"I-I didn't do it, James. Please, please don't listen to their nonsense!" Seeing James beginning to doubt her, Xena quickly reached out to hold his hand. James furrowed his brows and asked Shane, "Uncle, could there be a mistake? Xena isn't that kind of person." Shane did not say anything. Instead, the butler took out his phone and played a surveillance video. "Mr. James, perhaps you should watch this video before drawing conclusions." The surveillance at the Ford residence was always operational, nearly 24 hours a day. Only someone like Xena, who had recently arrived at the Ford residence, would overlook these details. Xena's eyes widened in disbelief, and her heart skipped a beat. Surveillance? The surveillance was actually on? Did that mean that everything that happened yesterday was captured on video? She quickly stepped forward, reaching out to knock the phone out of the butler's hand. "What video? You're just a helper, stop trying to sow discord between me and Jam
Even though Xena was now married to James, her position in the Ford family was still not secure. She had to endure it for now. With this in mind, Xena slowly approached Mrs. Ford Sr. and moistened her eyes, saying, "Grandmother, it's all my fault. I was impulsive and accidentally pushed you. Can you forgive me?" Mrs. Ford Sr. gave her a faint glance and asked, "Accidentally? Are you sure?" She knew better than anyone the intense malice in Xena's eyes when she pushed her. She had warned that Xena was not a good person, but James refused to listen. Thinking of her troublesome grandson, she shook her head slowly, feeling even more disappointed. Xena gritted her teeth inwardly but managed to force a smile, coaxing, "Grandmother, I really know I was wrong. Please forgive me. I promise there won't be a next time!" Shane, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up, "Let's divide the family estate." With these words, everyone present was shocked. Mrs. Ford Sr. and the b
Xena shrank back, too scared to speak. She rolled her eyes inwardly, feeling nothing but disdain. She thought to herself, "What’s the old witch so proud about? In the end, wasn't she going to rely on me and James to take care of her in her old age? "Mrs. Ford Sr. looked towards Steven, who had been silent the whole time, and asked, "Steven, what do you think?"Steven, when addressed, looked up and gently shook his head. "Mom, I have no objections. I heard about yesterday's incident when I came back. I'll make sure to discipline James and Xena properly when I get back, and they won't cause you any more trouble."Mrs. Ford Sr. nodded lightly, somewhat satisfied with his attitude. "That's not what I'm asking about. I'm talking about splitting up the family estate. What do you think?"Steven wiped his face and asked, "Mom, does the family really have to split up?"Mrs. Ford Sr. nodded. "It's inevitable."Steven fell silent. He knew he did not have much ability. Over the years, if it
After speaking, she glanced at Shane again and instructed, "I'll have the butler sort out my assets later. You can keep the shares of the Ford Corporation. If they disagree, don't expect to get a penny."Shane nodded gently. "Alright, I got it."Seeing that Mrs. Ford Sr. did not want to elaborate and deliberately changed the subject, Haley furrowed her brows even deeper. On the way back, Shane noticed her gloominess and squeezed her hand. "What are you thinking about?"Haley looked at Shane and asked, "The person Evelyn mentioned earlier, was it my mother?"Shane hesitated for a moment, not answering immediately. Instead, he said, "These are all grudges from the previous generation. It's better if you don't know.""But I want to know."Haley gently shook Shane's arm and softened her voice, acting coquettishly.Shane, feeling helpless, had to tell her what he knew. "When your mother was young, she was a very outstanding and charming woman."Haley smiled at the revelation, feel
Steven quickly sorted out the assets and handed them over to Shane for inspection. To his surprise, he found that most of the money spent by their family over the years was actually provided by Shane himself. Evelyn was fond of luxury, buying the latest designer handbags and jewelry every quarter to show off. She also used a portion of the money to support her relatives.Before marrying into the Ford family, Evelyn's family came from an ordinary rural background, far from being well-off. But after these years of support, not only Evelyn's parents but also her uncles and aunts now lived in high-end villas. They had low education levels and no special skills, making it difficult for them to survive in a big city like Jasper City. Evelyn even placed them in subsidiary companies under the Ford residence, giving them positions like general manager and project director.Following this line of investigation, Steven discovered that many of the building materials used by these subsidiary
"The old hag is clearly biased! It's so unfair that the Ford residence will definitely go to Shane in the future!" James packed his things, feeling overwhelmed."Mom, please don't say such things. Grandma will be hurt if she hears it!" Despite his efforts to reason with her, Evelyn not only ignored him but also escalated the situation, intentionally raising her voice."I've said it, so what? Does she dare to do anything about it? She's biased! Why else would she hand over the inheritance rights of the company to Shane?" Whether it was Stella being forced to take drugs or the family estate settlement, both events had caused her immense distress. She did not yet have the power to oppose Shane, but she was determined that this matter would not end here!Glancing at James, who looked helpless, Evelyn's resentment only grew. "If you don't want your mom to be wronged, then step up and snatch back the inheritance rights from your uncle!"Chiming in, Xena added, "That's right, James.
