Liam stood up and made his way to the bedroom door, easing it open with a gentle nudge. Darkness enveloped the room, but it was no match for Liam's keen eyes. He spotted Celena and Jovie, deep in slumber on the bed, and let out a relieved exhale before softly closing the door.As the door clicked shut, a wave of icy dread that Liam had been holding back surged forth, his gaze piercing the darkness as a sinister smile played on his lips.He returned to the couch and settled in; his ears tuned to the faintest rustle in the small courtyard, a fierce glint of malice in his eyes.Outside, the intruder, thinking himself undetected, crept to the door. With practiced ease, he drew his dagger and slipped it through the door's crack, deftly unlatching the old-fashioned bolt—a relic in the sprawling, antique-styled Stone family estate with its maze of courtyards.The intruder worked swiftly, and within moments, the door swung open, spilling a weak glow from a lantern tucked away in the courty
The sound of footsteps echoed in the dark living room, each sending a jolt through Woden's heart.He had his head bowed as he trembled uncontrollably, consumed by dread.A shadowy figure emerged from the darkness. The house was pitch-black inside, and only a faint glow from the courtyard's light reached the bottom half of the doorway.With each slow step he took, the Woden kept his gaze on the ground, spotting only a pair of cozy, fluffy slippers. He did not dare look up, his body rigid with tension.Suddenly, a stern, deep voice boomed from above, "Keep it down. If you disturb my wife and kid's sleep..."Woden's voice dropped to a whisper, his reply tinged with fear, "Absolutely, I get it..."He stayed hunched over, too scared to even glance at the person in the slippers, his mind racing with questions about the identity of this daunting figure.Yankel had called him earlier that evening with a job: to snatch Celena from the Stone family. However, none of the intel had hinted a
To Woden, the voice was like the tolling of a bell signifying his doom, sending a wave of terror and chilling dread through him. He was so scared that he lost all composure, bowing deeply in fright."Please, have mercy, sir! I'm begging you, you're known for being forgiving, please spare me... I had no idea you were here. Please have mercy, spare my life. If you let me live, I swear I'll be eternally loyal to you... Please, I'm begging for your mercy!"Terror was etched on Woden's face as he begged and profusely apologized. His pleas echoed eerily in the still of the night.Liam, realizing how loud he was, glanced at the bedroom door to make sure it was shut tight. Satisfied, he turned back, his intent to kill even stronger as he hissed, "Quiet down! I told you my wife and kids are asleep. Wake them up, and I'll have no problem ending you right here."The Woden clammed up at once, and that was when it hit him—the man before him was Liam himself!He remembered Liam mentioning his f
Liam let out a soft laugh when he heard Woden's eager promise."Here's the deal, I need you to tail a guy with a spooky mask. Dig all you can on him. However, be warned, he's no pushover, so if you make it back in one piece, I'll keep you on as my right-hand man."The words hit the Woden like a jolt of electricity. After the night's close call with death, he knew all too well the weight of Liam's power and the prestige that came with it.To work for Liam was a golden ticket, way better than slumming it with Yankel, the spoiled brat with more money than sense.Visions of a dazzling future lit Woden's eyes. He leaned back to show his gratitude to Liam, "Absolutely! Thanks a ton, Mr. Cole! I won't let you down!"Liam acknowledged with a nonchalant grunt, "Dismissed."After a few more grateful bows, Woden left the courtyard, his heart racing with excitement.He did not stop until he was out of sight, in a secluded alley by the Stone family's place. There, he finally caught his breat
"Just wait, Liam. I'll violate that bitch Celena right in front of you! I'll show you what you'll get for offending me! Mr. Miller, you like rescuing a damsel in distress, don't you? I'll take advantage of that bitch Celena, and let you rescue her, then."Yankel's bellows echoed through the entire mansion. He wrecked the whole living room, which was not enough to soothe his rage.…In the morning the following day, Liam brought Jovie out to get breakfast like usual. As soon as they returned after getting breakfast, they saw Sherah and Qemal sitting on the couch.Liam could not help but frown upon seeing the two uninvited guests. Then, he felt worried and looked at Celena, who was also on the couch.Sure enough, Celena's head was hung, and she looked rather upset.Seeing that, Liam gave Jovie a signal with his eyes, which Jovie immediately understood. With the milk they bought in hand, she ran toward Celena and presented it to her like it was a treasure."Mom, look! I got you mil
