for him to do this! Every time a caddie said thank you, they'd receive a few hundred dollars each as their tip. Winston saw the confusion on Celeste's face. He then said, "Cedric grew up on a military compound. He started working in the Department of Housing and Urban Development by chance. If that wasn't the case, he would've been a colonel by now." It was normal for someone to be so generous coming from such a background. After all, his financial records would be clean when he spent his money this way. Celeste thought to herself. "Why don't you take a s
Damon thought that Celeste would be back with everyone else, so he made a reservation at a fine dining place just to have dinner with her. She went on a business trip right after he came back from one. In half a month, he barely got to spend time with her when he flew to Yalen that night. Damon wasn't a talkative man, and Celeste was a secretive person too. Things were fine when they were together. But they'd talk even less when they weren't around each other. He was prepared to welcome her at the airport. He only found out that Celeste wasn't coming back with the rest after contacting Sylvie. Damon couldn't sleep that night. When he called Celeste, she was running around to pick up golf balls for Cedric. She didn't hear any of the calls.She was having supper with the other two when she finally saw the missed calls. Celeste wanted to call him after she headed back to the hotel. But it was already midnight when she returned. Damon was probably already asleep. She could onl
Damon's voice was as cold as ice. After he said that, he hung up. Celeste was confused. Damon seemed alright before this, so why did he get upset all of a sudden? She passed some documents to Cedric just now, but she was going to visit the construction site again the next day. She had to gather more evidence so that nothing would go wrong. "I can't go back yet. Give me another half day. Tomorrow night. I'll be back at night." She told Damon on WhatsApp patiently. Damon didn't reply to her even the next morning. Damon was a volatile man, so Celeste didn't think too hard about this. She didn't realize how serious the matter was. She thought that she'd just coax him when she got back home. To her surprise, not long after she reached the construction site, the guard came over and reported, "Ms. Longman, someone's looking for you." Celeste seemed calm on the outside, but she was panicking. Anyone who asked to see Shelby Longman definitely knew her! If she went to see them, w
"Celeste, you went to the casino just to get my attention. And now you're playing golf with Cedric? Why did I not know that you could play golf, huh?" Damon pulled Celeste's arm and threw her onto the couch. The couch was made of soft material, so she wouldn't get hurt from this. Although Damon was frustrated, he knew what to do and what not to do. But Celeste showed her true colors as the "Black Swan" again at this moment. When she was about to crash onto the couch, she bent her leg a little. She then "accidentally" hit the leg of the coffee table and made a loud noise. Celeste bumped into the table so hard that her face turned white. Looking at Celeste's leg, Damon pursed his lips. She did that on purpose. Celeste wouldn't have bumped into the table if she fell on the couch from that angle. Besides, everybody would have a defense mechanism to protect themselves from danger. The moment she hit the table, she didn't retract her leg at all. Instead, she leaned even closer
After Edna went upstairs, she finally realized what Damon meant by having to feed Celeste. Celeste's hands were cuffed. She was lying sideways on the bed in an awkward way. She spaced out as her eyes rested on the door. "Mrs. Bishop, why did you upset Mr. Bishop again?" Edna sighed. She was terrified when she saw the blood stain on Celeste's pants. "Take off your pants, I'll bandage your wound." Anxious, she went up to deal with her wound. "Did Mr. Bishop … hurt you?" Edna asked her in disbelief. She saw with her own eyes how much Damon spoiled her every day. Although it wouldn't be right to compare how much a partner loved and did things for another, she could tell that Damon clearly was willing to do more for Celeste. Damon seemed cold toward Celeste on the outside, but he was actually obsessed with her. Meanwhile, Celeste was just a dispassionate woman. She didn't seem emotional both on the outside and inside. "He didn't." Celeste let Edna take off her shoes, socks,
Liam didn't expect someone as pure-hearted as Damon to do such a thing. Watching Celeste all cuffed up, Liam was in distress. How could he possibly come up with something that would justify Damon's actions to Celeste? Celeste was leaning against the headboard spaced out. When Liam came in, she merely looked up for a moment. Her eyes drooped again. "Mrs. Bishop, there's a reason why we had to bring you back here—" "I know." Celeste sounded calm. Nobody could tell how she was feeling. "Mr. Bishop just doesn't know how to express his feelings for you. He does treat you very well. When you were in Lagona yesterday, he told Cedric's superior to talk to Cedric about your matter." It was no wonder that Cedric found out about her identity in the middle of their golf session. "Was it Cedric who told Damon that I was playing golf with him?" "Of course not, it was Mrs. Bishop! She got the news from somewhere, so she called Mr. Bishop yesterday at midnight and tried to have him div