Just then, the door was abruptly kicked open with a loud "bang," startling everyone in the room. Evelyn turned sharply towards the doorway, where she saw Steven standing with furrowed brows. "Why are you back? Didn't you go to get the asset list from Shane?" she asked.Steven approached her with a stern face, tossing the list onto the table in front of her. "Yeah, it's on its way," he replied.Evelyn's eyes lit up as she eagerly opened the list to examine its contents. When Mr. Ford Sr. suddenly passed away, there was not enough time for him to leave a will. But since Mrs. Ford Sr. was still around, and Shane had not started a family yet, they had not divided the assets. Mr. Ford Sr. had been a man who knew how to enjoy life. He had not only collected many valuable paintings, antiques, but also had a lot of private properties. Evelyn was desperate to get her hands on this money.But when she saw what was written on the list, she was stunned. "How could this be?" Her face turne
So, not only did Evelyn fail to gain anything from the separation, but she also ended up losing a lot. It made her feel sick to her stomach, and she spent several nights unable to sleep out of anger.On the other hand, Haley did not have a moment of rest either. After kicking out the Carter family from the villa, Haley visited several design studios every day, planning to renovate the villa completely. While preserving her mother's legacy, she wanted to give the villa a fresh new look.The villa's design was based on Yvonne's favorite style during her lifetime. Haley made sure to visit whenever she had time. After about half a month, the renovation finally came to an end, and the villa was completely transformed.As Haley walked through the villa, memories of her time with her mother flooded her mind. Despite many years passing, those memories remained vivid. Her mother's beautiful face, gentle voice, and warm smile were deeply etched in her memory.Reaching the end of the corridor
Since that day, the number of bodyguards at Violet Grove had multiplied several times, and Shane even had the latest security system installed at home. It was a top-of-the-line model with built-in defense mechanisms. If anyone unfamiliar tried to break in, the alarm would go off instantly. After hearing about how close Evangeline and Nicholas had come to being kidnapped, no one thought these precautions were excessive. In fact, they only wished more could be done."This is just despicable! I can’t believe Xena could be so vicious!""We were too soft on her before. Someone like that is just a waste of air."Shane and Haley remained silent, but their thoughts were the same.Shane reassured everyone, "It’s over. Xena will never have another chance to get out."Hearing this, everyone felt a bit more at ease."By the way, where are Mom and Dad? I don't see them," Haley asked, noticing that her parents were not around, though everyone else had gathered.Zac didn’t say anything but q
Just the thought of what could have happened made Haley’s heart ache unbearably.The nannies stammered for a long time but couldn’t describe the person who had approached them. All they could recall was that the person had been thoroughly covered and that it was a woman.Shane immediately called his assistant, instructing him to investigate as soon as possible.It was past 3 a.m., and Haley still sat at the edge of the bed, unable to close her eyes. Her eyes were red from exhaustion and worry.Shane wrapped his arms around her, whispering words of comfort, "Don’t be afraid, it’s all over now. Everything will be okay."Haley sniffled and nodded. "I know, but I’m still so scared. We were just in time. If we’d been any later…"Shane pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I won’t let anything like this happen again. Trust me."At that moment, Shane's assistant, Dean, walked in, dragging someone who was covered head to toe.The person stumbled, falling to their knees in front of Haley and
Late that night, Shane and Haley finally sent off the last guest. Haley leaned heavily against Shane, exhaustion written all over her face. "Ugh, no one told me getting married would be this tiring. I'm never doing this again."Shane chuckled. "Who else do you plan on marrying besides me?"Haley blinked innocently at him. "Who says you can't marry the same person twice? That's what they do in books and dramas."Shane sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and gently tapping her on the forehead. "You need to cut back on those dramas."Haley giggled, rubbing her forehead. "Hey, they’re useful! I’ve learned a lot from them."Shane raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What did you learn?"A mysterious smile curved on Haley's lips. "Not telling you. You'll find out if you ever make me mad."Seeing that she wasn’t going to spill the secret, Shane let it go. He bent down and suddenly hoisted Haley over his shoulder.Caught off guard, Haley yelped in surprise. "Shane, what are you doing?"
