Reginald's expression got even darker upon hearing Celena's words. He replied icily, "Alright! Since you said you have evidence, show it to me, then."Reginald was upset. Even if Celena said she had evidence, he still refused to believe his eldest son would do such a thing.Reginald always had high hopes for Yafe. After all, he had brought him up to be the next person to be in charge of the company. After Reginald passed away, the entire company would be put in Yafe's charge. There was no need for Yafe to do these things for that insignificant cut of benefit.Besides, they were a family. Why would he do something that would harm the interest of his own family's company?In conclusion, Reginald simply refused to believe Yafe would do what Celena accused him of.Celena could tell that Reginald did not believe her, but she was not afraid. That was because the information and evidence she had were true. She was not afraid at all that Reginald would look into this matter."Alright." C
Celena nodded and said solemnly, "I promise that everything I said and this information that I provide are real, Grandpa. The person in the recording earlier is the person in charge of one of the contractors. The list of materials and their prices written in the document in your hand is what that man, Jayme Robbie, and Dad have agreed upon in private."I had someone from the company verify the details in this document when I was on my way back from the construction site. All the materials listed are considered low- to medium-quality in the market. The quotation for the purchase is priced above the market rate for high-quality materials."Grandpa, if we purchase the materials according to this list, they would be able to pocket at least one million dollars."Her words sent the people in the quiet sitting room into a frenzy again.The Stone family members who were present were infuriated. Cheryl, Qemal, and Sherah panicked.Celena was just as shocked as the people in the sitting roo
Yafe wiped off the sweat on his forehead as he spoke. He walked into the room anxiously and said to Reginald, "Dad, I didn't do any of that. All the information and evidence are fake. It's all fabricated by Celena."Dad, I'm your son. You know what kind of person I am, don't you? How could I possibly do things that would harm the interest of the company? Besides, I'm the vice president of the company now. You'll let me run the company in the future as well. It makes no sense for me to do this!"Yafe was incredibly anxious to see Reginald and the others remaining silent, but he still pretended as if he was wrongfully accused. He glared at Celena and Liam ferociously and said, "You've crossed the line, Celena. I know you've always resented me, and you've never taken me seriously. But you can't frame me like this."I'm going to make it clear today that I've never done anything to harm the interest of the company. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to check all the properties, comp
Liam's grip was so strong that Yafe's wrist felt a little numb. Yafe's expression instantly darkened, and he struggled with all his might to break his wrist free. He glared at Liam at the same time and bellowed, "Liam! How dare you! Don't forget your place! You're just a man who married into the Stone family! Who are you to meddle in our family's business? Get the hell out of the way or I won't hold back!"The air around Liam suddenly became frosty. His gaze was icy as well as he gripped Yafe's wrist tighter. He stared at Liam and said icily, "I'm not interested in the Stone family's business. I can't be bothered to care either. But that doesn't mean you're allowed to lay your finger on my wife. If you want to slap my wife, you have to go through me first."Liam grabbed Yafe's wrist with all his might and twisted it in the opposite direction.Loud cracks of bones being dislocated instantly sounded in the room, and it was followed by Yafe's miserably scream."Ah! My hand! You bast
Liam pulled the teary-eyed Celena out of the sitting room and left Stone Mansion without looking back at all.Yafe could not hold himself back anymore as soon as Celena and Liam left. He quickly went up to Reignald and said anxiously, "You have to believe me, Dad. It's that little b*tch Celena who's framing me on purpose! I didn't—""Shut up!"However, before Yafe could finish his sentence, Reginald cut him off while looking sullen. Reginald turned to the others in the room and said, "That's it for today. All of you should head home."It was after everybody left that Reginald looked at Yafe with a frosty and furious gaze. He was gripping the walking stick so hard that his hand turned a little pale.Reginald was forcing himself to hold back his anger, but Yafe had no clue. He was still pretending like he was wrongfully accused, saying with grievances, "Dad, I am framed!"Hearing that made Reginald fly into a rage and throw his walking stick at Yafe. He bellowed, "How do you have t
Yafe was frightened beyond measure at this point. He clung to Reginald's leg with a panicked look, sobbing and wailing. Reginald, on the other hand, was trying very hard to hide the pained expression on his face. After all, Yafe was his eldest and had always been the bearer of his immensely high expectations since a young age. As determined as he was with this decision, he still could not help feeling as though someone had stuck a dagger right through his heart. Reginald was getting older day by day, and his health had been on a steady decline over the past few years. This was made worse by the fact that he had just screamed at the top of his lungs at his disappointment of a son, and with everyone gone, Reginald finally slumped into a chair in sheer exhaustion and cast Yafe a weary look. It took him a long time to finally regain his composure, after which he turned to Yafe with a look of defeat. "That's enough. I'm not dead yet, so why are you crying your eyes out like that? I tr
