Wasn't that Megan?Why was she here? She must have seen him at the reception then. She must still be angry at him. She even walked past him without saying hello. Besides, she had always dressed in a conservative way back then. But recently, she had been more open in the way she dressed. What was up with that tight skirt? Right, Lilian was here too. She couldn't have misunderstood things, could she? Winston frowned. His mind was all over the place, feeling frustrated for some reason. "Mr. Belasco, Mr. Belasco." After completing the check-out procedures, Lilian called him softly. Only then did he gradually regain his composure. "What?" "Where did you park the car? Is it the overground or underground floor?" "It's at the entrance. The driver is waiting outside," Winston said absentmindedly. Why would Megan be at a hotel at such a late hour? "Did Ms. Megan Schultz spend money on anything here tonight?" Before he left, he asked the receptionist casually. "Yes, Ms. Schul
Lilian's tactic was impeccable. Anyone could tell that Celeste was mad at Lilian. Yet, Lilian somehow managed to drag Jane into the conversation.That way, Celeste would seem like she was just trying to make a fuss over nothing. Jane's face darkened. "Cece, I admit that I was unfair when I dealt with what happened last time. If you can't let go of that matter, I'll apologize to you." When Celeste and Lilian had a conflict last time, Jane kept telling Celeste to be more forgiving. Jane realized that the way she settled the matter was wrong when Celeste didn't return home for a few days in a row after that. She felt guilty for quite some time. Seeing Celeste's strange behavior now, Jane thought that Celeste was bringing up something from the past. Jane sighed to herself. Celeste wasn't a child she raised, so of course she wouldn't be able to stand being reprimanded. "It's all my fault. I only have a few months left to live, so Grandma feels bad for me and was a little bias
Celeste pushed aside the sadness and forced a smile. "Where are we heading? Are we getting a foot massage at the red-light district?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you like?" "I'm alright…" Their cars moved forward at the same speed. They eventually stopped at the traffic light at an intersection. "If you're into that, I'll give you a massage when we get back home. We're heading somewhere else for now," Damon teased her lovingly. Their voices weren't small when they spoke. The drivers behind them could hear their conversation. The driver behind Damon's car wondered why this couple were talking to each other while driving in separate cars side by side. He thought that he couldn't understand the world of the rich."Look at them. A man who drives a Rolls-Royce Cullinan is going to give his wife a foot massage at home. And you don't even buy a stalk of flower for me." Sitting in the passenger seat, the driver's wife complained. …Damon drove and led Celeste all t
Though Damon said that, he didn't pester Celeste to sleep with him that night. Instead, he prepared the bath water for her. When the water started to cool, he carried her out of the bathtub. He dried her with a towel and put lotion on her body. After all of that, he coaxed her to sleep by patting her back as if she were a child. Quietly and obediently, Celeste let him do everything he wanted. Soon, she fell asleep. Since she was bothered by something, she didn't have a good sleep. In the dream, she and Megan attended Winston's wedding. Lilian's face was covered by a bride's veil. She whispered, "You didn't expect this at all, did you? This is why I've been faking my illness." "Lilian, do you love him?" Megan asked. "That's not for you to know. The important thing is that he loves me and not you. The whole world loves me. Hahahaha!" Lilian cackled in a strange tone, sending shivers done Celeste's back.There was a loud crash next. Megan accidentally knocked a stack of bow
Spent the night with with Lilian? What sort of strange rumor was that? Speechless, he stared at his niece. "When did I spend the night with Lilian?" Before Celeste could speak, Winston remembered it right away. "Cece, is that what Megan told you? Did she say that she saw me at Gotham Hotel?" Celeste didn't hide it. "Yeah, that's right." To show him the evidence, she found the picture Megan sent her and showed it to him. Winston massaged his temples. "Listen to me; that's not what happened." He didn't expect Celeste and Megan to immediately come to that conclusion.Winston was thankful that he came to see Celeste early. If not, he'd be wronged for something he never did! "Cece, do I look like a man who'd sleep with just anybody?" His brows were knitted together. He was speechless at how illogical they were being, especially Megan. Why didn't she ask him if she had that misunderstanding? He only managed to find out through Celeste. If not, he wouldn't have been able to
"I'm sorry, Grandma." Celeste teared up. She went over to Jane's bedside. "I was rude and too stubborn." If Sylvia were still alive, she'd probably chastise Celeste as well for upsetting Jane so much. She really shouldn't have done this. Celeste let out a sigh. She was too emotional and regretted how unreasonable she acted. "Hmph." Jane turned her face away unhappily. Ten minutes prior, Winston had texted Jane. He told her briefly about what happened. Jane was not as angry as before anymore. She just wanted to play around with Celeste. But Celeste didn't know Jane that well. She thought that Jane didn't want to see her, so she stood there awkwardly. "Grandma, if you don't want to see me, I'll visit you after a few days—" Hearing that, Jane turned to face her. She watched her granddaughter with a frown. "Cece, have you been behaving this way around other people as well? You've upset someone, yet you're just going to leave after trying to comfort me with a few words?"
"Even if I did something wrong, Grandma and Mr. Belasco wouldn't do anything to me. Can't you tell that already? Being jealous of me would just make you and Ms. Schultz suffer." Perhaps that was the case, but she and Megan weren't jealous of Lilian at all. In fact, Celeste felt bad for Lilian when she heard that Lilian was suffering from late-stage cancer. Celeste only started hating her because of everything Lilian did afterwards. Celeste snickered. "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. You think that we're jealous of you, but doesn't that mean you're actually jealous of us?' Being exposed by Celeste, Lilian felt embarrassed. "So what if I'm jealous? I'm about to die soon. After I die, I'll always be the kind and innocent girl who Grandma and Mr. Belasco won't ever be able to forget. As for you and Ms. Schultz, it'd be hard for you to defeat me without dying." When Lilian talked about death in private, there was no fear or sadness in her at all. Inste
Only then did Celeste remember that she hadn't told Megan about what happened. She was too busy coaxing Jane in the morning. "Ah, it's all my fault. I forgot to tell you something." She hurriedly explained everything that went down to Megan. "In short, it was just a misunderstanding," Celeste concluded. Megan was silent for a moment after hearing that. "So that's why Winston was looking for me?" "I suppose so. I can't think of any other reason." "It's not like I'm going to marry him. Why would he bother explaining this to me? Weirdo." Megan snorted. Celeste smiled bitterly. "You don't want to marry him, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to marry you. In my eyes, Winston has been really concerned about you." Megan snorted again. "There are many people out there who want to marry me. How dare a widower like him think he can do that?" After the call ended, Celeste shook her head with a bitter smile. Just over a month ago, Megan was head over heels for this "widower
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