He was constantly thinking about reuniting as a family of four and had already planned how to renovate the house in Hajera. But she only wanted to keep her distance from him and didn't even want to contact him again. Thaddeus's heart was tightly clenched, and he felt a bit breathless. He suddenly felt his temples throbbing uncontrollably. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt."Jessie, I've never been one to be controlled by others. You know, my mom is her own person, and I am me. You can't sentence me to death just because someone else did something wrong," he said. He wasn't a mother's boy, but he couldn't deny that both Heather and Sasha were not easy to deal with."Do you think your mom will let me go? She will come a second and a third time, pointing her finger at me, accusing me of seducing you and wanting your family's money! Thaddeus, I'm tired," she said.Thaddeus lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and seemed to unleash all the unpleasant feelings pent up in his ch
Heather thought about the check in her bag and now felt a bit regretful. Initially, when she heard Jessamine say that her children's annual tuition fees were more than just a few bucks, she thought she was exaggerating. It turned out to be true. She had actually flaunted three million, which was really embarrassing.Thaddeus responded indifferently, "Yes, it's the Xander Patton you've heard of." He paused for a moment before adding, "I was at fault when I divorced her, and I left with nothing to my name. All my assets were given to Jessie. Listen carefully. I gave it to them. She didn't ask for them! Between her and me now, I'm the one trying to climb up the ladder. Don't do anything absurd that embarrasses everyone."Heather tightly crumpled the check in her hand into a ball. "Ted, do you really need her for the rest of your life?" she asked.Her sentence was barely spoken finish when Thaddeus almost effortlessly followed up, "Yes, I do."Sasha sat beside them, feeling indig
Heather inhaled sharply, overwhelmed by her son's presence. "Got it, got it. What happened today won't happen again," she assured.Thaddeus only started the car after hearing Heather's assurance and drove home. On the other hand, Sasha was speechless, shocked by what she had heard today.…The next day, when Jessamine was getting ready to go to the office, Xander's call came in. "Jessie, I've sorted things out here. I'm planning to go back this afternoon. Will Layla and Lucas come with me?"Jessamine glanced at the two kids playing happily in the living room. "Xander, wait a moment. Let me ask them."In her heart, Jessamine wanted the two children to go with their uncle. After what happened yesterday, she always felt unsafe staying here. Matters concerning the children were no trivial matter, and she didn't dare to gamble on human nature, despite Thaddeus' repeated assurances.After asking, both kids shook their heads, especially Layla, who didn't want to go back at all. "Mommy,
Benji liked children, especially adorably chubby little girls. Just looking at them seemed to make him melt. He squatted down and waved to Layla. "Hey kiddo, I heard your name is Layla, right? I'm a very good friend of your mommy's. Shall I take you to buy a kitty?"Layla looked up at Jessamine. Jessamine taught her not to take things from strangers, and she definitely taught her not to go with strangers. She hadn't seen this flashy man before, so she wouldn't be fooled by the promise of a kitten. "Mommy said I shouldn't take things from strangers. I don't want it."Shane stepped forward and squatted down too. "How about I take you to buy one? What breed of kitty would you like?"Layla had seen Shane, who was her godfather, in videos before. Jessamine often talked to him on the phone when they were in Hajera. She looked at Jessamine again, feeling slightly tempted to go with Shane, but was also afraid that Jessamine wouldn't approve.Benji felt a bit hurt. Layla seemed to accept Sh
"Layla, have you decided what kind of kitty you want?" Layla tilted her head, carefully pondering. After a while, she still hadn't come up with an answer. She loved all kinds of cats, so it was hard to choose.The car arrived at a pet store in the city center. The two men lead the child inside, and after browsing around, they actually bought ten cats of different breeds and colors, along with cat food, litter, and toys. They made sure everything was complete.Benji looked at the car full of treasures and couldn't help but want to show off. He took a photo of the cats and Layla's silhouette and immediately posted it on his social media. In fact, he mainly wanted to annoy Thaddeus.On the other hand, Thaddeus and his family had finished up at the cemetery and were on their way back. When he opened his phone, the first thing he saw on social media was Benji's post with a picture and the caption, "Taking my little girl to buy cats. Such happiness!" Thaddeus clicked on the picture an
