"You have a good eye, Grandma." Damon held the Imperial Pearl and passed it to Jane. He spoke, "This pearl was created back in the era of evolution—" "It was auctioned for 60 million dollars thirteen years ago," Jane continued. "The fact that you still remember an event from so many years ago proves that the Bishop family has managed to find something that you're fond of." Damon's smile grew wider. He learned about the news of Celeste finding her family too suddenly. He barely had time to conduct an investigation. Liam only managed to find out that Jane was a fan of collecting jewelry. When Damon was preparing the gift, he remembered Celeste's reaction when he took the jewelry box from Serena and passed it to Celeste. Celeste was intrigued by the Imperial Pearl inside the box. Jane would probably like something that Celeste showed interest in as well.He had to take a risk when he picked the largest Imperial Pearl in his family collection as a gift. He didn't expect that i
Megan had sent her a picture. It was clearly taken from inside a car. In the picture, there was an old woman with a hunchback standing in front of a hotdog stand. The woman had a cotton bag slung over her arm. Her hair was white, and her wool coat was wrinkly and dirty. Despite wearing a mask, Celeste recognized her immediately. "Is that Hannah?" Megan asked. "Yeah." "Why did she get released so early?" Damon had spared no effort back then. Megan recalled that she should be in jail for at least another three years. "I don't know, but I bet I won't be able to live well for a period of time with her released." Celeste's tone was as cold and calm as usual—but there was caution in her eyes. "Henry is in jail, and Shannon has escaped abroad. How could Hannah cause any problems by herself? Look at how pitiful she looks now. She had a few years of a good life and wasn't grateful for it. Now that she got her karma, everyone would say she deserves it." When Megan spoke, her vo
Leah's eyes were unfocused, unable to settle on Shannon's face. "Leah, I'm Shannon—your one and only friend," Shannon said. She held Leah's hand, trying to gauge her reaction. "Friend…" Leah murmured. Her gaze rested somewhere behind Shannon. It was only then that Shannon realized Leah was no longer the intelligent, beautiful, and enchanting Ms. Sullivan from the past. "Listen." Crouching down, Shannon pressed on Leah's shoulders. "All of your sufferings today happened because of Celeste York. If it weren't for her, you would've been Mrs. Bishop and loved by Damon."But now, she's enticed Damon to lock you up at a place like this." Shannon prodded at Leah's sore spots. As expected, Leah's eyes widened with fear when she heard Celeste's name. "Leah, listen to me. You will never see the light of the day again as long as Celeste is still alive!" Shannon whispered harshly into Leah's ear. Dazed, Leah looked at Shannon. Nobody could tell if Leah understood her words. …S
Following the tradition, Celeste was supposed to say a few words of gratitude to Jane, who was seated there. However, before the master of ceremonies could hand her the microphone, a disheveled woman in black walked through the crowd and onto the stage. In her hand was a blue bucket. "Celeste York, you're just a slut and a demon! I'm taking you down with me tonight!" The shrieking woman turned out to be Leah.Celeste was taken aback. How did Leah manage to get out? She then gave Damon a questioning look. He straightened up in his seat. Celeste wasn't scared of Leah, but her presence was certainly a mood-killer here. "Leah, stop with your nonsense!" Celeste reprimanded sharply. Leah let out a creepy snicker. Where were the security guards? How could no one stop this mad woman from entering the hall? Winston was waiting on the other side of the stage, so he noticed the commotion almost immediately. "Get security to bring her out of here. Don't cause a scene," he whispere
"I lost that pair of diamond earrings…" Lilian sounded pitiful and sad. Tears finally rolled down her cheeks. How could there exist a girl who could evoke such a strong desire to protect her? The fragile expression in her eyes had the power to touch the heart of anyone who saw her.Diamond earrings were indeed expensive, but Lilian had lived with the Belasco family for many years, so she had certainly seen a lot of things that were just as expensive. Usually, she wouldn't have acted stubbornly just for a pair of diamond earrings. Her reaction could only mean that the earrings were really important to her. As expected, Celeste watched as Winston's anger died down. His angry countenance was replaced with a gentle expression. "Since this has happened already, you shouldn't feel too guilty about it. We can buy you a new pair of earrings if you lost yours. You should take care of your health instead." Winston comforted Lilian and patted her shoulder. "I just want that specifi
Did she not like Lilian? Celeste wasn't someone who'd care much about most people. Even if the person involved weren't Lilian, Celeste wouldn't be bothered. It didn't matter to Celeste despite feeling Lilian wasn't as soft and fragile as she appeared to be. The only relation between them was that Lilian was Jane's god-granddaughter. Celeste had no intention to compete with Lilian for love, nor was she interested in the assets of the Belasco family. However, if Lilian tried to compete with Megan to get Winston's heart, Celeste would certainly not stand by and let it happen. …Since Jasper was splashed with acid, there were different degrees of burns across his forearm. More than half of the area would require skin grafting. After he held Leah down, he gradually lost consciousness because of how painful it was. When he woke up again, he was already bandaged and treated. Standing by the bed, Damon had a grave expression. "I'm not dead yet, so don't look so mournful," he
When Celeste and Winston entered, Nicholas was holding both Damon's and Nicholas' hands. The longing expressions on the three men's faces would make anyone laugh. "Cough, cough." Celeste let out a dry cough. The three then let go of each other awkwardly. "Thank you, Mr. Schultz," Celeste thanked Jasper sincerely as she walked up to his bed. She checked his medical report. His injuries were more serious than she imagined. Celeste didn't expect Jasper to sacrifice himself to save her at that moment. "No worries. I did a lot of things to drive a wedge between you and Damon. We're even now," Jasper calmly said. While it's fine not to talk about things like this amongst good friends, it's different as this was a matter between a man and his friend's partner. Looking at Jasper, Damon suddenly chuckled. He joked, "You still love me, don't you, Jasper?" "Of course. You're just like my own son." "Get out of here; how could you talk to your father this way?" The two teased each
Celeste was slim and weak. Given how well-built Damon was, he easily got her out of the car. Without realizing what was going on, Damon dragged her along and ran at full speed. The car behind them made a deafening noise. The force of the explosion propelled them forward, and Damon instinctively reached out to shield Celeste in his embrace."It exploded!" Someone yelled. The smell of gunpowder filled the air. Everyone in the parking lot became panicked. "Are you okay, darling?" Damon lifted Celeste to her feet, having pinned her to the ground moments ago. He checked her body for injuries.He sighed in relief when he saw Celeste unharmed. He reached out and brushed the dust off her dress. Celeste had always been a calm and composed person. She merely showed a hint of panic for a moment before quickly regaining her composure. The hospital security called the police in fear that it might explode again. The parking lot was locked up for emergency purposes as well. Nobody dar
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