Jenny and Charlotte stayed behind to keep Haley company. Jenny teased her with a grin, "Can you believe we’re all getting married now? Back in college, we used to imagine what our future partners would be like."Haley shot her a sideways glance and retorted, "Not ‘we,’ just you. Bet you never imagined you’d end up with someone who’s nothing like your ideal type, huh?"Back then, Haley was still engaged to James Ford. Though James was far from a good guy, Haley felt obligated to honor her mother’s dying wish and marry him. She didn’t spend much time fantasizing about love. Jenny, on the other hand, practically lived in her romantic daydreams."Oh, so you’re teasing me now?" Jenny’s face flushed for a moment, then she lunged at Haley, pretending to tickle her.Haley dodged, laughing, and soon the two were playfully tussling. Watching from the sidelines, Charlotte couldn’t help but smile along with them.Soon after, the wedding officially began. The venue was packed with guests,
On the fifth of May, the wedding took place as planned.Shane had started preparing the venue two days in advance, meticulously arranging every detail himself. The expansive wedding grounds were filled with romance, from the long red carpet laid out on the lawn to the balloons adding a whimsical touch.Haley donned her wedding dress and let the stylists work their magic, crafting an exquisite look for her. Just then, Shane entered the room, standing behind her with a warm smile."You look absolutely stunning today, Haley. The most beautiful bride in the world," he said, admiration in his voice.Haley turned her head toward him, her face glowing with happiness. "Weren’t you busy greeting the guests? How did you find time to sneak in here?"Ignoring the people around them, Shane bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I stole a little break to come see you," he whispered playfully.At that moment, a teasing voice interrupted them from behind. "You two really can’t stop showi
After what felt like an eternity, Haley was nearly out of breath when Shane finally let her go reluctantly. However, even though his lips had only pulled away slightly, his hands still firmly gripped her waist."Do you like it?" he asked, his deep eyes filled with affection.Haley blinked innocently. "Like what?""Me," Shane replied with a playful grin, his gaze never leaving her face. "Do you like me?"Her cheeks flushed, and her heart raced as she bit her lip and looked up at him. "Why don’t you guess?"Shane chuckled and pulled her onto his lap. "I’d guess... you do."Caught off guard, Haley let out a small yelp and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, shooting him a playful glare. "You already knew, so why ask?"Her response only made Shane laugh harder. After a bit more playful banter, he held her close as they leaned back on the couch. Then he brought up their wedding. "I talked with Mom and your parents. We all agreed that our wedding will be held in a month.
Haley had always known how much Shane doted on Evangeline, treating her like the apple of his eye. But she hadn’t expected his protectiveness to reach such an extreme level. She couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated at the same time.Gently, she grabbed Shane’s hand and comforted him softly, "Alright, alright, don’t be mad. Hugo is only a month old. He didn’t mean any harm. If anything, it just shows how lovable our Evangeline is."Shane sat on the edge of the bed, the tension in his chest easing slightly, but he still couldn’t shake off all his frustration. In his mind, he made a firm decision that he would do everything in his power to protect his little treasure from now on. No one would be allowed to get too close to her again.From that day on, everyone noticed how Shane’s protectiveness over Evangeline had reached a whole new level. He barely let her out of his sight, as if he needed to be by her side 24/7. Anyone who dared approach her was met with a cold, pier
Jenny couldn't help but laugh. "You haven't seen this little guy when he's awake. He's a real handful. If you did, you'd probably take back all those compliments."When Hugo was awake, he was full of energy, and when he cried, his voice could shake the walls. Jenny looked at Nicholas and Evangeline, who were awake but contentedly sucking on their tiny fists, and said, "These two are so much easier. They’re quiet and calm, the more I look at them, the more I like them."Seeing the twins were awake, Haley quickly leaned over, gently poking their soft, chubby cheeks. "Awake already? You only napped for a little while."Nicholas stared up at Haley with his big eyes, silently taking her in. Evangeline, on the other hand, waved her tiny hand and let out a soft "ah," which nearly melted Henry and Jenny's hearts.Henry knelt beside the crib, unable to tear his eyes away from Evangeline. He playfully reached out to her, and when she giggled at him without fear, he adored her even more. "S
Haley took a small sip, smiling as she saw the eager look in Shane's eyes. "Mmm, it’s good.""Really?" Shane smiled as well, taking another spoonful for himself. He tasted it thoughtfully before nodding. "Yeah, it’s good. The seasoning is just right, and it’s refreshing. Even with the herbs, it’s not bitter at all."He quickly brought another spoonful to Haley’s lips, feeding her until the bowl was nearly empty.Seeing Haley’s good appetite, Shane tidied up the dishes and called Dean. "Tell the restaurant that all the chefs’ salaries are doubled this month."Dean was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered. "Got it. I’ll take care of it right away."As he hung up the phone, Dean couldn’t help but think, "When will it be my turn for a bonus?"As if Shane could read his thoughts, a low voice came through the receiver. "Haley’s pregnancy has been tough, and you’ve worked hard these past few months too. Your year-end bonus will be tripled, and you’ll get extra vacation days. Spend