Damon was already filled with rage before the conversation. He was worried about Celeste being at home too. Now that his best friends had come here to convince him on behalf of his mother, how could he possibly accept such a thing? Nobody could take Celeste away from him! "Ah, we're just doing this to show Mrs. Bishop some respect. That's why we came over to talk to you. It's just an errand." Seeing that the situation was worsening, Nicholas hurriedly got up and pulled Jasper's sleeve. He tried to ease the tension. "Damon, we'll be leaving now. Don't worry, I think you and Celeste are a great match." Without waiting for Jasper to react, Nicholas dragged him out of the office. On their way to the underground parking lot, Jasper's face was as hard as steel. He was angry about what Damon said. Nicholas had driven them both here, so he had to send Jasper back home too. The drive from Bishop Group to Jasper's company was quite long. At first, the two were silent. When the sk
On the other hand, Celeste was growing more desperate to get out. But the more desperate she was, the harder it was for her to think straight. She was so used to suppressing her emotions that she didn't realize how strange it was for Liam to be by her side at this time. "Mrs. Bishop, it's no use for you to sit there and do nothing. You should try talking to Mr. Bishop." Looking at her expressionless face, he sighed and tried to convince her. Damon was still angry at her. Besides, he was being pressured by Serena to divorce her. How could that be solved just by talking to him? Celeste couldn't think of any solution. She was panicking. She was so overwhelmed by all those emotions that she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Liam, please pass me the medical kit." After bandaging her wound, Edna didn't take the medical kit with her when she left. Liam didn't know what Celeste was up to, but he handed it to her. Celeste's hands were cuffed, which made it hard for her to open the kit
He never would have imagined that the intelligent and aloof Celeste would have a day like this, appearing adorably naive and innocent.Damon used to like girls who were delicate and pure, but that changed when he met Celeste.She had a face full of charm and allure, but her expression and personality were always cold and unyielding. She was pale and slim, yet not childlike. On the contrary, she resembled a young poplar tree, proud and upright.Because of her, he began to like girls who sparked his desire to conquer, and he scoffed at those who were simply weak and shy.But now with Celeste like this, he didn't feel annoyed. In fact, not only was he not annoyed, he actually found it cute and interesting.“What's your name?” she asked again."Damon.""Oh, that sounds really nice."The initial confusion in her eyes was gone, replaced by a sparkling glimmer, and her tone carried a touch of a young girl's excitement."You are actually my husband… Wow, great job, me! I've managed to
"What? Aren’t you my husband? Do I still need to avoid you while changing clothes?" The confusion in Celeste's eyes didn’t seem fake.Damon was speechless and didn't know how to respond at that moment.When Damon didn't respond, Celeste suddenly felt a bit nervous."I'm sorry… I can't remember clearly. Aren't you my husband?"Damon raised an eyebrow casually and asked, "Why do you think I am?"Celeste innocently blinked, her eyelashes fluttering like fans. "The nurse said it. Besides, if you're not my husband, why would you sleep with me at night?""What did the nurse say?" Her reasoning was actually logical and undeniable. For a moment, Damon found it somewhat amusing."The nurse said that my husband is really thoughtful," Celeste responded seriously. Then she asked, "Aren't you my husband? Then why would you be willing to stay here with me so late?"This one sentence left Damon speechless.The reason he was willing was because he was a coward. He said that he didn't care abo
Damon frowned upon hearing the classic amnesiac questions being asked."Celeste, are you trying to act out a TV drama?"Celeste still looked at him blankly. "What do you mean?"Damon didn't answer and went straight to the director's office to get Nicholas.Knowing her, she wasn't the type to joke around, especially not with Leo still missing. She must have hit her head hard.Nicholas was equally surprised and hurried back to the room with Damon.Celeste was sitting up, hugging her knees and staring into space."You're awake? How do you feel?" Nicholas asked with a smile as he entered."Why am I here?" Her voice sounded hesitant, and she turned to look at them.Her confusion seemed genuine. Nicholas and Damon exchanged worried glances."Celeste… you don't remember?""Celeste?" She asked, "Is that my name?""Yes.""I don't remember. My mind is blank.""Do you remember… Leo?" Nicholas hesitated. After all, if she knew that her child had been missing for three days, he was wo
