In this modern age of technology, the news spread rapidly. Coupled with Damon's manipulation, it wasn't long before various entertainers dominated Twitter. They were all about celebrities who were getting married, divorced, having affairs, or even soliciting prostitutes. The most shocking news of them all was about a renowned male singer exposed by his friend with benefits for raping an underage fan abroad. He was also accused of engaging in group debauchery. At first, someone paid to suppress the news. But Damon then spent a lot more money to bring the issue back to light, offering the girl a chance to launch a fierce attack against the male idol. All major social media platforms, such as Twitter and TikTok, were flooded with this kind of news for two weeks straight. When the male idol was sentenced to prison, everyone jumped in to defend women and discuss how the idol should be disqualified. It lasted for nearly a month. In contrast, nobody would remember a trivial issue like
It was the familiar smell of neroli oil. "Let me go." Celeste pushed him away. The voice-controlled light illuminated. The man she hadn't seen for nearly a month stood in front of her with bloodshot eyes. He grew much thinner than before, and his eyes seemed larger. His right hand was still in a soft cast as it hung limply by his side. "Why are you here?" Celeste suppressed the heartache in her. She lifted her head to look at him. "Are you and Spencer really dating each other?" Damon stared right at her. His voice was hoarse. Damon was a dominant man. But for some reason, the look in his eyes at that moment made him appear like a huge, abandoned dog. Celeste didn't look at the news. But she figured out what happened after some thinking. Her heart went soft as she took a deep breath. "Come inside, and we'll talk about it." She entered the house with her fingerprint and let Damon in. Damon leaned against the couch. Eyes on her, he spaced out. Celeste turned on the water d
"What's wrong?" Only then did Damon realize something was off. He stopped halfway as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. "Get away from me." Clutching her stomach, Celeste sounded weak. She looked like she was in great pain. Damon checked her lower body. The color of the fluid on the floor seemed weird. Had her period arrived? "Isn't your period only going to arrive at the end of the month?" They once lived together before. Damon was even more attentive about these than Celeste back then. It was just the middle of the month, and yet her period came suddenly. It could only mean that the miscarriage, suicidal attempt, and fever in the detention center had affected her health. Guilt woke Damon up from jealousy. He carried her up onto the bed. "Where are your things?" he asked in a low voice. Celeste was feeling uncomfortable and didn't want to move. She jutted her chin at the closet. Celeste's pads and sanitary panties were in the drawer underneath the closet. Damon
Celeste naturally wouldn't listen to Damon and quit her job just like that. But it'd happen soon enough. Winston invested in a factory manufacturing women's outfits in the suburbs. It wasn't large, just several dozens of acres of land. There were around 30 workers and two production lines. The total investment in the factory didn't exceed 50 million dollars. The first launch of the production lines was a success, so they were now at the stage of recruiting workers and expanding. Celeste thought of investing her ten million dollars into this. Winston then proposed a term to her. "How about you manage the factory when the time comes? And I'll give you 51% of shares." "Aren't you worried that I might lose all your deposit?" After all, Celeste was inexperienced and wasn't confident she would succeed in that role. Winston smiled. "I'll just treat it as a lost gamble then. If we earn some profits, I'll pay you a portion. If we suffer losses, I'll bear all of the cost." After know
Celeste had always been a vengeful person. Now that Carly was charging at her, she wouldn't back down either. The two didn't care about how they looked and started to pull each other's hair or scratch the other's face. It lasted till the security called the police. They were brought to the police station. The person in charge at the station knew Carly but not Celeste. He called Damon and said, "Mr. Bishop, someone beat your sister up. They're both at the Northroad police station now. Please come and have a look." What kind of slave was he? Celeste watched as that man talked to Damon pleasingly and felt nauseous. She had a look of disdain on her face. When Damon arrived at the station, it was already midnight. He became even thinner recently. He probably made some time in his busy schedule to come over. Dressed in a black suit, his white shirt was buttoned up to his neck. He exuded a cold demeanor. Celeste glanced icily at Damon as he walked into the interrogation room. The te
Spencer pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket. He went over to Celeste. Celeste wasn't used to people touching her, so she leaned slightly away. But she still allowed Spencer to wipe the blood from the corner of her lips. His action was provocative in Damon's eyes. Damon wasn't surprised by any of Spencer's behavior. He was just angry that Celeste didn't hide away from Spencer at all. She didn't seem to be bothered by Spencer's touch. Of course, she wasn't bothered. She even sounded cheerful after he entered! "You lost to someone like that? Celeste, you're such a weakling." Although Spencer was mocking her, his tone was soft. His action was gentle as well. "I didn't lose." There were bruises on her face, but she felt Carly didn't manage to take advantage of her at all. The only thing was that she was too careless and allowed Carly to take the lead to hit her. "Alright, you didn't. You're the most powerful woman in the world." Spencer spoke so lovingly. Perhaps Cel
After they left, Spencer drove her home. Celeste turned her head away and leaned against the car window in the shotgun. There was sadness on her face. She didn't say anything the entire way back. Spencer didn't speak either. He sent her to her residential area. "Are you sad?" After parking the car, Spencer suddenly asked. Celeste didn't expect him to ask her. She avoided his eyes. "I'm alright." "If you are, stop looking as if somebody died." He had always had a sharp tongue. "You're the one who wanted to bail me out. Can't I be sad for a bit?" Celeste argued in a soft voice. "After losing Damon, you have me now. What's there to be sad about? I'm not any worse than Damon anyway." Spencer went so close to her that they could feel each other's breath. Although Celeste was slow to think about relationship matters, she could tell that Spencer had been trying to flirt with her for the past few times. But Spencer had never confessed his feelings to her in any way. She would
Spencer had misunderstood her. The only thing that would make her sacrifice anything was to defeat the York family. Now that the York family had fallen, there was nothing else in this world that she would use her marriage to exchange with. She would admit that being with Damon wasn't just about getting what she wanted. At least her feelings for him toward the end were real. But there was no need for him to explain things. Before Spencer could come closer to her, she turned her head away. His lips didn't touch hers. Instead, his mouth brushed past her cheek and hair. "Thanks for today. I'll find a chance to treat you to a meal," Celeste said. She was then about to get out of the car and leave. "When people in Taverdale say that they'd treat you to a meal someday, they don't actually want to do it." Spencer pulled Celeste's arm. "Treat me to a meal today." "I have no mood for that." She had bruises all over her face, and it was already later. She just wanted to pass out o
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