Celena stopped in the middle of her tracks and whipped around to stare at Liam. "Why, Liam? Why had Grandpa refused to believe me even when I was able to produce such concrete evidence?"Liam could not help but sigh when he saw how anguished Celena looked at this. He patted Celena's head gently, a feeble attempt at reassurance, but it only seemed to make her even more upset. She could feel tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to fall at any second. Eager to distract herself, she craned around to stare at Liam in determination as though demanding an answer. "Liam, why do you think that's the case?"Liam was pained to see the defiant look on her face, but he composed himself and replied earnestly, "Celena, this has nothing to do with the evidence you provided. It's simply because your father is the eldest son, the patriarch of the family. Your grandfather had raised him as a successor, a leader to take over the family empire once your grandfather had passed. In a way, he has become
Liam smiled at this. "You don't have to worry anymore, my love. Everything will be fine. I'm here with you."Liam tugged on Celena's hand to urge her to get going, but she remained motionless, her brows furrowed in deep concern. Then, she lowered her head and murmured, "Liam, did I make a mistake? I shouldn't have acted so rashly. I shouldn't have come clean with the truth at all. If I hadn't said anything, Dad wouldn't have…"Liam draped his arm across Celena's shoulder, trying to distract her from her racing thoughts. Then, he gently nudged her in the direction of their house and said, with an air of mild resignation, "Alright, you have to stop overthinking now. There's nothing to be guilty about. If anything, they should be the ones feeling ashamed of themselves! There was nothing wrong with what you did. Please don't overthink this, okay? We need to get home soon. Jovie is probably waiting for us."Celena was about to say something further, but Liam had shut her up so effectivel
The entire meeting room was in absolute chaos. The remaining three Elders were equally vexed, and they all scowled, cracking their knuckles in fury."These people are getting out of hand! How can they possibly frame Liam's poor wife for such an atrocious crime?""We must get to the bottom of this! We must find out who's behind this! He or she cannot go unpunished!"Timothy nodded in agreement and roared at his cowering assistant, "Go find out what truly happened! Find out which filthy scum ordered Celena's arrest and what could possibly delude them into thinking she is a spy against our country!"His assistant squeaked a reply, then sped out of the room as fast as his legs could take him. He did not stop until he reached the front door of the Grand Pendragon Department, where he stood, panting and trying to catch his breath. His expression was wild with fear. He had never seen the Four Elders so furious before. Clearly, whatever had happened to Celena was something very serious ind
Keyon could see right through Prince Faber's apprehension. He replied with a smile, "Prince Faber, why are you so scared of that Liam fellow? Have you somehow forgotten that you are the commander-in-chief now? You have hundreds of thousands of soldiers at your beck and call. Why does it matter what Liam thinks? He has been deposed and is no longer in power! Besides, you have the Yeager family backing you, and there is nothing he can do to harm you!"You don't have to worry about a thing; the Yeagers have this all taken care of. We are just doing this to lure Liam out of hiding. If he dares to touch so much as a hair on your head, he'll be falling right into your trap."Prince Faber furrowed his brows at this. He could not help but question the validity of Keyon's claims. Keyon, sensing this, added, "Prince Faber, you must remember that stripped of his powers, Liam Cole, is now nothing more than an ordinary civilian! If he dares to harm you, he will be sentenced to death for treason a
What would Liam do if he found out Prince Faber had captured his wife? Surely he would not hesitate to turn the entire city upside down to look for her?Prince Faber was more than familiar with Liam's fierce loyalty and could not help but begin to worry at the prospect of having to face his wrath. He stared at Keyon's leering face and asked with belated realization, "Mr. Yeager, you ordered me to capture all those people from the Drunham City Connoisseurs, but the truth is, your sole target has always been Liam's wife. Is that right?"Keyon nodded, smiling. "That's right. We could care less about those businessmen. All we wanted was to get our hands on Celena Stone!"I must admit I was very surprised when I found out that Celena Stone is the wife of the great King Pendragon. Not only that, but I made an even more shocking discovery—it turns out that Liam is none other than the lone survivor of the Cole family, the noble clan who were allegedly wiped out seven years ago!"The ment