Layla didn't show much interest in Thaddeus' question. She seemed more interested in the cats held by Benji. "Godfather, will the other kitties get lost if we leave them in the car?"Benji perked up at the term "godfather" and couldn't help but straighten up, wearing a proud expression in front of Thaddeus. He was mocking Thaddeus internally, saying "Look at you, after all this time pretending, your daughter calls me Godfather without even calling you Daddy!"Thaddeus had lost count of how many times he got his heart broken, but he had to endure everything in front of his child. "Layla, if you're worried about the other kitties, shall we bring them all down?"At that, Layla finally showed some interest and smiled brightly. "Okay!"Thaddeus stood up and waved to the receptionist. "Get two people to the parking lot to bring the cats up."He saw the photo Benji posted and knew there were still quite a few cats in the car. However, the receptionist didn't know. When she arrived at the
They left the cats in the office and drove directly to the restaurant. Thaddeus had lost a room full of figurines just to let Layla ride in his car.On the other hand, Jessamine was busy as a bee. She first submitted her designs for review, which were finally completed in these few days, fortunately not missing the submission deadline. The rest of her time was spent buried in paperwork. The company's records weren't very clear, and many accounts needed to be verified. She now deeply understood the challenges of managing a company.She felt that she was still too inexperienced after thinking about how Thaddeus spent his days busy at the office and still worked in his study at home.In the afternoon, Jessamine received a message, and upon seeing the word "Holt" on the screen, she initially thought it was from Thaddeus. However, upon careful inspection, it was from Noah."Jessie, I've arranged everything. Are you ready on your end? We'll depart the day after tomorrow."In addition
Thaddeus felt the need to resolve this major trouble as soon as possible. There was a saying that went, "Fear not the thief who steals but the one who covets". Noah was both coveting and planning to steal something of his.At 35 years old, Noah still had no plans to settle down. As his family, Thaddeus felt the need to give him a warning through Thomas. He opened his computer and saw the socialite list that Heather sent him a while ago. He forwarded it to Thomas, thinking it was time to find himself a young aunt-in-law.After sending the message to Thomas, an overseas email arrived. He opened it and saw photos inside. His hand on the touchpad stiffened, and he froze. Recently, he had someone investigate Noah's activities overseas. The email was full of photos of him with a woman, showing them being intimate and affectionate. When Noah looked at the woman, the love in his eyes was intense—a side Thaddeus had never seen before. And, that woman had the same face as Jessamine. Even t
Thaddeus was dumbfounded. Why hadn't he considered using blood types to eliminate the possibility first?"My dad has type O blood."Jessamine's stroked his Adam's apple softly and deliberately. "My mom has type B blood, and I have type AB blood. Do you think it's possible that we could be long-lost siblings?"Thaddeus thought for some time and couldn't help but burst out in hearty laughter. It was impossible for someone with type B blood and someone with type O blood to have a child with AB type blood. What was he worrying about?At that moment, he couldn't believe how foolish he'd been. Biology was his best subject in school, yet he didn't think about this until Jessamine reminded him. His biology teacher would be furious if they knew."Why didn't you say so earlier, Jessie?" He regretted not talking to her about it sooner and ended up suffering in prolonged silence by himself.After Jessamine got bored touching his Adam's apple, she started playing with his rough chin. "I just
Jessamine lay still for a long time, aware that Thaddeus was also awake, battling insomnia just like her.This visit to Zenville to solve one mystery ended up bringing her an even bigger one.The gathering took place years ago in the restaurant owned by Benji's family. She had even asked Benji about it. The surveillance footage from over 20 years ago wouldn't be around now, and even the staff had changed several times. The restaurant's manager from back then had left the job many years ago.It wasn't easy to uncover the truth from back then unless they found the people who were directly involved. The closer they got to the truth, the more pressure she felt.By investigating this matter now, she was essentially peeling back the layers that had been hiding a much deeper issue. As she confronted the dark side of human nature, the ultimate victim ended up being her beloved mother.If Jessamine didn't look into this matter, she felt like she would be letting Elizabeth down. She wanted
Thaddeus frowned immensely at his request. "Don't be ridiculous!""I'm serious. You could help me rent one too. You know, the kind that charges by the day. I'll fool my dad first. We'll deal with everything else once he gets better," Benji said.Thaddeus cursed inwardly, "Dude, don't drag me into this, especially with my wife watching. It sounds like you're implying I have ways to get or rent women."Thaddeus glanced back at Jessamine and said, "I don't know about this. You should ask someone else. If you're at your wits end, go ask one of the assistants in your company to help you out."Benji seemed to come to a realization. He said, "It's getting late. You all should go back and rest. There are doctors here. I'll stay and keep watch."Jessamine asked, "Can you handle this on your own, Mr. Moore?""Sure, thank you… all of you," Benji replied.After saying a few more words of comfort, Jessamine and Thaddeus went downstairs to the car. Thaddeus' phone started ringing again."Mr.
