Lilian had been keeping an eye on Winston's whereabouts. She knew about the emerald necklace he purchased at a high price during an auction. She just didn't know that Megan had already received this necklace after a few days. Lilian made up a whole story about how much Winston valued her and even described the diamond earrings as "his token of affection for her". Conversely, Megan showed her a necklace worth nearly five million dollars, saying that Winston gave it to her as a gift of apology. She even told Lilian to help her return this to him. Her pair of earrings only cost ten thousand dollars, but Lilian chirped on and on about how extravagant the gift was. Megan's nonchalant attitude made Lilian appear petty and cheap. Lilian realized that fact. Her face turned red."Ms. Schultz…" She didn't know what to say to regain her dignity. But Megan had no intention to embarrass her. "Please, Ms. Gibson. I did nothing to deserve such a gift. This necklace is too expensive. Mr
The kiss happened abruptly, and Winston was being too aggressive. Megan was dumbfounded. The two of them had kissed each other in the past, but it would always happen naturally when they were having passionate moments in bed. This was the first time they suddenly started kissing in the middle of an argument. It was hard to guess what an older man could be thinking. What did Winston mean by this? When their relationship was vague, and they were merely friends with benefits, he never behaved like this. Why was he the one pestering Megan after they parted ways? "Let me go," Megan mumbled as he kissed her lips. She tried to push him away. "No." Not only did Winston not let go, he pushed things further by slowly slipping his tongue into her mouth. He had been missing the taste of her for many days. Winston felt that his heart was beating a little too fast. At first, he just wanted to punish her with his kiss—but to his surprise, the more he kissed her, the more he found hims
"You won't love her, but you want her to love you. How could you expect such a thing?" Celeste said. Words were stuck in Winston's throat. After a while, he suddenly uttered, "She does like me." Celeste replied, "So what? She loved you in the past, but she has the right not to love you anymore. Winston, ask yourself this. Do you love her? Can you love her like how you did Wish's mother back then?" Winston was quiet. When she didn't hear an answer from Winston, Celeste added, "If it's something even you can't do, why do you expect it from her then? Winston, I've always thought that you were an upright and fair person." …Winston kept his phone away. He could not come up with any answers when he was asked all those questions by his niece. He admitted that his feelings swayed a little when she asked him that question. He thought nobody could replace how important his ex-wife was in his heart. He had known Megan for barely a year, yet she nearly replaced his ex-wife. No, t
Opulent Prowl had always been run by the three partners as a joint business. But now that the two shareholders weren't on talking terms because of their relationship issues, Celeste was tasked to do everything. Just a while ago, she finally managed to keep things organizedand could heave a sigh of relief. To her surprise, she was soon busy again because of the matter between her uncle and best friend. The New Year passed by quickly, and it was soon Easter. Celeste would be heading back to Genova for her studies soon enough. She thought that it would be impossible for Winston and Megan to stop her from leaving the company when she intended on doing do.Although she was busy with work, she investigated Shannon thoroughly. Of course, Damon did most of the job. She and Megan weren't mistaken back then. Shannon had indeed returned to Taverdale. Shannon met a wealthy old man in Avalon and managed to marry him after deceiving him into divorcing his wife. She somehow managed t
Was this the Avalonese tycoon to whom Shannon was married? Celeste sized the man up from afar. He was tall. She could tell that he was of a certain age already. Those dark and sinister eyes of his made her want to keep her distance. Judging from his demeanor, Celeste thought he didn't seem like a citizen of Avalon for some reason. Meanwhile, the man was scrutinizing her as well. There was obvious interest in his eyes. Celeste was too familiar with being stared at with this kind of gaze. It was one filled with ill intentions and a sickening interest that she had seen in many men's eyes. Celeste didn't have a good impression of him in the first place. Now that he was staring at her like that, she felt even more uncomfortable. Just then, the man approached. Shannon spoke up. "Mr. Chandler, you're finally done with your work. It's not fun looking around on my own." She was speaking Tavernese. Her tone was filled with flatter and coquetry. Mr. Chandler? Didn't that old man
Lilian was hospitalized for more than a week. When she was discharged, she grew much thinner and looked even more pitiful than before. It was said that a person's name could indicate how his or her life would be. She felt that she was the perfect example of this. When the internet wasn't as accessible back then, people had to register births with pen and paper.Because of this, many names were registered incorrectly by the officials at the registry department.Lilian was one of them. Her name was supposed to be Vivian, but her parents did not double-check the name being jotted down by the staff. Somehow, it became "Lilian". It was inconvenient to change names back then. And since her parents always wanted a son, they didn't care much about their newborn daughter. Thus, she has always carried that name till now. Her parents and the grandmother who loved her died in the same accident. She had to live with another family since she was young. Now that she'd contracted an in
When she heard her own voice through the phone, Lilian's face went pale. Her immediate reaction wasn't embarrassment at getting caught doing something wrong. Instead, she thought about how Megan sounded so generous and showed no signs of repulsion when she spoke that day. It was because she was recording their conversation in secret! Panicked, this was Lilian's first time speaking without a filter. "I did say all of that. It's no wonder that Ms. Schultz answered me so politely. I was too naive. I didn't expect that she'd record our conversation." Lilian couldn't hide the anger in her words anymore. It took Winston aback. It seemed that he never truly knew her, so he always thought she was as innocent as a bunny. "You're wrong. Megan didn't send me this voice recording." All the sympathy Winston had for her just now faded. His voice grew cold. "Cece is the one who sent it to me. Without this clip, I wouldn't know you're this kind of person in private. Lilian, it must be ha
Soon after he arrived at work the next day, Jane called Winston in a frenzy. She demanded, "What happened between you and Lily?" "What are you talking about?" Winston was confused. Jane sounded like she was about to cry. "Come back home now. Lily… Lily has left us!" Lilian was a patient of late-stage cancer. When Jane said Lilian had "left", it was hard for Winston not to overthink. "Don't worry, I'll come home right away!" Winston was shocked as he hurriedly replied. He then rushed back home from the company. It was a misunderstanding. She had simply left the house. Lilian had written a letter and left it on her bed after leaving the study. She left the Belasco residence in the dead of night. When the maid went to her room and told her to have breakfast, only then did people realize Lilian was gone. When Winston reached home, he saw Jane holding her letter while wiping her tears away. "She's an adult already. She'll definitely be able to take care of herself." Winsto
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