"Alright," Celeste said in a deep voice. "Let me see Leo first."They pushed open the hidden door, revealing a staircase leading to the basement."Have Leo come to the stairway corner." She stood at the dark staircase and negotiated with the kidnapper."Mommy!" Suddenly, Leo's desperate cry echoed from inside."Leo!" Celeste ditched everything else and rushed down the stairs.She ran ahead, and as soon as she reached the corner, there was a loud explosion, and a wave of heat hit her face."Celeste!""Celeste!"Damon and Winston's faces changed drastically, shouting in alarm.The basement was empty. It was a trap.Had they been more careful, they would have noticed that both the kidnapper’s voice and Leo’s cry were artificially synthesized. But Celeste, in her desperation to save her son, had been too frantic to discern this.The basement was rigged with landmines. Unfortunately, something went wrong. The mine exploded when Celeste reached the stairway corner, instead of when
What? Damon was also coming? Celeste felt her heart leap, and her voice became sharper as she said, "I can handle this. You can't come!"There was no response from his end.Observing Damon’s silence, Celeste quickly softened her tone. "Damon, listen to me. I can handle this alone. There's no need for you to get involved… because I'm their main target, and they likely won't harm Leo. You need to stay home and wait for him. You need to take care of him later on…""Celeste," Damon interrupted coldly. "Are you planning on not coming out alive?"Of course, coming out alive would be ideal, but she couldn’t guarantee that."Damon, I do have a chance of surviving, but when it comes to exchanging myself for Leo, there can be no room for error. We must follow the kidnapper's instructions to ensure Leo's safety."It was out of the question to provide a false sense of security and pretend to comply with the kidnapper, only to backtrack and get Leo killed.She needed to ensure Leo’s safety a
They checked all the surveillance footage near the Bishop residence and investigated every suspicious vehicle. They also had people keeping an eye on Henry, but after half a day, there was still no breakthrough.The kidnappers had taken Leo to threaten Celeste, and the lack of communication was meant to unnerve her. If it was according to predictions, she was supposed to wait for their demands. But, as a mother, she couldn't just sit and do nothing.Celeste remembered that Shannon had called her, so she found her contact in the blacklist and called."Shannon, did you and Henry kidnap Leo?" she demanded.Shannon laughed coldly. "Don't accuse us without any evidence. Your son is missing? Maybe it's karma. Hahaha!"Celeste hung up, unable to stand Shannon's smugness.Several teams searched for over 20 hours, even involving the police, but still had no solid leads. Celeste suspected Henry, but they couldn't just arrest him without any proof.She was extremely desperate. She didn't e
"Lester isn't as clever as Leo. He's just a four-year-old child, and he shouldn't have done anything like that," Serena instinctively defended Lester. Then, recalling the last time she had misunderstood Leo for similar reasons, she felt a pang of guilt and added, "I don't mean to imply anything… I'll have someone bring Lester here."Celeste nodded. "I'm not blaming Lester. I just want to understand what happened."Soon, the nanny looking after Lester brought him in. Unexpectedly, upon seeing Celeste, Lester burst into tears."Aunty Celeste, please don't hit me. I didn't mean to lose my brother!""Lester, I just want to understand what happened." Celeste was taken aback by his crying but kneeled down to speak gently. "I'm not blaming you. Can you tell me what you saw that day?""Aunty Celeste, don't hit me!" Lester kept crying, not saying a word about Leo's disappearance."Am I that scary, Lester?"At this moment, Celeste felt at a loss. She could communicate normally with Leo,
Celeste perfectly understood what Cedric's implied. "I mean, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to entertain me today."Cedric had indeed wanted to help her that day, but his identity was too special to admit it openly. The scratch on the paper was a subtle hint, and whether or not she could interpret it depended on her intuition. The fact that she could decipher such a subtle hint proved her intelligence and luck.Over the years, Cedric had developed a sense of respect for Celeste after learning about her. He felt she was deserving of assistance, but he couldn't make it obvious."However, be careful. I see that Henry is at the end of his rope and might act irrationally. You should be on guard," Cedric warned.Celeste nodded, having considered this as well. "Henry wants me dead."This was why she had her brother stay abroad and sent Leo to the Bishops. With only herself remaining, it was harder for Henry to use her loved ones against her."Take care of yourse
Celeste's deduction was correct. Cedric intentionally left the mark. As Winston dug deeper, he slowly uncovered a series of issues.It was a bridge project on a highway in a poor mountainous area. Not uncommon.The problem was that the person in charge of this project was a leader assigned from a first-tier city to oversee the development. Officially, he was recognised for his capabilities, but in reality, this task was one he had to succeed in without failure.He had offended someone, and this transfer was a disguised punishment under the guise of a major responsibility.If he had managed it well, the chances of him returning to a higher development role would have been slim. At best, he could stay in this position until retirement. If he didn't manage it well, his entire career could be ruined.Someone of such status naturally had supporters as well as opponents. In such a situation, it was impossible for anyone to sabotage and create pitfalls along the way."It seems the next