It only took them about forty minutes from leaving to returning.Light snow was falling outside, and Nilson was still sitting in the yard. A blanket covered his shoulders, with some white specks on it. He was silently smoking a cigar while gazing thoughtfully at the gate.His dog, Oloso, was lying on a blanket at his feet, covered with another blanket."Go ahead, Leo." Celeste stood at the gate. She handed the stocking with the gift to Leo and patted his head.Leo took it and went over.Nilson looked at the returning mother and son. He was visibly puzzled."Merry Christmas, Nilson!" Leo handed the stocking to Nilson and even gave him a hug.Nilson was clearly taken aback. He didn't know how to react.Leo, having completed his task, didn't care about Nilson's reaction and ran back to Celeste.Nilson's gaze was complex as he looked at them again."Goodbye." Celeste nodded at him and then walked away with Leo's hand in hers.Everyone had their own suffering, and this was all sh
Perhaps it was Leo's behaviour that moved Nilson. For now, he had completely let down his guard."Sir, please go ahead," Leo said respectfully. In Francisian culture, it was not customary to address non-blood relatives as grandparents, and Leo, unused to calling people by name, addressed him formally.Nilson looked at Leo with his blue eyes full of longing. "Did it ever talk to you about its previous owner?"Leo's eyes flickered. "Yes, sir.""What did it say?" Nilson's blue eyes suddenly shone brightly."It said its previous owner was a very beautiful lady who liked to wear denim jackets," Leo answered truthfully.Nilson's pupils dilated instantly. Before long, his eyes were filled with tears."Yes, my lover indeed liked to wear denim jackets. Child, you truly can communicate with Oloso." Nilson murmured as his motions suddenly became uncontrollable."Many pet communicators in Franciso have never mentioned such detailed things.""Ms. York, you've raised a genius."Celeste a
Leo was only four years old, but Nilson was sure he understood the story.Then again, Leo could communicate logically with adults and fluently speak and write in Frence. If he pretended not to understand, Nilson would never believe it.Thus, Leo gave Celeste another questioning look.Only after Celeste nodded slightly did he ask, "Was Oloso with the lady in her final days?""Yes," Nilson confirmed.Hence, Leo squatted down, cupping Oloso's face, and stared into its eyes.The more serious Leo acted, the more Celeste felt a chill run down her spine. Was this considered a form of communication with the dead?Leo held Oloso's face, and the two stared at each other for over ten minutes. Nilson simply watched the scene with his eyes full of anticipation."It says the lady never believed you had someone new," Leo suddenly looked up at Nilson and said in all seriousness."Really?" Nilson's eyes brightened."Oloso said the lady kept telling it that you, Nilson, are trying to get them
Celeste and Leo finally made their way back to Carlino by the evening of the next day.She took Leo to pick up the checked bags and then remembered what Nelson's butler had said before following the process provided to collect Nilson's gift.It was a somewhat heavy square wooden box.On it, written in French, were the words "Precious item, handle with care.""What's this?" Leo was full of curiosity."It should be a gift for you, to thank you. You'll open it later," Celeste said.It wasn't until they were in the car that had come to pick them up that the mother and son opened the box in the back seat."Mommy, it's what you wanted!" Leo couldn't help but exclaim softly.Celeste's eyes widened in surprise.Inside the wooden box was the bronze dog-head incense burner!The burner lay quietly in the box, resting on a layer of soft Carlino silk padding. Celeste looked at the dignified dog's head and suddenly felt like crying.She carefully took out the incense burner. Underneath wa
It was Kenny who gave Celeste this idea while they were in Taverdale.Kenny was well-versed in capital operations, having made his start in the glove industry. He was adept at using other people's money for his purposes or facilitating the transfer of funds seamlessly from one hand to another.Having spent his youth walking by the riverside, he naturally knew better than most where the pitfalls, the fish, and the electric nets were.Among all the methods of money laundering, road construction was undoubtedly one of the best.The money that disappeared without a trace could reappear through road construction, with some over-reporting here and there. In the end, every penny could be accounted for. This required only good cooperation between the person in charge and the construction company.In a one-billion-dollar project, if the construction company was willing to compress costs to five hundred million dollars and then issue a two-billion-dollar invoice, the job was done.Henry’s
The first person Celeste thought of was Cedric from the housing construction department, who was also the same person she had played golf with all night.She called Winston to inquire about him. Winston replied, "Cedric has been promoted. You can't call him Cedric anymore. It's Mr. Tucker now."He had risen so quickly despite his young age. Celeste recalled Cedric's sharp eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses and sincerely admired that he not only came from a strong background but also had substantial personal capabilities."Let's schedule another round of golf. I wonder if he's available?" With his recent promotion, it might not be convenient for him to be seen in public as much."I'll ask," Winston said.It wasn't long before he called back. "Cedric said he'll be in Taverdale next Friday. He's busy during the day but can meet after 8 p.m.""Alright." Celeste didn't expect Cedric to agree so readily.Soon, it was the following Friday. Celeste brought some gifts and headed straigh
Celeste had only interacted with Cedric that one time. Back then, she thought he was a difficult person to deal with. Now, it seemed he was pretty considerate of her.Little did she know that their meeting six years ago had left a deep impression on Cedric. After that, he would pay extra attention whenever he came across news about Celeste.Cedric knew all about the years of grudges between her and the Bishop family, her divorce and remarriage, and most recently, how she single-handedly turned Opulent Prowl’s reputation around.He had witnessed this woman’s growth in a parallel universe. Hence, he developed a deep respect for her.But of course, Cedric wouldn't say anything about this.He simply took a sip of tea and half-jokingly said, "Knowing how to show weakness and using beauty are two major gender advantages for women. It seems you haven't learned these over the years."Hmm. Celeste thought about it seriously. She wasn't entirely incapable of it. For instance, in the past,
At that time, he made her promise that from then on, she could only play golf with him.Time had passed, and they were no longer who they used to be. That promise naturally no longer held any weight.Nicholas invited Damon to play golf that night. The two of them were pretty happy at first, but after Celeste arrived, they could no longer concentrate on the game.Damon threw down his club and went to the lounge after seeing Celeste chatting and laughing with Cedric. Nicholas, who understood what was happening, grabbed two cans of sparkling water and joined him.Celeste and the other two soon joined the lounge area as well.Though they didn't hear much, they did witness Celeste's setback."Are you going to step in?" Nicholas raised an eyebrow.Damon snorted. "Do I look like a simp to you?"Yes.Nicholas thought that if Damon weren't a simp, he wouldn't have gone through various connections to help Celeste acquire the beast-headed incense.But he didn't dare say that out loud. "
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