Maya also knelt by the bed and started crying."Dad, don't speak for now. Please be okay."Benji zoned out. Seeing Carmen and Maya crying, his mind was in a mess. He realized that he couldn't continue to live aimlessly—his family needed him now."A girlfriend, a girlfriend..." he mumbled, not even sure of what he was saying.The doctor hurried to the room upon hearing the call, checked on Jonathan again, and then sent the family away."The patient needs rest and should avoid additional emotional stress. You all can wait outside for now. There's no need for everyone to be here, one would be enough. The room can be stuffy if there's too many people here, too."They then left the room. Benji was holding the X-ray images of Jonathan's brain, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He felt completely lost.Shane quietly slipped away from the crowd after watching from afar. He went to an empty hallway and called his father. "Dad, are you free to analyze some X-ray images? It's for a fri
Benji had always lived a smooth and pleasant life. It hit him hard after hearing what the doctor said, leaving him in a state of shock and bewilderment."Mom, hasn't Dad always been in good health? How did he suddenly..."Carmen's eyes were red and swollen from crying."He mentioned feeling dizzy a few times recently and said he'd go for a check-up but actually never did. Plus, he's been swamped with work lately and hasn't got any time. Today, he suddenly fainted at the office. His assistant called an ambulance right away and brought him to the hospital. By the time I got the call, he was already being examined inside."Benji's face turned pale. With Jonathan down, the burden of supporting his family fell on him. He had been free from responsibility for the past 20 years, and now, suddenly having to shoulder this heavy load, he felt completely lost.His father had been asking him to get familiar with the company's operations a long time ago. However, he was too lazy to bother abou
Benji never had any grand ambitions. From the day he was born, people always told him that he didn't need to worry about anything since most problems in this world could be solved with money, and his family had plenty of it. He just wanted to drift through life."I don't need to surpass him. As long as I can cover my daily expenses and not have to ask him for money, that's enough," Benji replied.As they were talking, Shane had prepared a table full of dishes. He set out four sets of plates and cutleries before calling everyone over to eat. "It's time to eat."The four of them hadn't seen each other in a long time, so they had to have a drink.Jessamine looked at the beautifully prepared dishes on the table and couldn't help but offer a compliment. "Shane, your cooking skills have gotten so good."Shane opened a bottle of red wine and poured some for everyone. "What can I do? There's a glutton at home."Benji was not happy with Shane's comment. What did he mean by saying there wa
"It's great that you came by today, Jessie. I'll pay you back the money. Friends who are willing to lend money these days are rare, so I want to thank you again," Benji said.He hadn't repaid the money he borrowed last time yet. Coincidentally, he received some money today, so he decided to settle the debt in person. With that, he picked up his phone to make the transfer.Jessamine's phone chimed, indicating that a payment had been received. The amount was a bit more than what she had lent out."Mr. Moore, I'm not here to ask you to settle your debt. You can keep it for now. I won't need the money for the time being," Jessamine said."If one borrows and returns promptly, borrowing again won't be difficult. You're much easier to talk to than Thaddeus. Despite knowing him for so many years, borrowing money from him is such a hassle. You saw it last time yourself. That scoundrel's attitude was terrible!" Benji complained.At this point in the conversation, Thaddeus happened to arrive
Thaddeus tightened his grip on Jessamine's slender waist. "What am I going to do with you, Jessie?"He thought to himself that if things really were just that coincidental, he would rather play the fool and pretend to know nothing at all. He just couldn't leave her.Jessamine asked softly, "How about you ask your dad?"Thaddeus paused for a moment and took out his phone to call Corey. He couldn't calm his mind at all.After a few seconds of hearing the dial tone, the call was answered."Dad," Thaddeus said.On the other end of the phone, Corey was about to go to sleep. He had been adjusting his routine lately, aiming to go to bed early and wake up early."What’s up?" Corey asked."Do you remember the gathering over 20 years ago with Mr. Hardy, Jacob Langston, Leon Lincoln, Paxton Loomis, and a few others?"After that, Thaddeus added, "That night, a beautiful woman came over. She drank some alcohol and was drugged."There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the ph
On the other side, Jessamine and Thaddeus got into the car.Jessamine and Beatrice were quite familiar with each other. However, it was Jessamine's first time meeting Sabastian. Surprisingly, she had a pretty good impression of him."Do the Hardy and Holt families have business dealings with each other?"Thaddeus drove as he answered her question, "We don't have much interaction. We would occasionally invest in small projects and conduct some charity work in Zenville together."Mr. Hardy is an upright and trustworthy person. He has a good relationship with Grandpa. Hayden would often come to my house with him when I was young."Jessamine paused for a moment and asked, "Does he have a wife?""Hayden's mother passed away from an amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth. Since then, Mr. Hardy has remained single and never remarried."Jessamine was deeply moved. In this era, who would remain loyal for a lifetime to their deceased wives? Most men like Sabastian, who had both power a