After a few moments' hesitation, he finally decided to shoot his shot. "Mr. Yeager, there is something I don't understand. Why did the Yeagers order these businessmen's capture? I've looked into their backgrounds, and they are all honest businessmen who have not broken the law before. If the media catches wind of this, they will surely accuse me of abusing my power…"This was what Prince Faber had been worried about. He had already investigated the people whom the Yeagers ordered to be captured and did not understand why the Yeagers wanted them imprisoned. They were all civilians who had not committed any crime, and he dared not even imagine the consequences if the public found out he had ordered the incarceration of innocent citizens.Keyon understood immediately Prince Faber's concern. He smiled and replied in a reassuring tone, "Worry not, Prince Faber. We Yeagers have taken care of everything. We have made absolutely sure to cover up all your tracks, and no one will know you were
Meanwhile, Celena and the group were taken out of the hotel and shoved forcefully into a couple of jeeps waiting at the entrance. They were whisked away to a nearby military base. Before they could even get their bearings straight, they found themselves being tossed into holding cells. Celena, on the other hand, was taken separately to a small, dark room, illuminated only by the barest sliver of light that peeped in through a tiny window. The room was entirely empty, save for a metal bed frame. A sour stench hung in the air, and it was clear this room had been abandoned for a very long time. A soldier shoved Celena roughly into the room, and before she could realize what was happening, the soldier slammed the door shut.The soldier had pushed Celena so hard that she fell onto the ground, but upon seeing that her captor was about to leave, she leaped to her feet and sprinted over to the door. "Sir, can you tell me what I did wrong? Can you please have mercy on me? Can you at least
Tristan seemed just as baffled as they were. He returned their puzzled gazes with an equally perplexed one of his own. "I… I have no idea…"The general glanced sharply in their direction, then gestured to his soldiers and declared sternly, "Take them away!"His soldiers obliged and stepped forward to restrain the members of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, who all shrieked in alarm, "Why are you taking us away?""General, what did we do wrong? We didn't do anything illegal, so why are you arresting us?""Mr. Xander, save us! They've got this all wrong!""What's going on here? Why are they arresting only us?"Celena's entire body was shaking like a leaf. She eyed the soldiers around her and asked, stammering, "General, what did we do wrong? Why are we being captured? Where are you taking us?"Tristan, stricken with panic, shoved a soldier aside and shouted at the general, "General, I'm the president of the Drunham City Connoisseurs, and I want to know why we're being taken away. Wh
Celena was utterly terrified by the sudden turn of events. She stared pale-faced at the soldiers around her, not daring to move even a muscle. What was going on?All of a sudden, a man in a uniform stepped into the room. The badge on his shoulder indicated to everyone that he was a general. The heavy thumping of his boots echoed through the silent room with every step he took. All eyes were on him as he stepped onto the stage.He carried himself with great authority, and clearly, this man was not one to be messed with. He scanned the room as if searching for someone. Finally, he announced in a deep, resounding voice, "Do not fear, ladies and gentlemen. We are here on a routine check after receiving a tip-off regarding your conference. We will release you all once we have carried out our investigation, and the process will be quicker and smoother if you all cooperate. "Now, I would kindly request you get your documentation ready so that my men may confirm your identity."Everyone
Derek nodded earnestly and replied, "Of course it's true. My sources have never failed me. I wouldn't have trusted you with this information if I didn't think you'd be interested."Celena stared at him for a moment, then turned to glance in the direction of the people he had pointed. She could not help but be tempted by the offer. She considered this for a few moments, then accepted his offer. "Alright then, Mr. Duncan. I'll go with you. Thank you for inviting me."The smile on Derek's face widened. He could hardly believe his luck—Celena had agreed to go with him! Taking that first step was always the hardest, but he had done it!Unbeknownst to Celena, Derek already knew her long before their first meeting at the conference. Her name was known far and wide in Drunham City, not least because of her beauty, but because of her—in the eyes of the public—tragic marriage. Celena had earned herself a reputation as one of the most beautiful women Drunham City had ever seen, and although
The attention they received, however, was large due to Celena and her young, handsome companion, who was a man named Derek Duncan. Their attractive looks, both individually and combined, were easily the topic of discussion that night. Everyone who laid eyes on them admired both their good looks and brains, for certainly only the cream of the crop were allowed to attend this prestigious event. What made this feat even more impressive was the fact that they were both so young!Aside from her beauty, Celena's name was already known far and wide in the business world, not just because of her strong leadership but due to her association with Liam and her company's connections with many international corporations. She had started her business from scratch, but within a few short months, she had single handedly built it up to become one of the top ten grossing companies in Drunham City.There were hundreds of people gathered there tonight, and their seats had been allocated according to t