The news of Leah's disappearance was published by all the major media outlets. Everyone in Taverdale had heard about it—even Celeste. However, she had never been overly concerned with matters involving outsiders, so she didn't pay much attention. By the time Celeste heard of the news that Leah was found, the latter was already sent to the mental asylum. When the media reported the story, they made no effort to protect the image of the Sullivan family. Celeste was surprised by this. Upon learning of the condition Leah was found in, Celeste couldn't help but feel sorry for her.In those five days, the lady who had been pampered all her life had suffered from unthinkable forms of humiliation. Of course, Leah wasn't as kind, fragile, or pitiful as she appeared to be. She enjoyed depending on men with status and power. Not only did she love to compete with women, but she was also vicious in scheming against others. She deserved to be resented by others. But who exactly did
Celeste grabbed the bottle of tequila from the table and smashed it against the corner of the coffee table. Instantly, the liquor spilled, and the glass shards scattered everywhere. Only the upper half of the broken bottle was left in Celeste's hand. Celeste's eyes were filled with murderous intent. She reached out and clutched Damon's collar with her free hand. "She's in a mental asylum, isn't she? Which asylum is that?" "Don't be reckless, darling." Damon hugged Celeste and trapped her in his arms. "Let me go!" Celeste's voice turned cold. She struggled to free herself. "I'll do it! I'll make sure she lives the rest of her life in hell. Let me handle this!" Damon hugged her tight and comforted her. "She should die! She killed my child!" "Yes, she should die. I should die, too, for believing her words. Be good, don't hurt yourself." Carefully, Damon stretched his hand out as he tried to take the bottle away from her. Celeste wouldn't loosen her grip. "Good girl, give
Damon only calmed down a little after he left Celeste's place. Now that the truth was out, he knew he was in the wrong. Although Celeste didn't resent him for it, it didn't mean he wouldn't hate himself. She had no intention to remarry him. She just wanted to do her job well and finish her studies. He'll just give her everything she wanted. After leaving Celeste's place, Damon headed straight to Bishop Group. Jasper was waiting for him in the ground-floor lobby.In the past, he was always free to come and go into Damon's office. But now, they had fallen apart and become so distant. When Damon saw Jasper, he didn't even bother turning to look at him. He walked past Jasper and headed straight to the elevator. "Damon!" Jasper called out to him from behind. Damon didn't stop. "Damon!" Jasper chased him all the way to the elevator and blocked his way. "Move." Damon glanced coldly at Jasper, as if he were a total stranger. The iciness in Damon's eyes sent shivers down Ja
Jasper watched as Damon got angry, but he didn't back down. He only spoke up when he noticed that Damon had calmed down after a long while. "Damon, you know I'm not guilt-tripping you. I made a mistake this time. I shouldn't have lied to you because of Leah. I can't afford to lose you as a friend. If you do as I said, I'll let you send me to prison. Of course, I have a request." He pursed his lips before continuing, "Damon, if I get locked up, let's agree to put this matter behind us instead of letting it drive us apart."Jasper had a determined look on his face. He looked intently at Damon as if he wanted to figure out what the latter was thinking. "After you get out of prison, you might no longer have power over the Schultz family." Damon sneered as he held the papers up. "Jasper, you're foolish for showing your weakness to others so casually." Damon knew not to share Jasper's weaknesses, but what if someone else got hold of these documents? "I don't care! Damon, I've be
Of course, Damon wouldn't send Jasper to prison just like that. After giving Jasper the cold shoulder for a while, Damon lifted his head and spoke, "I have a meeting soon. Get out if you have nothing else to say." Jasper dared to do this because he knew Damon wouldn't give up on him so easily. When he noticed that Damon was gradually giving in, he immediately seized his chance. "Damon, I owe you one this time. From now on, we'll still be friends." Although he had much to say, he eventually said just one thing. He gave Damon a meaningful look. Damon snorted. "Don't you think you forgot to take something with you?" Only then did Jasper go back and grab the stack of finance records. His eyes didn't leave Damon. "Don't look at me like that. Jasper, if something like this ever happens again, the consequences won't be as lenient as a two-year lock-up." Exhausted, Damon leaned back in his chair. Not wanting to look at Jasper any longer, he sighed aloud."It won't happen again
Before Celeste could even dodge her, the burly nurses sitting to the side had already dashed over and held her back.Celeste pulled Leah's hair and slapped her cheeks over and over. "Shut up, you mad woman!" Leah eventually backed down. All the fury in her eyes turned into hopelessness. As the daughter of a prestigious family, she had always been pampered and loved—but this was how she ended up in life. "Leah, do you still think that you've done nothing wrong?" "Of course I haven't! It's all your fault, you demon!" Leah howled. She was someone who ceased her own father's treatment just so she could distract Damon and end the lives of Celeste's child as well as two other people. She thought that the only mistake she made was getting caught.Damon had clearly told Brenda about the whole story. If not, Brenda wouldn't have suffered a stroke almost immediately. At this moment, Brenda could barely take care of herself. But even if she could, she wouldn't dare ask Damon to
It's not that Celeste never thought of aiming higher. She had always been ambitious and wanted to do everything well. That said, her idea of "aiming higher" was different from Winston's concept. Two billion dollars was an unimaginable sum for Celeste. She grew up in a household where she had to cut back on other expenses just to have a glass of milk. Even when Damon gifted her a building worth over 100 million dollars, she didn't truly feel it was hers. But now, the net profit of two billion dollars was a result of her own intelligence and hard work. She was deeply astonished by the unexpected success. "You should make good use of your intelligence. Everyone has their own strengths, and you happen to be good at making money. Instead of being controlled by capitalism, why not become the capital yourself and take control?" Winston suggested. "Maybe I was just lucky to make this profit," Celeste said. "If you can make two billion dollars, it means you can make 200 billion—
With Damon's help, the physical stores of Opulence Prowl were opened soon enough. It only took two to three months to complete the renovation and open large-scale outlets in several big cities across the country. Transitioning her business from online to offline, and from being in the spotlight to working behind the scenes—everything went unusually smoothly for Celeste. Shannon had escaped abroad, Leah was trapped in a mental asylum, and even Carly—who always caused Celeste trouble—was immediately sent out of the country after the incident. There were hardly any obstacles left around Celeste. It was only natural that things fell into place. She was busy with work from late autumn till winter. Before Christmas arrived, Celeste had already inaugurated over ten stores. Meanwhile, there had been new progress in the relationship between Megan and Winston. Celeste had seen Winston's personal belongings at Megan's place on more than one occasion.Sometimes, there would be a man
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