It took Damon a long time to calm down after he returned home.He called Fiona to ask for Lester's cord blood. Fiona hesitated for a moment and asked, "What do you need it for?"Damon couldn't say it was for a bone marrow match for Leo. He replied, "As his father. I have the right to have it." His tone was as assertive as ever with Fiona without seeming out of place."I didn't save it for Lestie," Fiona quickly responded."Don't you know the importance of cord blood as a doctor?" Damon wasn't convinced.Fiona stammered and couldn't come up with a convincing explanation. Damon impatiently ended the call.Storing cord blood for a child wasn't expensive. Considering Fiona's financial status and her profession as a doctor, Damon couldn't believe she hadn't stored Lester's cord blood.Either she didn't want to give it to Damon at all, or there was something fishy going on with Lester's cord blood.Something didn't sit right with Damon.He decided to visit the hospital and check the
Although Fiona did not get her wish to marry Damon, she ultimately achieved her goal. By leveraging the influence of the Bishop family, she benefited greatly from her ex-husband over the years, much to Harry's dismay.Despite the fact that the two children she had with Harry were born via surrogacy, Lester was indeed Fiona's biological child, conceived naturally but with a donor unrelated to Damon.She thought that Damon, being a highly intelligent and suspicious person, would easily detect any deception if even her pregnancy were faked.Damon never suspected the truth, primarily because he retained manipulated memories!Fiona had administered a drug to Damon that induced sexual hallucinations. Everything was a lie!Her decision to no longer practice medicine was directly related to this incident. During the process of "saving" Damon, freezing his emotions and using hallucinogenic drugs to induce false sensations of love could have disastrously exposed her, potentially ruining h
Fiona, with her stunning looks and immense wealth, was the envy of many in her homeland. However, her arrival in the remote Aureastia region spelled disaster.Fiona had a significant amount of cryptocurrency named “Ucoin,” which was the latest trend in the crypto world and rumored to be highly profitable.She was wealthy and could speculate with about 1 billion dollars in this currency. However, once word got out in Aureastia, she became a prime target for local gangs.She was targeted, and even her male companion was not spared.Initially, Jaxon only intended to coax Fiona into spending lavishly for his commissions. However, he ended up risking his life alongside her.Fiona was tortured to death. To extract the password for her “Ucoin” account, the criminals killed the young man in front of her and chopped off her fingers one by one.Even after she gave the password and her account details at Vanguard Bank, she couldn’t escape from being raped and killed.Her death was horrific
"What do you mean using cord blood for matching is no longer possible?" Celeste was puzzled. The Bishop family was wealthy, and Fiona was a doctor. How could they not have preserved the child's cord blood?Damon felt a bitter sadness rising within him. "I came here today to discuss just that. Lester isn’t my son. We were both deceived by Fiona."Damon and Celeste spent the entire afternoon together as he shared the intricate details he had uncovered, including the paternity test results and even records of Fiona purchasing illegal drugs."It was all Fiona’s trap," Damon said with a bitter smile.What could be more humiliating than admitting to the woman he loved that he had been fooled?Of course, Damon wasn’t foolish. However, all of this did happen by coincidence.It was all so coincidence that not only he but also Celeste and everyone else attributed his emotional detachment to the car accident. And during his most vulnerable moment, Fiona had drugged him, leading him to bel
Celeste used to find it hard to reject Damon, but now it was much easier. She was married and quite happily so. As a married woman, it was perfectly fine for her to refuse anyone."Is he good to you?" Damon asked. He wasn't ready to give up."You've already asked me that before. He treats me very well." Celeste was telling the truth. Sebastian was flawless as a partner.Damon grimaced. Right. He'd already asked that."Do you love him?" He finally mustered the courage to ask the question that had been weighing on his mind.Celeste wanted to say that it didn't matter but thought it better to let him move on.She nodded and fixed her gaze directly on Damon's eyes. "Listen, Damon, I'm only going to say this once. Imagine you're at your lowest point, and a genuinely kind man comes into your life. He doesn't care about your past or that you're pregnant with another man's child. He helps you through the darkest days, helps you overcome your depression, and loves your child as his own. W
"My life will be meaningless without her," Damon murmured painfully, his eyes swollen."Your life will still be meaningless if you continue like this. How will Celeste react if she knows that the man she once loved is now in such a pathetic state?""I..." He was hesitant to respond."Are you hoping for her to feel lucky that she left you?" Jasper, who rarely showed such dominance, became enraged. His veins seemed to pop out on his face."I'm only advising you this time. You can choose whether you want to listen to me. If you don't take my advice, I won't come to you again!"After saying that, Jasper let go of Damon's collar and walked away. Before leaving, he irritably kicked the villa's front door with force, making a piercing sound as it swung.Damon stared at the door and Jasper's leaving figure, feeling somewhat dazed."He means well, Damon. If you continue like this, the Bishops will be doomed! Do you know how many people are waiting to see you fall?" Nicholas helped Damon
"Is that Sebastian?" Afraid of making mistakes, Damon asked Liam beside him.Liam, who had been gossiping about his boss' scandal for a long time, immediately recognized Sebastian. "Yes, he is."They hadn't expected Sebastian to be flirting with another woman behind Celeste's back.Was that what Celeste meant by he treated her well?Damon's expression darkened. Amidst the colorful lights of the club, he seemed unusually cold."Mr. Bishop, I think it's better not to intervene in this matter."Liam had spent several years by Damon's side. He had a keen sense of judgment and knew when to speak up. His preemptive interference surprised Damon."Are you worried about me?" Damon glanced at him."I just think it's Ms. York's family issues. It's best not to interfere too much." Liam didn't want to see Damon's desolate and painful side anymore."Don't interfere? How can I watch Celeste be kept in the dark?" Damon sneered and stood up.Damon followed Sebastian and his partner as they mo
“Cece, your ex-husband bullied me!" Sebastian complained pitifully to Celeste with a bruised eye.Celeste was shocked. "Why did Damon cause trouble again?"They had agreed to part ways amicably. Why was he still entangling her? He even went to bother Sebastian. He lacked proper etiquette."I was dating my crush at the club. Damon happened to see us..." Sebastian recounted the whole incident to Celeste, complaining non-stop.He grumbled discontentedly, "I can't tell him that we're in a sham marriage. If he finds out, he might continue to harass you!"Celeste massaged her temples helplessly. "It doesn't matter if you tell him, but... Sebby, you're tall and younger than him. Why didn't you hit back? Why did you let him bully you?"He was slightly younger than her. She always called him Sebby. He liked that nickname."After all, I'm the 'cheater'. I'm in the wrong. If I had hit him, wouldn't you feel sorry for him?" Sebastian rolled his eyes."He's only my ex-husband. Why should I
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