Sherah was upset to see Celena hanging her head, but she did not forget the purpose of her visit.She continued, "Celena, trust me, I won't harm you. Mr. Miller's gaze was filled with love when he was looking at you. You have to believe me. I've experienced it myself."Also, think about it. If he isn't fond of you, would he step up and save you from the awkward situation? "Listen to me. You weren't paying attention then, but I saw it as clear as day. He was wearing a mask, but the way he looked at the others was different from how he looked at you. Not only was his gaze gentle, but it was filled with affection."Celena, just do as I say and divorce Liam. You didn't have a wedding anyway. Both of you just got married at the town hall. Not many people would know about your divorce. You don't have to worry about other people gossiping about you."Don't worry. As long as you divorce Liam, I'll pull some strings and help you set up an appointment with Mr. Miller. He'll meet you. As lo
It was then Liam returned with Jovie after they got breakfast. That was what happened earlier.…After Liam placed the breakfast on the table, he returned to the living room and looked at Sherah and Qemal with a sullen expression. In a frosty tone, he asked, "Why are both of you doing here?"Sherah came to Celena early in the morning and spent a long time persuading her, yet Celena did not budge at all. That already made Sherah feel pissed off. Hearing Liam's words at that moment made her blow her lid.Glaring at Liam in rage, Sherah bellowed, "Who the hell do you think you are? This is Stone Mansion. I can come whenever I want to. Do I have to ask for your permission?"Liam's expression turned sour as soon as she said that. A frigid gaze instantly filled his eyes and the air around him became frosty.Sherah was so infuriated at that moment that she did not notice the change in Liam. She continued, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Enough! Liam, I'm not going to beat around the
Liam sneered and asked Sherah and Qemal to leave. In a frosty tone, he said, "This is the last time I'm telling you—I won't leave Celena nor will I divorce her. If you have anything else to say, please get out. It's time for the three of us to have our breakfast."His tone was so cold. He was implying that he did not prepare breakfast for the two of them, so they should just get the hell out of there. His attitude was extremely terrible.Sure enough, Sherah's face turned sullen as soon as he said that. Her eyes were burning with rage as she glared at Liam.Qemal stood up from the cough and glared at Liam as well.Celena quickly put Jovie down and tugged at Liam's arms as she whispered, "Liam, she's my mother, after all. You should be a little more polite when talking to her. Otherwise, it won't look good on you as well if other people find out."Liam turned back and saw Celena looking troubled, so he had no choice but to nod, saying nothing else.However, Sherah did not plan to l
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
The moment Clifford left, Kastor turned to Liam with a wide grin, all hint of his hostility now gone. "Mr. Cole, thank God I arrived just in time."He raised his brows as he said this, and Liam took this to mean he was trying to claim credit. Truth be told, he would have been able to handle things on his own even without Kastor's help, but he decided this was a detail Kastor did not need to know. Instead, he returned Kastor's smile graciously. Kastor, like a child, burst into laughter at this. No further words were exchanged, but they understood the message nonetheless.Jeffrey also grinned. "Kastor, what brings you here all of a sudden?"Kastor replied, "Ah, you might not know this, Mr. Stein, but I actually own this very restaurant that you're sitting in right now. One of my employees called me for help, citing that a brawl was about to break out, so I rushed over immediately. I had no idea it would turn out to be you and Mr. Cole!""Ah, what a pleasant surprise, then!" Jeffrey
Clifford scowled upon hearing this. He cracked his knuckles menacingly as he stared at Kastor through narrowed eyes.Kastor did not seem at all intimidated by this. Instead, he brushed past him and approached Liam, smiling. "Mr. Cole, I apologize for the delay. I rushed over as soon as I heard the news, but I was late anyway. I'm so sorry for the wait."Liam's expression eased up slightly. He tugged the corners of his mouth into a strained smile but did not reply. Clifford's expression turned even more sour when he sensed Kastor's tone. He asked sharply, "What is the meaning of this, Kastor? Are you intent on making me your enemy?"Clifford's reputation was known far and wide, and many feared him, but Kastor was not one of them. He shot Clifford a look of utmost disdain and replied, smirking, "Yes, Clifford, that's exactly what I'm going to do. So what if we will be enemies from now on? What are you going to do about it?"He was confident that Clifford would not dare to retaliate